27 Rules for Winning on Thanksgiving

Thermometer in Turkey

7. Split your grocery shopping into two strategic trips.

The first trip, which you should do a full week before Thanksgiving (before the supermarkets get crowded), is for nonperishables — canned things, flour and sugar, spices, paper towels, foil — anything on your list that doesn't need to be super fresh. Then make a second smaller and easier trip the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to just pick up things like salad greens, any fruit you still need, milk and cream, etc.

The first trip, which you should do a full week before Thanksgiving (before the supermarkets get crowded), is for nonperishables — canned things, flour and sugar, spices, paper towels, foil — anything on your list that doesn’t need to be super fresh. Then make a second smaller and easier trip the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to just pick up things like salad greens, any fruit you still need, milk and cream, etc.