Sure, it's cozy, but would you want to serve Thanksgiving dinner here?

If there is one thing that I find drool-worthy about a house, it’s a roomy kitchen. I have yet to own one of these, and it is never more painfully evident than when the holidays roll around. Carving pumpkins and decorating cookies are messy enough in a large space, much less in a small space, and then there is the king of holidays in the kitchen: Thanksgiving.

We have hosted a couple of Thanksgiving dinners in our new house, despite the six or eight feet of counter and one small table we have. We probably didn’t think through that much either time. When it was all said and done, though, we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner in our small kitchen, and there were a few things we learned in the process.

Utilize Slow Cookers to Save Time and Space

Slow Cookers not only allow you to start dishes the night before, but many of them also double as serving dishes. This keeps you from filling up your sink with dishes and using multiple pots, pans and serving dishes for just a portion of your meal. If you are like me, your small kitchen is stocked with only the bare necessities due to a lack of space, so you don’t really have the luxury of using multiple pots and pans anyway.

Lots of traditional Thanksgiving dishes can be made in the slow cooker, from desserts to mashed potatoes to meats.  If you only have one slow cooker, ask around to see if you can borrow a couple for the day. They can plug in everywhere and will save you a lot of hassle.

Clean as You Go to Free Serving Space

Here is where I need to practice what I preach. A Thanksgiving meal can generate a lot of dishes, and you can’t really afford that in a small kitchen space. If you will wash pots and pans as you use them, you will save the time washing a huge amount at the end of meal preparation, and you will save the sink space as well.

You will want to consider your serving space, too, before emptying that pot into a serving dish. Deep, round objects will fit well into a confined space while still keeping everything accessible, where rectangular, shallow objects will waste space.

Turn Your Seating Table Into a Serving Table

Although we all love the image of a huge table covered in food and surrounded by family, it is not always in line with reality. Rather than stuffing (no pun intended) all of your food onto a small counter space and then trying to squeeze around a smaller table, consider using your kitchen table as a serving table and rethinking seating. Stack dishes on one end and lay out food in an assembly line style, ending with cups and drinks.

It can be quite cozy to sit around the living room or den, perhaps with a fire going. When the alternative is cramming into a too-small space, it is even more appealing. Careful- you might find it hard to get off of the couch after that second helping!

Make it a Thanksgiving Pot-Luck

One of the most stress free Thanksgivings we have had have been in pot-luck style, where everyone brings a dish. This cuts back immensely on the amount of preparation that you have to do, so you can focus on the main dishes and setting up your space.

We have had a couple of wonderful, successful Thanksgiving meals in our rather small kitchen. I would love to serve a meal in a big kitchen, though! If you had to choose one or the other, would you prefer more counter space or more table space?

Photo credit to audinou, anathea