If you’re already starting to stress about the holidays and everything that goes along with trying to make the perfect meals, we’ve got some tips straight from Nashville on how to prepare for Thanksgiving. And it’s not just drinking Jack Daniels!

  • Delegate! Do a potluck with a Nashville Meat & Three! Turkey is a tradition at Thanksgiving of course, but so are ham, brisket, pulled pork and baby back ribs over this way. Potluck isn’t just for sides. Ask your guests to bring all of the meats!
  • Have a Plan! Working the plan is key when trying to serve up the entire meal hot and making sure you have enough food to go around! The best way to do this is by knowing what everyone is bringing. This will help you figure out what space you need to leave open in the oven, outlets for crockpots, timing for serving the apps, etc. Speaking of apps … you know we love apps … we recommend using SignUp Genius. While the holiday is a gathering with family and friends, it is still an event that takes coordination. Using an app shows your guests that you’re serious about them having a great time.
  • Be Specific! Instead of leaving it open-ended for people to contribute to the potluck, make sure the basics are covered by providing dishes that need to be made. Our favorite sides for the Meat & Three Thanksgiving are cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, broccoli and rice casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry relish, homemade rolls, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese, jalepeno cheese grits and biscuits and gravy. Cobblers and pies for dessert! Of course, people have their signature dishes they love to bring, so you can still encourage those items to be part of the dinner too.
  • Have Surprises! Leave your guests with something fun they can take with them besides just the leftovers. The last thing people are thinking about when they are stuffed after Thanksgiving Dinner is eating it all over again. GooGoo Clusters and MoonPies make great Nashville party favors after any dinner, but especially Thanksgiving Dinner. And with all of the work that goes into Thanksgiving, party favors make this feel like the event that it is.
  • Take Mental Breaks! Lots of them. Starting now. While there is work to be done, the process should still be fun. You are bringing everyone together to give thanks, and we don’t want to lose site of that because our To Do List is overwhelming. Nothing relaxes us more than music here in Music City so we’ve created a Spotify Playlist (just download the app!) of some of our favorite Thanksgiving songs. Those include, “Most People Are Good” (Luke Bryan), “The Good Stuff” (Kenny Chesney), “Down This Road” (Cam), “Somebody to Thank” (Logan Mize), “Family Tradition” (Hank Williams, Jr), “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert), “Family Tree” (Caylee Hammack), “Take Me Home Country Roads” (John Denver), “Coat of Many Colors” (Dolly Parton), “Blessings” (Florida Georgia Line), “My Frontporch Looking In” (Lonestar) and “Home” (Dierks Bentley). Plus, our celebrity bartender and country artist, Kensie Coppin’s “Drinkin Song” is perfect for party planning. If you have a song that should be added, let us know! We also included some vacation songs on the playlist because nothing calms us down like going to our happy places. With a fruity drink. Or Jack on the rocks.

Take a Break. Turn on Music. Grab a Drink. Be Thankful.

If you need help planning your next event or need us to deliver those drinks, please contact us at Manager@rBARapp.com.