Who should bring what to a Thanksgiving potluck?

The host usually takes the turkey, since it needs the most oven time. Guests take sides, rolls, pies, and drinks. Anyone travelling a long way should take something that survives the trip, like drinks or bread.

When should I send the sign-up sheet?

Two to three weeks ahead, then again the weekend before. People plan Thanksgiving early, and the good slots go first.

What if a guest wants to bring something not on the list?

Let them, and add a slot for it so nobody else duplicates it. A sign-up sheet is there to prevent gaps and repeats, not to refuse food. Open the manage link, add the dish as a new slot, and it appears on the sheet everyone already has.

Thanksgiving potluck sign up sheet, free to share

Thanksgiving is the one meal of the year where the menu is already decided. That makes it easy to divide, as long as somebody writes down who has the turkey.

Claim the turkey first

The turkey is the one item that cannot be doubled up or skipped, and it takes the most work and the most oven space. Settle it before you share the sheet with anyone else.

Whoever has the turkey should not also have three side dishes. Give that person the lightest load on the rest of the list.

Oven space is the real constraint

Most Thanksgiving problems are not food problems, they are oven problems. Four dishes that each need forty minutes at a different temperature will not work in one kitchen.

Ask people to note whether their dish arrives hot, needs reheating, or is served cold. Put that in the note field. You can then plan the last hour instead of improvising it.

Say when the food should arrive

Put the arrival time in the sheet details, not just the dinner time. If dinner is at three, food should land by two thirty.

Add a slot or two for cleanup. It is the least popular job and the one most worth naming out loud in advance.

Common questions

Who should bring what to a Thanksgiving potluck?: The host usually takes the turkey, since it needs the most oven time. Guests take sides, rolls, pies, and drinks. Anyone travelling a long way should take something that survives the trip, like drinks or bread.
When should I send the sign-up sheet?: Two to three weeks ahead, then again the weekend before. People plan Thanksgiving early, and the good slots go first.
What if a guest wants to bring something not on the list?: Let them, and add a slot for it so nobody else duplicates it. A sign-up sheet is there to prevent gaps and repeats, not to refuse food. Open the manage link, add the dish as a new slot, and it appears on the sheet everyone already has.