Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends,and giving appreciation to all we have. It’s also, for the cooks, a time of tremendous stress. Getting everything to the table on time and un-burned can be quite a challenge, but there are ways to make holiday meal prep less aggravating.

Swipe through for 10 tips to a smoother Thanksgiving meal.

Soothe the cook’s nerves with a calming aroma in the air. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and then simmer autumn aromatics such as cinnamon sticks, apple peels, orange rinds, and whole cloves. Be sure to check from time to time to make sure your pot doesn’t boil dry. If there’s no space on the stove, use a small slow cooker.

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Come holiday time, there is never enough refrigerator room for all the ingredients and dishes, but here’s a trick — Use an ice chest as a fridge. Store your fridge staples—covered with ice—that won’t be needed during meal prep like ketchup, soy sauce, etc. Save the main fridge space for items you need for the big dinner.

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Save prep time by purchasing pre-chopped food at the grocery store. You may be able to find trimmed green beans, sliced mushrooms, chopped onions, or crumbled bacon. All prepped and ready to toss into your recipes. If you’d really rather do it yourself, do all your chopping the night before so the diced bits can be pulled out of the fridge and tossed in quickly.

If you want to go all Martha Stewart and make your own pie crusts, fine, but for everyone else, store-bought is perfectly fine. Focus on making a fantastic filling and leave the crust to Pillsbury. No one will think less of you, we promise.

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If you’re not a frequent pie baker, you may not have official pie weights. To keep your pie crust from rising when you pre-bake it, line the inside of the crust with foil or wax paper and fill with coins, dried beans, or uncooked rice.

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On Thanksgiving, it’s very difficult to have all the various components ready at exactly the same moment, so it makes sense to have some side dishes prepared ahead of time. Mashed potatoes is a great one to make in advance, and then you can keep it warm in a slow cooker set on low heat.

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If things were hectic in the kitchen and you overcooked the bird, don’t fret. Before you take that platter of a-bit-too-dry turkey breast meat to the table, drizzle it with a bit of warm chicken broth. It’ll add moistness and flavor to the meat; it can also warm up turkey that was carved a bit early.

Thanksgiving dinner tends to be a hodgepodge of colors and textures, and this contrasting mashup will look best on simple white plates. Plus, classic white plates won’t contrast with whatever table decorations you’ve got going on.

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You’ll get fluffier whipped cream if you chill the bowl and beaters beforehand. Put them in the freezer for best results. Pull them out at the last minute, pour in your heavy cream and a bit of confectioner’s sugar, and whip away!

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There’s no point in dirtying another dish. Just make your gravy right in the roasting pan. Lift out the turkey and assign someone to carve it, while you make your favorite gravy recipe right in the pan. That's one less dish to wash!

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