For some, the idea of getting the whole family together during Thanksgiving brings incredible joy. For others, the seemingly bottomless to-do list coupled with coping with relatives carries an onslaught of anxiety. So yeah, Thanksgiving is kind of a weird holiday. With so many responsibilities, tasks, family reunions, elaborate dinners, first-time introductions, and many other tiny little details that demand your attention at once, it’s easy to feel worried. And as we can see from the examples in this list, not everyone can handle the pressure.

Surprisingly, a 2022 TODAY survey found that the most stressful part of the holiday is the mess and all of the cleaning that follows. However, cooking ranked as the number two stress point for poll participants. It’s easy to see why, as stuffing yourself and your loved ones up until the point you cannot move anymore definitely requires a ton of effort.

While 21% of Thanksgiving merrymakers said that nothing about the holiday was stressful, others mentioned that additional anxiety-inducing situations include political conversations, kids' behavior, travel, and the expectations of relatives.

Moreover, the high expectations from friends and family about dinner can make everything even more overwhelming. Interestingly, a survey conducted by OnePoll found that when it comes to cooking, preparing, and serving the Thanksgiving Day meal, the average American says six things don’t go exactly as planned.

The meal that’s most likely to go wrong? You guessed it — turkey, the centerpiece of the celebration. It is the hardest part about hosting the feast for more than half (56%) of the respondents surveyed.

So how can we avoid unfortunate blunders during the holiday? And how can we ensure we have a great, stress-free time while hosting a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner? To gain more insight on the topic from an expert, we reached out to food lover, writer, and journalist Ellen Manning. Being the author of the acclaimed Eat With Ellen blog, she was more than happy to share her thoughts on the matter.

When asked why big feasts are notorious for not going as planned, she told Bored Panda, "If you think about it, it’s very rare that most of us cook for a big group so we basically never practice then try to pull it out of the bag on big occasions."

"Cooking for large numbers takes practice — it’s daunting, timings might be different, and things might need approaching in a different way. If the last time you did it was a year ago, the chances are it’s going to be a challenge, hence it often goes wrong," Ellen added.

Some of the most common reasons things go wildly wrong when cooking and preparing food are bad timing and not starting early enough. "Prep is important at the best of times but when it’s large volumes for lots of people, it’s even more so," the food blogger warned.

So what can you do to ease the stress and avoid screw-ups in the kitchen? Well, according to Ellen, it’s quite simple: "Plan plan plan."

"Work out what you need, what order you’re doing things in, and do as much ahead of time as you can. Literally working backward from when you plan to serve and writing yourself out a step-by-step timeline, down to the minute maybe, will make you feel in control and ensure things don’t get forgotten or left or cooked for too long," Ellen concluded.