Do You Have Enough Serveware for Thanksgiving? 

Here at Epi, we may be more inclined than others to have a bit too much of everything for the kitchen and dining room. But even with our overstuffed utensil crocks and sky-high stacks of plates we have, on occasion, run out of dishes and utensils for serving. More often than not, those occasions are holiday dinners, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, this seems like a good time to remind you to stock up on serveware.

But before you go adding all the pretty platters and serving spoons we’ve linked below to your cart, take an inventory of what you have.

The best way to do this is to first make a list of everything you’re planning to serve (and whatever weird dessert your aunt will probably bring even though you told her you had everything covered). Then we recommend this trick we learned from a friend and dinner party co-host: Lay out all of the serving plates and utensils you think you’ll use for the party and label them with little sticky notes, planning which dish goes with what. If you do that early (like, right now), you can order any missing pieces so they’ll arrive in time for the big meal.

In our experience, the main issue is having enough utensils, like serving spoons and pie servers, and we have recommendations for a few that you’ll want to use beyond Thanksgiving. And if you’re short on platters or serving bowls, we’ve recommended plenty of those as well. As you’ll see, we skipped the Turkey-shaped platters in favor of beautiful neutral pieces that are versatile enough to use for special occasions as well as casual weeknight dinners. Find our suggestions below, and be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom so you have every category covered.

Serving utensils

If you’ve ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner, you know you never have enough serving utensils. Make 2022 the year that is no longer true.

Spoons, spoons, spoons. You’ll need spoons to scoop up the soft, pleasantly mushy stuffings, mashes, tart and savory sauces, and squash soups of Thanksgiving. An inexpensive stainless-steel spoon can be purchased in multiples and used to stir all year. Or, throw in one splurgy serving set to steal the show.

If your friends and family opt for more than one main dish at Thanksgiving—maybe a ham or a vegetarian showstopper in addition to a turkey—you might need more than one carving knife or set. Rather than getting a specific carving set, you can opt for a serrated chef’s knife, which will become a versatile kitchen tool year-round, and a big fork, which you can use to serve more than proteins.

For salads, opt for a stylish set of tongs that can also be used for cooking.

A couple of inexpensive pastry servers can be used to serve your pie and your sturdier sides, like gratins.

While pretty cheese knives are incredibly tempting, paring knives are equally perfect for serving cheese on Thanksgiving, and you’ll use them the other 364 days of the year too.

Serving dishes

With all the moving parts of a big holiday dinner, cookware that’s pretty enough for the table really simplifies things. It’s also nice to have a few versatile serving bowls for salads or sides that can go in the oven if need be too.

Boards and platters

Depending on how you plan to serve your main course, you may want a big serving platter. If you go that route, get something casual enough that you can use it for a regular weeknight dinner. For something even more practical, consider a pretty cutting board with a groove for catching jus. If you’re serving cheese and apps, consider adding a pop of color with a modern cutting board made from recycled materials.

Something for sauces

If you don’t own a gravy boat…that makes sense. How often are you really going to use one of those things? But you also don’t want to be serving your gravy out of a clear Pyrex measuring cup. Opt instead for a nice prep bowl with a spout for pouring and you can use it year-round for other non-holiday sauces. Cranberry sauce, relish, and other distinctly Thanksgiving-y condiments can be served out of pretty little bowls that can be used the rest of the year for serving nuts, dips, or cocktail garnishes.