It’s time to make your last minute Thanksgiving preparations:

• If you are traveling by air, print out your boarding passes before you get to the airport.  Arrive at the airport extra early since the parking lots will be crowded and the security lines will be long.  Make things easier by making sure that you follow TSA guidelines for what you can carry on.  Program your airline’s customer service number into your cell phone and make sure the phone is fully charged.  Keep your charger in your carry-on, just in case.
• If you are traveling by car, expect heavy traffic. (If possible, you might want to try leaving at 1 a.m. on Thursday morning.  The trip will be faster and you’ll still be there in time for lunch.)  You may want to have snacks and water handy in the car. Have something caffeinated available for the driver.  If you are tired, pull into a rest area and take a quick nap. (You can set the alarm on your cell phone.) 
• If you are hosting, set the table so that you have one less thing to do on Thursday morning.  (Obviously, you can’t do this if you need to eat off that table on Wednesday evening.)
• Look over your menu (and the recipes) and make sure that you have all the ingredients you need.  Do any last minute shopping.
• Lay out the serving pieces you will need on Thursday — bowls, serving spoons, knives, pie servers, coffee sets, etc.  Once you’ve decided which bowl to use for which food, mark it with a post-it note so you won’t forget.
• Double-check your timetable to make sure that everything you need to do is on the list and that you haven’t skipped a step.
• Make sure you have containers handy for the inevitable leftovers.  Leftover containers should have a top AND a bottom.  (If your containers are missing tops, you are keeping them why?) Zipper-close bags are not a bad option, especially for turkey and stuffing.  Gravy is more of a challenge.