Thanksgiving Lessons-Learned List
Happy Thanksgiving! Here in the U.S.A., today is set aside as a day for worship, family, and food. If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner (or if you’re responsible for any preparations beyond just showing up at Grandma’s house), you will probably spend some part of this holiday consulting a list. You might think your grocery list is the most important, or maybe the to-do list with its carefully ordered steps. Kids of all ages might give their distribution-ready Christmas wish lists the top slot of importance, but the main list for a successful Thanksgiving (or any family holiday involving tons of food) is the one you do after the meal: The Thanksgiving Lessons-Learned List.
I borrowed the concept of the Lessons-Learned List from the project management lingo I encountered in the business world, and it is as simple as it sounds. The last step in any process should be one of evaluation, so that next time, the first steps will be better informed.
What goes on your Thanksgiving Lessons-Learned List? The short answer is anything that you want to incorporate into next year’s planning and preparation. It does not have to be elaborate. The key objective is to preserve the wisdom of the day. These key phrases signal things you might want to include.
1. “Next year, we need to remember…” Whatever it is, you won’t remember. Write it down!
2. “Well, we won’t do that again!” Except… you might! If it seemed like a good idea this year (but wasn’t), add it to your list and you’ll be safe from making the same mistakes twice.
3. “I wish we’d bought more…/We didn’t need so much…” Note food quantities that worked and those that didn’t.
4. “I should have brought…” and next year you will, because it will be on your list.
5. “I finally figured out how…” Don’t re-invent the aluminum foil pie crust shield year after year. Make it easier and write instructions to yourself.
6. “That worked great!” Don’t limit your list to things that could have been better. The creative centerpiece that completed the dinner table, the fancy serving bowls hiding in the back of the cabinet, the game that kept the kids busy until meal time — remind yourself of the little things that worked.
7. “I’m thankful for…” Enjoy the spirit of the day and take a moment to jot down the sweet moments that aren’t about pie or cranberries.
The most crucial step to getting the benefit of this list you’ve made is deciding where to keep it. This is actually the first item on my Thanksgiving Lessons-Learned List for this year, after finding my old list filed with the 2009 receipts. (Apparently I didn’t learn anything last Thanksgiving!)
Whether you schedule your list as a reminder in the calendar on your phone or tape it to the inside cover of your holiday cookbook, make sure to find a safe place for it – but not so safe that you never find it again or even forget that it exists! Its only usefulness lies in your ability to reference your observations into next year and beyond.
Enjoy your Turkey Day and happy listing!
