Why You Need to Visit Your Nearest Thrift Store Before Thanksgiving
If you have a gravy boat, you probably use it once a year. Maybe twice. If you don’t have a gravy boat, it may never have occurred to you that you need one. And if you’re not spending Thanksgiving, you don’t need to: You don’t need a gravy boat. You don’t need a large serving platter to serve your turkey. You don’t need a pie server. But are you hosting Thanksgiving? Well, you need these things, and your local thrift store is the best place to find them. Go now.
I love the store for knives, cutting boards, and storage containers, but Goodwill is my favorite place to shop for “bits.” Within its walls I found enameled cast iron dutch oven (about $ 14), a lot of beautiful condiment spoons (1 dollar each), nice dishes for the bar and a wonderful piece of Belgian Descoware for as much as eight US dollars. (I saw the same thing a few days later in a “good” vintage store for five times the price).
Plates, salad spoons, serving spoons, salad bowls, casseroles, appetizer serving platters, bread baskets, wine glasses, gravy boats – all these treasures can be found at thrift stores on the cheap – a price point that matters to me, especially for items that won’t used daily. It’s also a good place to grab cutlery, extra plates and coffee mugs (so you can serve everyone coffee with their pie).
Obviously, you risk not find exactly what you need. If you’re the person who needs everything to fit (I’m fighting this urge), the thrift store might not be for you. It is also possible that you may have to go to more than one thrift store to find everything you need in the quantity you want, but the thrill is hunting.
Due to the unpredictability of stock at thrift stores, you should restock your stock sooner rather than later. Most moms already know Goodwill is the place to go (no matter the season) and they pick things up quickly. My stepmother had already grabbed a holiday tablecloth for Thanksgiving dinner and slipped a few serving spoons Goodwill bought into my cutlery drawer (she thought I had “little,” and she was right). Now go, that’s what I say. Now go and get your dish, spoons and gravy boat. Go before my stepmother gets there. She will take all the good.