Consider this your unofficial curriculum for the coziest week of the year — a blend of small pleasures and analog amusements to usher in a gentle cadence for your Thanksgiving holiday.
Your Thanksgiving Week Appointments
Escape to an estate sale or antique shop to find a Thanksgiving tablescape treasure.
Keep a bottle of champagne chilled — “just in case”.
Have a cozy film looping in the background at all times.
Think A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Little Women, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Miracle on 34th Street, The Family Stone, The Holiday, Father of the Bride, etc.
Iron your napkins (yes, really).
Pull out the analog entertainment — mahjong, cards, Scrabble, puzzles. Keep them tableside for spontaneous play.
No Big Light! Lamps and candlelight only.
Whip up a simmer pot.
Finalize your holiday shopping list and knock it all out while cozy on the couch.
Stay tuned for my Black Friday Sale Edit, dropping Sunday 11/23!
Make a treat-yourself purchase amidst the shopping— an autumnal workout set, slippers, or cashmere socks.
Wear only cashmere, wool, and knits.
Prepare your Thanksgiving Week Reading List.
I’m devouring cozy British mysteries — The Thursday Murder Club, The Marlowe Murder Club, The Night in Question, How to Solve Your Own Murder
Write a daily text to a different friend telling them why you’re grateful for them.
Spend an hour indulging in deep hydration — mask, body lotion, herbal tea.
Pick out seasonal nail lacquer — oxblood, cognac, or espresso.
Warm your pajamas in the dryer and put them on absurdly early.
Prep a breakfast casserole for Thanksgiving morning.
Rewatch the classic Thanksgiving episodes:
“The One With the Football” — Friends, Season 3, Episode 9
“A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” — Gilmore Girls, Season 3, Episode 9
“Punkin Chunkin” — Modern Family, Season 3, Episode 9
“Slapsgiving” — How I Met Your Mother, Season 3, Episode 9
“Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap” — How I Met Your Mother, Season 5, Episode 9
Fill the house with “christmas time but not christmas songs” on Spotify.
Swap your phone background to something cozy.
I chose a quilt pattern that reminds me of my Grandma Barb.
Order your holiday cards.
If you’re hosting, lay out your servingware with sticky notes the night before.
Bring a bottle of wine when you’re a guest — if the host has good wine, your bottle becomes a gift; if they have bad wine, it becomes your saving grace.
Download a mindfulness app to get you through the week—or at least for the moment someone says their turkey is dry. :)
Unplug for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — phone down, coffee in hand, pajamas still on.
Reflect on gratitude for yourself — list the qualities, achievements, and capabilities you’re proud to possess.
Have ingredients on hand ready to guzzy up Thanksgiving leftovers.
Pick out an Angel Tree with your family or friends and spoil them recklessly.
Adopt my favorite tradition of the holidays: Exchange your first Christmas ornament of the season with your partner or another loved one on Thanksgiving day.
