10 must-haves for every Thanksgiving host

The list is by Lauren Spagnoletti for PJ Media. I read it to have a good laugh but then was surprised with the excellent advice that applies to all dinner parties.

I keep forgetting certain points especially for smaller gatherings. The dinner will be over and then I'll think, "Oh man, I should have put on the play list."

Spagnoletti elaborates each of these items:

10) Extra plasticware. She means storage containers. So you're not stuck with a bunch of pies or leftovers in bulk that you don't care to have around and could be an excellent thing for people to take home. This is a big one for me. I buy a lot of those Glad storage things. This should be #1.

9) Crafts for kids. I have a whole library of pop-up books that work for adults as well.

8) A lighter dessert option.

7) A non-alcoholic drink option. Well, duh. The link has another link to some good ideas. 16 tasty mocktails. I made the best Bloody Mary with prepared tomato juice and Clamato scant Worcestershire and scant Tabasco and a ton of toasted celery seed and then ruined it by adding vodka.

6) A vegetarian dish. Especially for larger parties. And make it good. Something you'd like yourself. Not a blowoff salad for the crackpot vegetarian. It took me a long time to internalize this. I wen't from regarding vegetarians a massive pain in the ass to advocating their exotic taste and delicate choices. By accident, by following trails of things that I wanted that night I'd turn out really delicious concoctions of roasted vegetables, beans and herbs and go, "wow that was an amazing meal I just invented and it doesn't have any meat in it."

5) Good music. So why isn't everybody digging my 80's synth pop new dark wave electronic alternative rock?  Huh? Got a thing against Depeche Mode? Pfffft. Fine! I'll put on Beath-Hovens's 7th. Opus 92. Everyone will totally get off from its pocco sostenuto vivace, his allegretto and his presto and the final allegro. It's exactly like hard rock except totally different.

4) A new recipe. This is an excellent idea. I had my whole family over here after my parents died. Emotionally, it was real. I prepared an unusual thing considering everything else; shrimp and grits with bacon and cheese kicked up with profound cayenne. Our family never ate any such thing and neither did the new wives and husbands, nor their children. The next day my nephew said, "What? Those were grits? 'Cause I don't eat no grits." Now, how can I ever forget that?

3) A traditional dish. Of course.

2) A killer centerpiece. If it's too tall then it must be removed or people cannot see the person sitting opposite them. That happened a couple of times. Here's how to do it. Get a bunch of crap and pile it up at different heights. Use small boxes, tin cans from your pantry as bases then cover it all with fabric, drape the fabric attractively as if you know what you're doing, then place the objects on the concealed bases, and around them, little pumpkins, flowers, apples, oranges, cornucopia type things, grapes, foliage, squashes, branches, nuts, candles, whatever. The link has a link to a fun seasonal centerpieces. It's all just common sense.

1) Assigned seating.  I've never done this. I suppose people are better at seating themselves than I am. But I have had it done and I think the object was opposite of what is suggested. I think it was done to insist upon contrast, not to avoid discomfort, rather, to create it. It was done to break up couples who will always sit next to each other. The hosts didn't want that.

All in all, an impressive list. Spagnoletti surprised me with this one. Sensible ideas applicable to all dinner parties, not just Thanksgiving. She knows what she is doing. You can tell she learned by experience.