19 Hacks to Make Thanksgiving a Piece of . . . Pumpkin Pie
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Between cooking for days and a house full of guests, Thanksgiving can be a chaotic time, to say the least! So in order to avoid a mild panic attack and be able to really enjoy the holiday, we rounded up some amazing hacks that you'll definitely be thankful for. Keep scrolling for 19 sanity-saving tricks that will make Turkey Day a piece of cake — or pumpkin pie!
1. Use leaves as name cards.
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Spray-paint leaves to create personalized, hassle-free name cards your guests will love!
2. Steam veggies in the dishwasher.
Save time steaming all of your vegetables by wrapping them in aluminum foil and throwing them in the dishwasher for a full cycle (including a complete dry cycle).
3. Use a pumpkin as a bowl.
Don't waste your money on holiday serving bowls; pumpkins make a great festive substitute! Just clean out the pumpkin and insert a bowl you already have at home.
4. Quickly chill beer.
Source: YouTube user Hack It
Before the football game comes on, wet a paper towel and wrap it around warm beer bottles. Put them in the fridge, and you'll have chilled beer before kickoff!
5. Use a blowtorch for your sweet potato pie.
Don't burn the marshmallows on your sweet potato pie by baking them in the oven; instead, use a blowtorch for even, golden-brown marshmallows. (Warning: delegate this job to a responsible individual and wait until the kitchen is empty.)
6. Use your crockpot.
Set up your crockpot as a mulled-cider station. It will stay warm the whole evening, and you won't have to play bartender.
7. Open a jar with duct tape.
Source: YouTube user CrazyRussianHacker
If you can't get that jar of cranberries open, we're got just the trick. Wrap duct tape around the side of the lid, fold the tape onto the top, and pull!
8. Make an aluminum foil roasting rack.
Don't have a roasting rack? You can make your own by scrunching up aluminum foil into a figure eight in order to hold your turkey above the pan.
9. Use a makeshift bottle opener.
Use your eyelash curler to open beer bottles when your one traditional bottle opener gets misplaced (you know it will).
10. Drop potatoes in ice water to peel them easily.
Source: YouTube user Chow
Boiling potatoes whole and then dropping them into a bowl of ice water will make them unbelievably easy to peel by hand.
11. Make an ice cream cone cornucopia.
Use ice cream cones to make adorable Thanksgiving cornucopias everyone can take home! Filling them with candy is also a great way to get rid of those Halloween leftovers.
12. Use a beaded necklace to create pie crust designs.
Don't let pie crust decorations stress you out! Just find a beaded necklace and lightly press the pattern into the pie dough. You'll have a beautifully decorated pie in no time.
13. Use a glass as a cookie cutter.
Source: YouTube user Cook123
Use a wine glass or cup to cut perfectly portioned, circular biscuits or cookies.
14. Bake out the bugs on decorative pinecones.
Pinecones make pretty centerpieces and holiday decorations, but don't put them on display until you bake the bugs out! It should only take about 30 minutes at 200°F.
15. Make doily decorations.
Lay a doily on the top of a cake, and sprinkle powdered sugar on it. When you remove the doily, it will leave an elegant decoration your guests will be impressed with.
16. Bake stuffing in muffin pans.
Source: YouTube user Jimonic19
Everyone will get crispy stuffing when you bake individual servings in muffin pans.
17. Use baking soda in your mashed potatoes.
Adding a little baking soda to your mashed potatoes will give them a fluffiness that your guests will be raving about!
18. Safely clean up broken glass.
Don't waste your time trying to pick up tons of little pieces of broken glass by hand; instead, grab a piece of bread and lightly press down. Cleaning up glass has never been so low maintenance!
19. Steam corn in a cooler.
Source: YouTube user Donald Boling
Make enough corn for everyone by putting shucked corn into a cooler, pouring boiling water in, and keeping it closed for 30 minutes.