What should guests bring to Thanksgiving?

Whatever does not need your oven. Salads, bread, drinks, desserts, and anything served cold travel well and free up the kitchen for the turkey.

How do I stop everyone bringing the same thing?

Ask for the dish name in the note field when people sign up. It shows on the sheet, so the next person can see that mashed potatoes are covered.

How do I include people who do not cook?

Give them the slots that need buying rather than cooking. Drinks, bread, ice, disposable containers, and paper goods are all genuinely useful and none of them need a kitchen. Say in the details that store-bought is welcome, so nobody opts out feeling they cannot contribute.

Thanksgiving sign up sheet, free and no accounts

Hosting Thanksgiving is mostly logistics. Once the dishes are assigned and somebody has agreed to wash up, the day gets much easier.

Assign dishes, then jobs

Six dish slots covers a full table. Sides, bread, and dessert divide naturally, and guests can put the specific dish in the note.

Then add setup and cleanup. Two people each is enough, and naming them in advance is the difference between a calm evening and a late one.

Give people an arrival window

Put the arrival time in the details and make it earlier than dinner. Food arriving as you serve is the most common Thanksgiving problem.

Ask whether each dish needs the oven, the stove, or nothing at all. Kitchens run out of space before they run out of food.

Plan for leftovers

Ask a couple of people to bring containers. Leftovers are half the reason for the meal and they should not become your problem to store.

Print the sheet and set it out. Guests can see what is coming and put their dish in the right place without asking.

Common questions

What should guests bring to Thanksgiving?: Whatever does not need your oven. Salads, bread, drinks, desserts, and anything served cold travel well and free up the kitchen for the turkey.
How do I stop everyone bringing the same thing?: Ask for the dish name in the note field when people sign up. It shows on the sheet, so the next person can see that mashed potatoes are covered.
How do I include people who do not cook?: Give them the slots that need buying rather than cooking. Drinks, bread, ice, disposable containers, and paper goods are all genuinely useful and none of them need a kitchen. Say in the details that store-bought is welcome, so nobody opts out feeling they cannot contribute.