Last Minute Thanksgiving Hacks to Make Your Life Easier

Prepping for the big day but short on time? Try these proven TikTok hacks.

Fact checked by Sarah Scott

We all know hosting Thanksgiving can be a daunting task. While some love to play host, others dread the day and the work that comes with it. You know, the prep, the mess, the juggling of tasks, the dishes, the clean-up...it's a lot.

And then there's the part about playing host to your extended family. You can't please everyone, especially your Great Aunt Joan who will always find something to complain about, especially if the turkey is even slightly dry.

So we're here to make your life easier with some of TikTok's best Thanksgiving hacks to help you prep for the big day.

Storing the Turkey

Okay, so you've gone food shopping and your fridge is full of all of the staples you need to cook the Thanksgiving meal. So where are you going to put that turkey to let it thaw? Look no further than your cooler, according to the TikTok account @optimistickitchen.

As shown in the video, you should monitor the temperature in the cooler so that it doesn't go above 40 degrees. That mimics the temperature in your refrigerator. They encourage you to "plan your thaw now" because it takes a day of thawing for every four pounds of turkey.

Prepping the Potatoes

Ya gotta have mashed potatoes with your Thanksgiving meal, am I right? But peeling them can take forever. TikTok has two different hacks to help you get through that process.

The first one from @lorafied shows us how to boil the potatoes whole and then set them aside. Place a baking rack on top of a bowl, cut your potato in half longways, and then smash it through the baking rack. "Mash the potato and remove the skin at the same time," she says. Genius.

The second hack comes from @amanda.dalfonso. She says she was "today years old" when she realized she could gently cut around the potato before boiling. Then once the potatoes are cooked, the skin comes right off. More potato genius!

Simplify the Sides

This hack from @djeremiahj I might even call cheating. The TikToker is seen scooping out store-bought macaroni and cheese into a separate foil platter while saying, "Why yes, it is homemade."

"The recipe? Well, I'd love to tell you but it's a secret," he goes on to say. "It's been in the family for generations." He then cracks up laughing.

Does warming it up in your own oven count?

Perfect Pumpkin Pie Pops

Talk about dessert made easy, and fun. I'm totally on board with this pumpkin pie hack from @everydaygracedesigns. Lindsey, the interior design expert bought a $6 pumpkin pie at the store. You then see her take a round cookie cutter and cut out portions of the pie, plating them with some whipped cream.

But what about what's left? Even more food genius here—Lindsey then uses a stand mixer to combine the rest of the pie filling and crust and make cake pops!

Send Leftovers Home With Guests

So the meal is over and you have all of these leftovers, but you really don't want them to sit in your refrigerator and eventually go bad. Well, "everyone's grandmother" (self-proclaimed) @brunchwithbabs has a great suggestion.

You can use disposable cupcake tins (with lids) to portion out each item you served for them to take home as leftovers. Babs suggests setting up a "leftover station" to have your guests serve themselves. Since the tin is aluminum, your guests can then just pop the whole thing in the oven to reheat whenever they want.

Easy Clean-Up

Clean-up is (in my opinion) one of the worst parts of hosting any meal or party. But @athomewithshannon has a suggestion to make taking out the trash easier.

She suggests putting command hooks on the side of your trash can so the bags don't slip off. Not only that, Shannon says to put two bags in so that when you take the first bag out, there's another one read.

Ok, This One is Just Funny

TikToker @maryandblake shows us her Thanksgiving hack. While in a robe, she's standing over a turkey. The caption says "Best Thanksgiving Hack. It's not hard!" She waves her hands around as the music says, "Can we skip to the good part?"

Mary then blocks the camera with her hand and just when you would expect to see a beautiful finished turkey, it's in the same state it was in when she started. A voice off camera says, "It doesn't really work that way."

"What do you mean? I did the thing ... with the hand," she replies.

"That's not actually real," the other voice explains.

"It's not?" she questions.

"You have to actually finish it," the other person says.

"I do?" the person on the video responds.

The video then ends with an expletive, pretty much summing up the point of this article and how so many of us feel about prepping for Thanksgiving.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Related: Things to Be Thankful For: An A to Z Guide to Thanksgiving Gratitude

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