9 Tips To Avoid A Thanksgiving Dinner Disaster

Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most anticipated feasts of the year.

And every time it comes around, we spend the day preparing our stomachs for it, and when it's finally served ... we eat our way into that sweet, sweet food coma.

But with all that hype comes a lot of pressure for those tasked with hosting and preparing the big family meal. And when the pressure's high, even the most seasoned home cooks can encounter a Thanksgiving dinner disaster, such as...

Forgot to buy stuffing for the turkey. Improvising with Frosted Flakes and raisins. #Thanksgivingdisaster
— WilliamAttewell (@WilliamAttewell) November 22, 2012

Yesterday, my Target was out of yams. #thanksgivingdisaster
— Jaclyn Allen (@jaclynreporting) November 28, 2013

Yea, dad. Lets cool the pie on the porch with the cat. I'm sure she won't touch it. #thanksgivingdisaster #goodbyepie #smartthinking
— Rachelle (@rachelle_xoxo) November 22, 2012

Alastor decided the pumpkin pie was an excellent place to stand. He's not even sorry😼 it was covered at the time, going to have to get creative with with whipped cream to cover it up. How's your Thanksgiving going? #catsofinstagram #weeklyfluff #persiancat #oneeyedcat #thanksgivingdisaster #smallcats
A photo posted by Marybeth Jones (@mtngrlmb) on Nov 27, 2014 at 12:12pm PST

what if that 24 pound turkey doesn't defrost in time??? #thanksgivingdisaster
— rebecca m. ross (@rebeccamross) November 22, 2010

Aaaahhhh Hurry up Sweet potatoes cook!!! #ThanksgivingDisaster
— N Angel (@chicadulce4) November 28, 2013

After the oven caught on fire and the house almost burning down...it's FINALLY time to eat!! #thanksgivingdisaster #fire #Thankful
— Sar (@SarLiz23) November 22, 2012

Just set fire to the oven. For the second Thanksgiving in a row, my sweet potato casserole caught flame. Seriously? #Thanksgivingdisaster
— Missouri Dalton (@MissouriDalton) November 22, 2012

#thanksgivingdisaster #firealarm
A photo posted by @megcahn on Nov 22, 2012 at 2:35pm PST

No one took the wishbone out of the turkey #thanksgivingdisaster #rookiemistake #imsosad
— Princess Katie (@katieehump) November 25, 2012

Now I know why I don't bake pies: disaster! I couldn't find the glass pie pans, pastry dough was too warm, pastry dough shrank during the pre-baking stage, and filling was watery. I won't doubt you ever again Sara Lee.
A photo posted by Najia 🌸 (@wahines) on Nov 27, 2014 at 2:21am PST

Waiting for the turkey to cook and the ovens not even on 😂 #thanksgivingdisaster
— Ashhh❁ (@Ash_Bash000) November 22, 2012

Our HuffPost Canada Living Contributors have had their fair share of Thanksgiving disasters, too. They've kindly shared their stories with us, along with the lessons they learned, so that hopefully you can avoid making the same mistakes. Check out their stories and tips in the slideshow below, and share your own Thanksgiving disaster stories in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!