Last-Minute Thanksgiving Tips

Summary

The Wirecutter Show: Last-Minute Thanksgiving Tips – Detailed Summary

Episode Overview In the "Last-Minute Thanksgiving Tips" episode of The Wirecutter Show, hosts Christine Cyr Clisset and Kyra Blackwell, along with producer Rosie Guerin, collaborate with Wirecutter’s expert journalists to deliver a comprehensive guide for making Thanksgiving seamless and enjoyable. Released on November 27, 2024, this episode provides actionable advice spanning from thoughtful hostess gifts to emergency bathroom solutions, ensuring listeners are well-prepared for the holiday festivities.

---

1. Thoughtful Host and Hostess Gifts

Expert Contributor: Hannah Morrell, Editor on the Wirecutter Style Team
Timestamp: [04:34]

Hannah Morrell offers practical and elegant gift ideas perfect for last-minute Thanksgiving guests:

• Graza Olive Oil Bottles: Available at Whole Foods and Target, these squeezy bottles are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. "The packaging's really cute," Hannah notes, emphasizing their chef-inspired design.
• Taza Chocolate Bars: These unique, round discs come in various flavors and are ideal for sharing. "They're just so cool and so delicious," Hannah enthuses.
• Banana Games (e.g., Bananagrams): Perfect for enhancing the social experience, these games are easy to transport and set up, fostering interactive fun among guests.

Notable Quotes:

• "Anything you can do to make it look prettier to add a bow or a ribbon... can elevate it and make it feel more special." — Hannah Morrell [04:42]

---

2. Practical Items for Guests to Bring

Expert Contributor: Rose Laurie, Senior Staff Writer at Wirecutter
Timestamp: [07:39]

Rose Laurie suggests practical items guests can bring to alleviate the host’s burden:

• Personal Apron: Demonstrates willingness to help in the kitchen. "Bring your own apron. Show me how much you are willing to help," advises Rose.
• Leftover Containers: Allows guests to take home their meals without the host needing to manage additional storage.
• Portable Stain Remover: A proactive gesture to handle any spills, preventing stains on host linens. "Bring whatever your stain remover of choice is... just give them a fighting chance at like getting that tablecloth back to its most pristine condition."
• Ice with Cooler: Solves the problem of needing ice without burdening the host with storage logistics.

Notable Quotes:

• "The feeling of getting that help without having to ask for it is just a fantastic feeling." — Rose Laurie [07:54]

---

3. Enhancing Travel with Audiobooks and Podcasts

Expert Contributor: Lauren Dragon, Senior Staff Writer at Wirecutter
Timestamp: [12:05]

Lauren Dragon provides recommendations for engaging audio content to make Thanksgiving travel more enjoyable:

• Podcasts: Suitable for all ages, including Brains On!, Once Upon a Beat, Smallogies with Alie Ward, and Radiolab for Kids.
• Audiobooks: Classics like Mouse on the Motorcycle and The Hobbit, or newer titles like Montgomery Bon Bon Murder at the Museum by Alastair Beckett-King.

Pro Tips:

• Pre-download Content: Ensures uninterrupted listening during travel.
• Use an Extra-Long Cable: Allows passengers to control playback without distracting the driver.

Notable Quotes:

• "There’s nothing worse than hitting a dead zone in the middle of nowhere and then whatever you are enjoying suddenly stops." — Lauren Dragon [12:19]

---

4. Optimizing TV Settings for Holiday Entertainment

Expert Contributor: Lee Neikirk, Senior Staff Writer on Wirecutter's AV Team
Timestamp: [16:45]

Lee Neikirk shares tips to enhance the television viewing experience during Thanksgiving:

• Adjust Picture Mode: Switch from default settings like "vivid" or "standard" to "filmmaker mode" or "movie/cinema."
• Disable Motion Smoothing: Reduces the "soap opera effect" for a more cinematic experience.
• Optimize Sound Settings: Use modes like "Amplify" or "Dialogue Boost" to enhance clarity, especially when using built-in TV speakers.

Notable Quotes:

• "We just recommend changing it to filmmaker mode and that's gonna be really accurate." — Lee Neikirk [16:52]
• "Just move it to something like Amplify or Dialogue boost is usually good." — Lee Neikirk [17:30]

---

5. Handling Emergency Situations: Clogged Toilets

Expert Contributor: Ellen Earhart, Wirecutter’s Expert on Emergency Preparedness and Sanitation
Timestamp: [19:49]

Ellen Earhart provides step-by-step guidance for managing a clogged toilet during the holiday rush:

• Locate the Water Valve: Typically found at the base of the toilet to stop water flow. "You can just turn off that valve and then the water will stop." [20:00]
• Proper Plunging Technique: Fill the plunger with water to prevent splashback. "Be sure to fill it with water before you start plunging." [20:30]
• When to Call a Plumber: If all else fails, don’t hesitate to seek professional help to avoid further complications.

Notable Quotes:

• "You need to know where the water valve is on the toilet... then the water will stop." — Ellen Earhart [20:05]
• "It's part of life... the bathroom." — Christine Cyr Clisset [19:30]

---

6. Efficiently Washing Delicate Stemware

Expert Contributor: Michael Sullivan, Staff Writer at Wirecutter
Timestamp: [30:50]

Michael Sullivan advises on safely cleaning stemware to prevent breakages:

• Use a Dishwasher: Washing wine glasses in the dishwasher reduces the risk of dropping them. "Definitely, definitely wash them that way." [30:55]
• Adjust Rack Levels: Most dishwashers allow rack adjustments to accommodate long-stemmed glasses.
• Hand Washing Exceptions: Avoid dishwashers for glasses with gold, platinum, or hand-painted elements to preserve their integrity.

Notable Quotes:

• "Save your thumbs and get those glasses in the dishwasher top rack." — Rosie Guerin [32:07]

---

7. Creative Uses for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Expert Contributor: Sam Sifton, Founder and Editor of New York Times Cooking
Timestamp: [32:45]

Sam Sifton offers inventive recipes to utilize turkey leftovers effectively:

• Turkey Toasts: Combine shredded dark meat with gravy, served on toast with cranberry sauce and greens, potentially surpassing the original meal in flavor.
• Turkey Stock for Gumbo: Utilize the carcass to create a rich stock, ideal for a flavorful turkey gumbo incorporating ingredients like andouille sausage and chicken thighs. "Gumbo improves after sitting for a little while." [33:10]

Notable Quotes:

• "You've got this empty carcass that should go into a stock pot to create a really rich and delicious turkey stock." — Sam Sifton [33:00]

---

8. Extending the Holiday Season: Embracing Christmas Early

Expert Contributor: Ben Fruman, Editor in Chief of Wirecutter
Timestamp: [35:18]

Ben Fruman shares his personal approach to the holiday season, blending Thanksgiving preparations with early Christmas festivities:

• Dual Christmas Trees: Setting up two Christmas trees as a way to extend the festive spirit. "Having a Christmas tree and sitting around with my family... is just this warm, beautiful, charming time." [35:40]
• Inclusivity and Blending Traditions: Embracing Christmas despite his Jewish upbringing to create a harmonious family environment.

Notable Quotes:

• "This year, I set up two Christmas trees. That's right. In my house." — Ben Fruman [35:41]
• "The holiday season, inclusive of Christmas, is just this warm, beautiful, charming time with friends and with family." — Ben Fruman [35:50]

---

Conclusion and Personal Takeaways

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the diverse range of tips shared by their colleagues:

• Kyra Blackwell: Plans to introduce Bananagrams to her family's game rotation. "I'm gonna switch up my family's annual game." [38:03]
• Rosie Guerin: Intends to utilize dishwasher tips to manage glassware efficiently. "I'm doing wine glasses in the dishwasher." [38:19]
• Christine Cyr Clisset: Emphasizes the importance of having engaging audio content for family interactions. "Having some podcasts tuned up will be very helpful." [38:32]

Final Thoughts: The episode underscores the value of preparedness and proactive thinking in ensuring a smooth and enjoyable Thanksgiving celebration. From thoughtful gifting and practical travel tips to handling unexpected emergencies and creatively using leftovers, The Wirecutter Show equips listeners with the tools they need to navigate the holiday season with ease.

---

Notable Quotes Summary:

• "Think thoughtfully and proactively about what your host might appreciate." — Rosie Guerin [10:20]
• "I like the tip around putting the ice in the cooler. Like I brought ice to people's homes before, but I never thought about bringing a cooler." — Christine Cyr Clisset [10:19]
• "Just a tap, tap, tap. Take like way more than you think you would need." — Phil Ryan [27:02]
• "If you have really long stemware, that's a way that you can get them to fit." — Michael Sullivan [31:59]
• "Start getting ready for Christmas... set up two Christmas trees." — Ben Fruman [35:18]

---

Resources & Further Reading: For more detailed tips and product recommendations mentioned in this episode, listeners can visit nytimes.com/wirecutter or check the show notes for direct links to each expert’s full advice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Transcript

[Apple Pay Ad]

This podcast is brought to you by Apple Pay. When you've got a gift list to finish, the last thing you want to do is take out your wallet a million times. Instead, pay the Apple way. With Apple Pay, you can pay with a phone you're already holding. Just double click, smile at face ID tap, and you're done. The people in line behind you will thank you. Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payment Services, llc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

From the New York Times, you're listening to the Wirecutter Show.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Hey, everyone, it's the Wirecutter Show. I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I'm Christine Cyrclassette.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I'm Rosie Guerin. And we work at Wirecutter, the product recommendation site from the New York Times.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Each week we bring you expert advice from Our newsroom of 140 journalists who review everyday products that will make your life better. Better.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

This episode of the Wirecutter show is called Last Minute Thanksgiving Tips.

[Rosie Guerin]

Christine and Kyra. It's almost Thanksgiving.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I know.

[Rosie Guerin]

Fall flew. It's fast.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I can't even believe it.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It's winter now.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah, it's right up on us. And I feel like there's a lot that goes into Thanksgiving prep that rolls right into holiday prep. And there's always this feeling, at least for me, like I've forgotten something or there's something else I could do or bring or, you know.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, life is so busy at this point, too. Like, if you got kids, you're dealing with all that stuff. If you're traveling to Thanksgiving, there's a lot to think about. And, yeah, it can feel a little overwhelming. I mean, we did our episode a couple weeks ago for how to get ready for the meal, but there's a lot more than just the meal at Thanksgiving, you know?

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah, I agree. So I think we should do something a little bit different and zoom out and get some advice from our colleagues at Wirecutter more broadly, because there are so many things to think about.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. We have a lot of people on staff who can actually bring you some very enlightening tips, tips on how to navigate this.

[Rosie Guerin]

So let's get into it. Let's hear from some of our colleagues at Wirecutter. That's what this episode is going to be about. We're going to hear a lot of tips. We'll talk them through. Hopefully, there'll be some advice that you can take with you on your Thanksgiving.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah. And keep in mind, we know that we're publishing this the day before Thanksgiving, so all of this can be done the day of and you know, following through Christmas if you want.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, I mean, it's all last minute stuff that you really don't have to buy anything for the most part, certainly don't have to have anything shipped to you. So it's stuff you can either pick up on the way to the party or use stuff you already have. Mm.

[Rosie Guerin]

We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back with our colleagues from Wirecutter.

[Apple Pay Ad]

This podcast is brought to you by Apple Pay. During the holidays, I'm a big online shopper thanks to Apple Pay, and that's because I don't have to waste time typing all my info into those long checkout forms. Plus, Apple Pay is made to be secure thanks to the built in technology of Face id, which is designed so that only I can authorize payments this season, do what I do and pay the Apple way. Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payment Services, llc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer.

[Rosie Guerin]

What I like about the New York.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Times app is how much variety it gives me.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I start my day with a cup.

Of coffee and wordle and Connections, which.

[Apple Pay Ad]

Is all in the New York Times app.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

It's well organized, it's multimedia.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I can also save my articles easily in this area.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I can add politics or Paul Krugman for Jamelle Bowie.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I like him.

[Rosie Guerin]

I like that the cooking tab on.

[Apple Pay Ad]

Top is really easily accessible.

[Unnamed Speaker]

So if I'm on my way home and I'm just thinking, oh, what am.

I going to make for dinner?

I'll just quickly go on to cooking.

[Apple Pay Ad]

And say, oh, I've got this in my pantry. The photos are just phenomenal.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I have my saved articles, my entire.

[Unnamed Speaker]

History, which is actually very interesting.

[Lee Neikirk]

I'm just scrolling through the home tab.

[Unnamed Speaker]

There's already so much stuff.

[Lee Neikirk]

I'm like, oh, interesting.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I spent a lot of time too on Wirecutter.

[Apple Pay Ad]

I like that it's just right there. I loved how much content it exposed me to.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Things that I never would have thought to turn to a news app for.

[Unnamed Speaker]

The New York Times app.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

All the times all in one place. Download it [e-mail] app welcome back to the Wirecutter Show. This episode, we're passing the mic to our colleagues at Wirecutter for some last minute tips for making Thanksgiving awesome this year. Okay, so to start, we've got some tips on what you want to do before you Arrive at the party or at the event.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, that's right. So first up, we have some tips from our colleague Hannah Moral about what might make a good last minute host or hostess gift. Let's hear it. Hey, guys.

[Apple Pay Ad]

This is Hannah Morrell. I'm an editor on the Wirecutter style team covering gifts and beauty. And the newest thing I'm absolutely obsessed with are these Graza olive oil bottles. So you could get that at Whole Foods. I see them at Target. It's really great olive oil that we love that comes in these squeezy bottles. Kind of like how, you know, chefs and restaurants would use squeezy olive oil. It has like a lime green top. The packaging's really cute. So I think bringing a bottle of that with some really nice bread, like sourdough bread or something like that is super easy. You could do it the day of. That's idea number one. I love that one. Idea number two is chocolate, but not just any chocolate. We love these chocolate bars from a brand called Taza. And they're these little round discs and they come in a range of flavors and they're just so cool and so delicious. I recently saw those at Whole Foods. You can also buy them online really easily. They come in a big pack. And so it would be a great idea to buy like a couple packs of those Taza chocolates and sort of have them on hand for over the course of the holidays. The other thing I've done before is buy like a bunch of the Tony Chocolone bars and bring those when I've really not had an idea. And it's always really well appreciated and something people wouldn't buy for themselves. Another thing I think is a great hostess gift is a little game. It's something you can, like, use the day of if you're going somewhere. We really love Bananagrams. It's kind of like a Scrabble with less rules. It comes in this little, like, banana shaped pouch. You can pick that up absolutely anywhere, buy it online or buy it at Target or wherever. I think the sort of guiding principles here are things that actually, like, expand the experience of being together and always think it's just like the gesture, not the cost. And anything you can do to make it look prettier to add a bow or a ribbon or, you know, like, take off the price tag, unwrap something so it's not in plastic. Those things, like, elevate it and make it feel more special. So happy holidays. I hope this helps. Bye. Bye.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Ooh. I like these Ideas.

[Kyra Blackwell]

She's a wealth of ideas.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. I would totally appreciate receiving a beautiful little stack of chocolates or the Graza olive oil, which I've used. I love it. I've noticed it's pretty widely available at this point.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, you see it everywhere. Even for people who don't really cook, you always need to grab a bottle of olive oil at some point.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, it's like kind of a universally good one. I think that's good.

[Rosie Guerin]

I like this idea of giving a gift that's gonna enhance the experience of being together. That's really nice. I think Banana grams, although I have played and have gotten very competitive and then very, like, cranky about it. So I would say know your.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. Know your. Know the vibe of the group you're going to be entering into. But yeah, I think those are all very approachable. And a few of those are ones you can just do the morning of Thanksgiving if you're looking for some.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah. Well, now we actually have another tip about some things that you might want to bring to Thanksgiving if you're a guest. But these aren't gifts necessarily. They're just more practical things that might come in handy and make your host or hostess feel seen.

[Rose Laurie]

Hi, my name is Rose Laurie and I am a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. I have four ideas for what you might want to bring if you are going to be a guest at someone else's Thanksgiving. To me, as the person that needs to actually make this feast happen, I like guests who help proactively. So one thing I suggest. Bring your own apron. Show me how much you are willing to help. Don't make me find an apron for you to put on. Ask me what you can do. Again, some people think this is very offensive because some people really feel pride and almost territorialism about their kitchens. I'm not that way. If you know that your host is that way and just wants to do things themselves, don't do this. But for someone who might look overwhelmed or flustered, even if they're an experienced cook, it happens to everyone. The feeling of getting that help without having to ask for it is just a fantastic feeling. Okay, tip number two, bring your own leftover containers. For me, there's only so many leftovers I can eat. And also, I don't want to give away my good leftover containers and have to keep track of getting them back, et cetera. So bring whatever you want. It can be your own leftover deli container from the last time you got Chinese takeout. It can be a pyrex whatever you want to do. And then if you feel comfortable offering to, you know, help box stuff up and asking if you can take something, then go right ahead. And if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then don't. The third thing, no one's done this in my life yet, but man, if you want to be my best friend, here we go. Bring whatever your stain remover, your portable handy stain remover of choice is a Tide pen, Tide and Oxy. Make like a co branded spray in like a travel size bottle that I love. Ask if you can do some stain prep, some preliminary stain removal for your host. You know, you just spray it on. It doesn't bother anybody. It just soaks in and just give them a fighting chance at like getting that tablecloth back to its most pristine condition. And then a reader suggested which I really like to bring ice because it's very easy to pick up. The gas station will probably have it, it's very cheap. But then bring it in your own cooler. So again, you're solving problems in advance for the host. If you just bring them a bag of ice, then they have to stop everything and find room for that in their freezer or wherever. You know, if their own cooler, they have to go in the basem and get the cooler, solve all the problems in advance and just sort of do things to lighten the load for the.

[Rosie Guerin]

Harried host, Rose Laurie coming in hot.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Very hot with the tip. I like that tip around putting the ice in the cooler. Like I brought ice to people's homes before, but I never thought about bringing a cooler.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, it's super helpful.

[Rosie Guerin]

Honestly. I think the theme of these tips is like thinking thoughtfully and proactively about what your host might appreciate and what kind of guest you feel like you can be. And they're not gonna be for everyone because not everyone is gonna appreciate, you know, if you bring leftover containers or whatever. But I think some people really will.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, I think it kind of depends on your relationship. Like I would do these tips with my sister. I might not do them for like a friend that I don't know super, super well. Oh, and then one thing we should remind listeners about with anytime you're using a like a Tide pen, good idea to just do a to make sure it doesn't bleach out the fabric in a way that the host may not want.

[Kyra Blackwell]

But also like you could just use it on yourself. Like, I'm a messy eater. I'm sure I could always use a Tide pen in my pocket.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, like spilled wine or something like that.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I feel like if I brought my own apron to a party, people would automatically assume it's because I need a bib, so.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

And maybe you do. I don't know. Maybe I do. I definitely do sometimes.

[Rosie Guerin]

Kairos Thanksgiving BYO bib.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

All right, so let's transition into the next tip. You know, this weekend, the Thanksgiving through Sunday. These are some of the biggest travel days of the year. And I don't know, I find traveling during times of high traffic extremely stressful with my family, and long road trips are kind of stressful. So I personally love to have some recommendations on what to listen to that's sort of good for a wide variety of ages. We're going to hear from a friend of the pod, Lauren Dragon, who's going to talk about great podcasts and audiobooks to listen to that you can listen to with kids and adults. Lauren covers audio equipment for Wirecutter, and we talked to her a few weeks ago about hearing health on the show. So, you know, her suggestions are going to be great.

[Lauren Dragon]

Hi, I'm Lauren Dragon, senior staff writer at Wirecutter. I cover headphones, hearing aids, and other audio stuff. So, as you might expect, audio plays a big part of our road trips. In my family, we naturally love podcasts, but, you know, we try to find some that we all agree on. So it has to be stuff that we as adults like listening to, too. Some that we've really enjoyed are for younger listeners. Wow. In the world, there's Brains on Once Upon a Beat, all really solid tweens. We like Smallogies with Alie Ward. Radiolab for kids is great. And then as you get a little older, 99% invisible and 20,000 Hertz are both really great shows about sort of things you use in everyday life or things you hear in everyday life and the stories behind them. Another option, audiobooks. Is there like a classic that you loved as a kid, like Mouse on the Motorcycle or the Hobbit. It's a great way to revisit it. Or you can do something totally new. A newer book we're really into right now is Montgomery Bon Bon Murder at the Museum. It's by Alastair Beckett King. It's actually becoming a series. There's three, I think, so far, probably for like seven or eight and up. It is legitimately funny and an actually good mystery. And the author is hilarious. Like, his reading is fantastic. So highly recommend that. Now a couple pro tips to make sure everything goes smoothly. First of all, download as much as you can before you go because there's nothing worse than hitting a dead zone in the middle of nowhere and then whatever you are enjoying suddenly stops. Anything you can do to get it ahead of time to have a little bit of backup is great. Second, if you connect your phone via cable, get an extra long one so you can hand your phone back to your kids in the back seats. That way they can select songs while the current one is playing, and it keeps you from having a lot of big gaps between songs. So there you go. I hope these help and I hope you have a fantastic safe road trip and holiday.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I loved those tips. I am not familiar with most of those podcasts and I'll be looking them up. And I love that chord recommendation because I find myself, I'm always having to play DJ in the front of the car and it's very annoying. So it'd be nice if the kids could do it from the back.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, I do like that she mentioned a podcast that I personally love that I actually forgot about. 99% Invisible has a great episode about why Toronto trash cans are the way they are and it's because of their raccoon population. Stuff like that. You do.

[Rosie Guerin]

I don't know.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I feel like I wouldn't really listen to that on the train, but when I'm stuck in a car, it's something that I can actually tune into and, like, pay attention to.

[Rosie Guerin]

Another recommendation I got from my friend Madison is Sesame Street Story Time. This is obviously for little, little kids, but they're stories that are from the Sesame street universe, and it's really sweet.

[Apple Pay Ad]

Really?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

These are, like, you know, mini audio books from Sesame street, and that's a really fun way to pass the time in the car.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I love that.

[Rosie Guerin]

And actually, for kids a bit older and adults. Definitely adults. The Good Whale from our colleagues at Serial Productions, it's the story of a wildly ambitious science experiment to return Keiko, the orca star of Free Willy. Do you remember the movie Free Willy?

[Kyra Blackwell]

I've heard of it. I've never seen it.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah, it's about the experiment to return Keiko back to the ocean.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Well, I actually have a very close connection to Keiko because my dad's part of his business. The building was, like, right next to this aquarium where Keiko lived for many years in Newport, Oregon. That is wild. Yeah. And so we would go see Keiko at the aquarium. So I'm very. I definitely want to listen to that podcast with my kids.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Now we've got a few tips about things you might be thinking about during your Gathering with your friends and family. So first up, I know a lot of families like to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade or football.

[Rosie Guerin]

Do you know what we watch?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I would never watch football.

[Rosie Guerin]

Christine's not watching. Every year I like to watch Miracle on 34th street on Thanks.

[Lauren Dragon]

Oh.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Did I just date myself or you?

[Rosie Guerin]

Both. That's what's so damaging. Both at once. I'll tell you later what Miracle on 34th street is, but that's a thing that we like to watch every Thanksgiving morning.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So we've actually got our TV writer with a couple of tips to just talk about how to make sure your TV is set up perfectly to watch whatever you'll be watching. Not football for Christine, some random movie I've never heard of for Rosie. Yeah, let's hear it.

[Lee Neikirk]

Hi, I'm Lee Neikirk and I'm a senior staff writer on Wirecutter's AV team. I have some quick tips on setting up either your TV or like if you're at your parents house, your parents TV just to make it look better. I feel like a lot of people say they go to their parents house and they can't stand the way their TV looks. Either it's like super bright or it looks all like soap opera Y or they can't hear the dialogue. You can't always fix all of them, but there are some pretty quick ways to eliminate most of those problems. And people watch a lot of TV TV on Thanksgiving. So the first tip is to just change the TV's picture mode. And this is really easy. You want to find just a button that says settings. If it doesn't say settings it's probably going to be a little gear icon. And from there there'll be a menu that says picture. And from there there'll be a series of picture modes. Most TVs are in either vivid or standard by default. Both of those don't look as good as they could. We just recommend changing it to filmmaker mode and that's gonna be really accurate. And if you don't have filmmaker mode, go with movie or cinema. The next tip is to turn off motion smoothing. You may have heard this called the soap opera effect. This one can be a little tricky because every manufacturer just about calls it a different thing. You really just want to turn everything off. There's one more and this is to pick the right sound mode. If you have a TV that's just using its built in speakers, they're pretty much universally bad because the TVs are so small they don't have room for big speakers. If you're having trouble hearing dialogue in shows or movies or like, you find that, oh, the soundtrack is much louder, louder than the sound effects or whatever, you can go in. Instead of the picture menu, there'll be an audio menu. And there's no really best setting because it varies from brand to brand. But you may as well go and just move it to something like Amplify or Dialogue boost is usually good.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I read his guide a while ago because I bought a really cheap projector for my bedroom and I just couldn't see anything, even if it was pitch black in there. And I changed the picture setting to. It actually had a cinematic feature and suddenly I could see. And it was amazing.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

So it helped.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I'm gonna use these tips because I wanna impress my husband. He's always the one who fiddles with the TV to make it look better because he's always fiddling with the TV whenever we go somewhere that is not our home. So if I did it, he'd be really impressed. But I am gonna have to look at Lee's very in depth article. We'll have the instructions linked in the show notes. And the article is called 5 Things Our TV Expert does to Instantly Improve a TV's Performance.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, go check it out.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

All right. So now that we've got the TV situation set up, we're taking a hard turn actually here to something that is maybe a little. Maybe some of you listening will think this is kind of gross, but I think it's actually pretty important. We're pivoting to a different room in the house.

[Rosie Guerin]

It's part of life.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

It's part of life. The bathroom, when you have guests over, and maybe when you're going to someone's house. We know that sometimes things can go wrong and the. The toilet can clog.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Right?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Oh, God, this is my worst nightmare, truly.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

So let's hear from one of our expert colleagues on what to do if you have a clogged toilet.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Hello, my name is Ellen Earhart, and I cover emergency preparedness and sanitation at Wirecutter. At Thanksgiving or over the holidays, we often have households with a lot of different people there. It can take a real toll on your pipes. There can even be little kids that might stick stuff down the toilet, but clogs happen, and it's important to know what to do in a situation where you have a clogged toilet. The water's probably rising. You might be panicking a little. Your first instinct will probably be to somehow try to get the water off and you should follow that instinct. You should know where the water valve is on the toilet. Usually it's at the base of the toilet. That will close out the water to the toilet. In case something blocks it and the water is running and you're worried it's going to float over the toilet. You can just turn off that valve and then the water will stop. Alternatively, if you can't find that valve, you can take off the top of the toilet and take out the floating thing and the water should also stop. The other part of that advice to avoid getting water all over your like gross water all over yourself and the bathroom is when you do go in with the plunger, be sure to fill it with water before you start plunging. Otherwise you can get some splashback. You stick it inside the toilet bowl and you tip it over so that it can fill with water before you plunge it underneath the water. You can call for help if you aren't embarrassed and you can't get the clog out. But if that doesn't work, if you're dad, uncle, grandparents, mom, everyone has tried, then it might be time to call a plumber. I hope everyone has a festive, joyful drama. Free Thanksgiving.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Watching Kyra's face during that explanation was maybe the most fun I've had in a long time.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I can just feel my heart beating like the sweat just starting to pool around my my temples. Like that feeling of thinking that you're about to ruin your Thanksgiving because everybody's gonna know the toilet overflowed. Are you serious?

[Rosie Guerin]

To me, the main tip actually is to have the plunger readily available so one does not have to ask. Also, we should reiterate that the fill the plunger before you stick it in the bowl trick will only work with a bulb shaped plunger. So check and make sure that that's the kind of of plunger you have. And to be honest, this is actually a really epic piece of advice, I think.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, life changing.

[Rosie Guerin]

Life potentially life changing.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay, well on that note, I think we're going to go to break and then when we come back we're going to just keep the tips rolling for how to solve all your Thanksgiving last minute problems.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, hopefully they won't be so like disgusting.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I think we're through the worst of it.

[Apple Pay Ad]

This podcast is brought to you by Apple Pay. During the holidays, I'm a big online shopper thanks to Apple Pay. And that's because I don't have to waste time typing all my info into those long checkout forms. Plus, Apple Pay is made to be secure thanks to the built in technology of Face id, which is designed so that only I can authorize payments this season. Do what I do and pay the Apple way. Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payment Services llc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Welcome back to the Wirecutter Show. For today's episode, we reached out to all our colleagues in the Wirecutter newsroom for last minute Thanksgiving prep advice. Things that may have slipped between the cracks in the lead up to the holidays, like optimizing your TV to watch a football game with family or ideas for last minute host gifts you can scoop up on the way to Thanksgiving dinner. We're going to hear now from our colleague James Austin, a staff writer covering games and hobbies for Wirecutter.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that many of us have had a situation like this on Thanksgiving or really any big gathering. You're just sitting around the table or the living room before or after the meal and people are just sort of awkwardly making conversation. So James has some really useful advice. Let's hear it.

[Unnamed Speaker]

What we're going to cover today is just things you can do with what you probably already have in your house, which is a 52 card deck. We found a website called paget.com, p A G A which is for my money, the most comprehensive online directory of card games rules. It's run by a wonderful British professor who hasn't updated the website design since 1995, but it's very good at giving you new card games to play. Just a quick recommendation from me. My family, especially on Thanksgiving or when we're gathering, plays a game called oh Hell, which is a trick taking game. You can find rules for the game on paget.com, it's wonderful. Would highly recommend aside from more traditional card games like, you know, Go Fish or other trick takers like spades and hearts, what I would Recommend For a 52 card deck, you can adjust and change it. So one of our card game recommendations is a game called Skull, which is one of the best bluffing games I have ever played. It's really fun. It's great at revealing sort of social interactions and it's great to play with people you know, because I mean, you can tell when your family's lying and that's the whole point of the game. Another fun sort of social interactive game that you might know, it's a game called Mafia, otherwise known as Werewolf. Sometimes each player gets A card, and the cards are assigned roles. And there are two teams, really. There's the mafia team and everybody else. Goal of the Mafia players is to be the last people standing. Goal of the everybody else is to get rid of all the mafia players. It's a really fun sort of, again, social and conversational game built as kind of a parlor game, which is great for any sort of Thanksgiving or family gathering when you have a lot of people and kind of want to entertain for a little while, not talk about things that you maybe not want to talk about.

[Rosie Guerin]

The game that James's family plays. Oh, hell. Featured very prominently in this season of Only Murders in the Building. Oh, really?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. I like that. In another conversation with James, something I loved that he mentioned is that a game can sometimes be this great way for people who are just socially awkward to give them something to do.

[Rosie Guerin]

It's a great equalizer, right?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. Maybe you can get somebody to stop talking politics, which, you know, and it's.

[Kyra Blackwell]

A way to, like, bond over. Cause you know, when you're trying to learn how to play the game, you have, like, a common goal. So it's just an easy direction to go in.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. Everybody something to do. The same thing to do.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

So I'm kind of bad at games in general, and I have to be lured into doing them. But something that I'm even worse at is taking family photos. Are you guys good at taking family photos?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Who's good at family photos?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. I feel like I'm always, you know, I'm always the last one to think of it, and then I regret that we didn't do it later. And my eyes are always closed in the photos as well.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Somebody's are, at least.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. But we have somebody on staff who's really good at photography and has some great tips about how to take a good family photo.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Hello, I'm Phil Ryan, and I'm a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, and I cover cameras and photography equipment and printers and scanners and things like that. So the main thing is that you need a plan. The basics of this plan are that you need to know who will be in the picture. You need a time and a place and a way to take the picture. Okay, so who will be in the picture? Will it be everyone at the event? Will it just be the core family that's hosting the event? And what kind of space do we need and how do we get all of those people to that place? Preferably that place can be outside, I think, because that will be the most convenient for lighting. And most smartphones can make nice photos outside really easily. And that brings us to time. As long as it's daylight out, then outside works best. So we really want to do that during the day, like while the light is still out, while it's still strong. Do it midday. Ish. If you can do it like around 2:00, that'll be really nice. Outside is great. If all else fails, go inside. And in that case, I try to incorporate natural light anyway. In the past, I've gone opposite sliding glass doors or opposite a bay window. You don't want the majority of the light to be behind the group that you're trying to make the photo of. So. So find an area, a room, and think about the background that you're gonna have. The key to trying to make sure that eyes are open is to take a bunch of photos. Just tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Take like way more than you think you would need. Sometimes I'll tap a few before I even say that we're ready. If you have an iPhone, you can trigger the camera with an Apple watch if you have one. And you can always just set a timer. But it's much better to have a person actually operate the camera if you can. So assign this task to someone. A lot of times this can be good for like someone in high school. It's a nice thing to make something for the family to enjoy later down the line. And everyone will look back on this and remember and is a beautiful thing. The pie will be gone by the way this photo lasts. So put the time in and make the plan and do the thing.

[Rosie Guerin]

Stick to the plan. You don't wanna be backlit.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

That's right. You wanna know who's gonna take the photo, who's gonna be in the photo, what time you're doing the photo and where you're gonna do the photo. That's right.

[Rosie Guerin]

Natural light take tons.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

That's right. That's right. I feel like that's always my family's problem. We take like two pictures and both of them, my eyes are closed or somebody's eyes are closed.

[Kyra Blackwell]

You know, natural lighting was my make sure the light is good. And then you can cheat everything else.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

That's right.

[Rosie Guerin]

And also you're not necessarily gonna get the greatest photo you've ever taken in your entire life. But I think posterity, getting the group together, it's nice. It's a nice to have thing.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah. If you're like me, you're gonna be critical of that photo. But then like five Years later, you're gonna be so happy. You'll be happy to see, you know, get to see everybody. Yeah, it's important.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay, so we've covered things to do before the meal, during the gathering, and now it's time for after all that.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

That's right. Kaira, does your family drink a lot of wine at Thanksgiving?

[Kyra Blackwell]

We drink everything.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, we drink a lot of wine at Thanksgiving. And that means there's always a lot of stemware and delicate glass that needs to be washed at the end of the night. So we have a tip from friend of the pod, Michael Sullivan, who's going to share how to wash that stack of wine glasses.

[Lee Neikirk]

Hi, I'm Michael Sullivan and I'm a staff writer at Wirecutter, and I cover all things kitchen countertop appliances and hand tools. So I'm usually the bearer of bad news about washing everything by hand. But actually my tip is to wash stemware, wine glasses, your champagne flutes, any stemware in the dishwasher because you're actually less likely to drop it and break it if you are washing the dishwasher. My husband has actually sliced his thumb open with a broken wine glass and had to get many stitches. So if you have a dishwasher, definitely, definitely wash them that way. You know, I don't know if a lot of people know this, but you can actually adjust the rack level in your dishwasher and there are little tabs on the side of the rack in most models and you can lower it to allow for more space. So if you have really long stemware, that's a way that you can get them to fit. There's also like a ton of videos online that show you how to do that. I would say, though, there is one exception to that, and that's if your wine glasses have any sort of like gold or platinum or hand painted elements on them, those you'll definitely want to wash by hand because the dishwasher will just strip those away over time. So that's something to keep in mind.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I did not know that I could lower the rack on my dishwasher. I'm gonna.

[Rose Laurie]

It's such a good tip.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I need to go home and check that out.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

But save your thumbs and get those glasses in the dishwasher top rack.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

That's right. No cuts, no dropping, no drama. Yeah, no drama. Okay, so we're gonna dig in to the Thanksgiving gift that keeps on giving the leftovers. I don't know about you, Kyra and Rosie, but I don't often cook Thanksgiving. But when I have a lot of leftovers that I've brought home. It's like after the. I do not want to eat them anymore. They just. It's kind of like the fun is gone, and it just becomes like, I don't know what to do with these things. So we asked our friend Sam Sifton, founder and editor of New York Times Cooking, for a couple ideas on what to do with those turkey leftovers.

[Unnamed Speaker]

So there are two great recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers. The first is to strip as much meat as you can off of the carcass. If you have breast meat left, make sandwiches. Go ahead. That's fantastic. But all that dark meat, all that crevice meat, all that stuff that you can pull off, and you end up with a kind of pile of torn turkey meat. Combine that with your leftover gravy and heat it up in a pan until it's bubbly and bubbly. Spoon that onto toast and serve with some of the leftover cranberry sauce and maybe some leftover greens. And you've got, like, what may be an even better meal than the Thanksgiving meal itself. So that's number one. Now you've got this empty carcass, this carcass that you've ripped everything off of, and that should go into a stock pot to create a really rich and delicious turkey stock that you can use to build out a turkey gumbo in which maybe the only turkey parts are the broth, and everything else is andouille sausage and chicken thighs and whatever else you put into your gumbo. But the flavor of that broth will bring back the holiday once more because gumbo improves after sitting for a little while. I think a turkey gumbo served on the Sunday night following Thanksgiving, made on Friday or Saturday and allowed to cure, as it were, for a day. That's a great way to ice out the holiday and say, see you next year.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Y'all know I'm. I'm still obsessed with this gumbo idea. I haven't stopped thinking about it.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Is this your. Is this your Saturday or Friday or Saturday plan post Thanksgiving?

[Kyra Blackwell]

You know, when I'm done scanning for deals?

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yes, that's right.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm gonna make gumbo.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

My aunt taught me. Who's Cajun? She taught me how to make gumbo after Christmas a couple times, and it was delightful. And I think I could do that for Thanksgiving. It'd be great.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So nice.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

And if you're not up for making gumbo right after Thanksgiving, you could always just. Just freeze the carcass and use it when you Are ready to do something with it.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Best tip of all, actually.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

There we go.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So we have one final bonus tip. We're already at the end, you guys.

[Lauren Dragon]

Aww.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Sad.

[Kyra Blackwell]

But I do have to say this one's pretty divisive.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, I feel like this one could, like, harm marriages, honestly, if not done in the right spirit.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yes. Well, the person who's giving us this tip is our boss, Ben Fruman, our editor in chief of Wirecutter. So I'm sure he can tell y'all more about how this has affected his marriage. But, you know, so we had to do it. Let's take a listen.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Hi, this is Ben Fruman. I am Wirecutter's editor in chief. So my last minute Thanksgiving advice is you gotta start getting ready for Christmas. Let me tell you a little bit about the way that I approach Christmas. I'm Jewish, and growing up Jewish in California, I didn't celebrate Christmas.

And.

And honestly, I felt a little left out. I was a little envious. I always wanted Christmas to be mine. When I got married, my wonderful wife is half Muslim and half Christian, and all of a sudden Christmas became mine. And boy, oh boy, have I embraced Christmas. So to me, the holiday season, inclusive of Christmas is just this warm, beautiful, charming time with friends and with family. I love Christmas so much that I want to extend the Christmas season as long as possible. So I will tell you. This year, I set up two Christmas trees. That's right. In my house. We have not one, but two Christmas trees. I set them up on Sunday, November 3rd. Now you might say that is like abominably early. You might say this is madness. Halloween has barely ended. Thanksgiving is weeks away. This guy set up two Christmas trees. I will tell you, it actually felt a little late to me. This was not my strongest work. But look, why do I do this and why is this Great advice. Having a Christmas tree and sitting around with my family and maybe building a fire and turning the lights on on the Christmas tree and all being together in our cozy and safe home. There's something just very, very charming about it. So this is my advice. I know you're still getting ready for Thanksgiving, but you're already a little late for getting ready for Christmas. At least according to me.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Ooh, Ben, hot take there. Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

Two full months of nourishing two indoor Christmas trees.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I think it's important to note that Ben has artificial Christmas trees. Oh, that's good. Yeah, so there's no fire danger there. I don't think you could do this with natural Christmas trees. They would dry out too quickly.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I love Ben and I love that this is so wholesome. If somebody starts snapping their fingers at me, like the day after Thanksgiving, being like, okay, you guys, time to get ready for Christmas, I'm crashing out. I'm not. Okay.

[Rosie Guerin]

If you're not early, you're late.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Okay, so Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Rosie, Kyra, what are you taking away from this episode for tomorrow?

[Kyra Blackwell]

I really want to switch up my family's annual game. We play Taboo every year and we're sick of it. It basically doesn't even make any sense anymore. So I think that I want to introduce Bananagrams into the mix.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Well, so are you asking someone to bring you a hostess gift of Bananagrams tomorrow?

[Rosie Guerin]

Gentle suggestion.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Just a gentle command.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

What about you, Rosie?

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm doing wine glasses in the dishwasher. I know somewhere in the house we have a deck of cards. I'm gonna see what we can figure out playing as a group. Cause I think that would be fun.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Yeah, I think that's super fun. I am going to take some of Lauren Dragon's recommendations for podcasts. I'm not gonna be traveling for Thanksgiving this year, but I will be stuck at home with my kids. And I think having some podcasts tuned up will be very helpful in the evergoing conversation and debate about when they get to watch a show. So having some podcasts will be great for.

[Rosie Guerin]

I might do that, too. That's actually a really nice idea for me. The one that's queued up is the Good Whale from Cereal Productions, our colleagues over at Cereal. I haven't listened to it yet. I'm really excited to. I've been hearing amazing things, so that's gonna be really fun. Hey, listeners, are you following the show? Because we'd love you to find the follow button in whatever app you listen to. Tap it and you'll be notified of every new episode of the Wirecutter show. It'll automatically download. Even our special bonus episode. Coming soon, all about Black Friday. That's it for us this week. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much for listening. If you want to find out more tips from any of our colleagues at Wirecutter, of course you can go to nytimes.com wirecutter or you can check out the show notes for links. Happy Thanksgiving from us here at the Wirecutter show to you and yours. Have a good one.

[Kyra Blackwell]

The Wirecutter show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Editing by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddie Mazziello and Nick Pittman. Today's episode was mixed by Katherine Anderson, original music by Dan Powell, Marian Lozano, Alicia Ba? E and Diane Wong. Wirecutter's deputy publisher and interim general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor in chief. I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

I'm Christine Cyrclassette.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I'm Rosie Guerin.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Thanks for listening.

[Christine Cyrclassette]

Welcome back to the welcome back to the Wirecutter Show.