Thanksgiving Hosting Planner Spreadsheet | Turkey Calculator, Cooking Timeline & Oven Plan (Excel + Google Sheets)

Hosting Thanksgiving is ten lists pretending to be one dinner. This spreadsheet puts them in one file and does the timing math for you.

Type your dinner date, the time you want to eat and how many ovens you have. Everything else follows.

What's inside (8 tabs)

• Turkey calculator: how big a turkey to buy for your headcount, the day to move it from the freezer to the fridge, cold-water thawing time, roasting time at 325 °F and the time it goes into the oven. Sizes and times follow the USDA food safety roasting guide.
• Menu & cooking timeline: list every dish with its prep, cook and rest minutes. The sheet tells you when to start each one so everything is ready together, and flags any dish nobody has claimed.
• Oven plan: a 15-minute schedule for the 7 hours before dinner showing how many dishes are in the oven and warning you when there are too many or the temperatures clash.
• Guests & RSVP: households, adults and kids, RSVP status, dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut allergy) and who's staying over, with automatic totals.
• Groceries & spending: shopping list with estimate and actual price, totals by store and items left to buy.
• Budget envelopes: split your budget into turkey, sides, drinks, desserts, decor and other, and see ON TRACK / CLOSE / OVER as you shop.
• Countdown checklist: a dated to-do list from three weeks out to the leftovers, built from your dinner date.
• Leftovers & thank-yous: who took what, which dishes need to come back, and notes for next year.

Example data is filled in so you can see how it works in seconds. Yellow cells are for typing; everything else is calculated.

Works with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets (upload to Google Drive and open with Sheets). Also works for Friendsgiving, Christmas dinner or any big holiday meal.

Instant digital download. Personal use.

Note: timings are estimates for planning. Always follow your recipe and the label on your turkey, and check that turkey and stuffing reach 165 °F with a food thermometer.