For me cooking on Thanksgiving day is one of the things I look forward to all year long. One of the best things about the tradition of Thanksgiving is gathering with your friends or family and spending the day cooking with them. One of the worst things about Thanksgiving is gathering with your friends or family and spending the day cooking with them. It’s nice to have your family around and it’s great to have them help you in the kitchen, but sometimes it can seem as though every single person in the house is underfoot and asking you questions while all you want to do is keep the gravy from breaking.

While I do frequently enjoy friendly company in the kitchen I also like to have a well laid plan for keeping my kitchen clear of people who are more interested in chatting than stirring. My strategy is two pronged: first is to have the Packers vs. Lions game on in the living room (this mostly distracts Nick who is constantly trying to taste whatever I happen to be working on at the time); second is to have a spread of light snacks that people can munch on to help them withstand the temptation to move towards the alluring smells in the kitchen.

Here are some snacks that I recommend keeping around to intrigue your Thanksgiving day guests. My family eats at around 4:00pm, after the football game ends. I put out my spread of food at around 1:00, this allows folks to snack without filling up too close to dinner time. I feel that all the foods are light, and yet in keeping with the autumn-y-theme that Thanksgiving day requires.

• Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Nut Cake
• Fruit and Cheese Platter
• Spiced Pecans