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Leah Daniels will keep Hill's Kitchen open on Thanksgiving to aid the cooking challenged with any last minute culinary disasters. Photo: Andrew Lightman

Whether you’re an old hand at producing Thanksgiving dinner for 20 friends and relatives or trying it for the first time for you and your roommate, Barracks Row has answers to problems you won’t know you have until … your loaded poultry lifter collapses in mid air, your turkey baster melts, or you recall as you are doing an exhaustive search for your roasting pan that you lent it out last summer to neighbors who left for Ireland last Saturday.

What is the solution to these impossible situations? Hill’s Kitchen (713 D St. SE), which is open for business from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Leah Daniels, owner of that amazing store, is staying open to be there for the crises that might otherwise overtake neighborhood kitchens on the big day.

Now, if you know for certain you don’t have any idea how to cook Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s your turn to do the honors, Leah has an answer for that, too: Thanksgiving Basics cooking classes on Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. and Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. These classes take you through the entire drill: turkey, potatoes, stuffing, greens and pie. Your life-skills toolbox will runneth over. To register: 202-543-1997, www.hillskitchen.com.

Preparations for every room
Perhaps you can cook but have an even more fundamental problem: no table. And this year, in-laws and a full complement of brothers- and sisters-in-law are arriving in three weeks. Go directly to Homebody (715 Eighth St. SE). Hip glass-top dining tables that can stretch out and seat eight then pull back to apartment dimensions are there on the showroom floor. Eclectic chairs to match or not to match are available as well as one-of-a-kind serving pieces to jumpstart the table conversation. There are absinthe spoons, the planet’s best wine glasses, Bodum thermal glassware, exotic horn-handled cheese servers and chargers emblazoned with maps of your favorite cites like St. Petersburg, New Orleans, New York, Dubai and DC. (202-544-8445, homebodydc.com)

But rarely do families and friends visit for just one meal. With monuments within walking distance and museums open the entire Thanksgiving weekend, there is every reason to stay on! Handsome paper plates and napkins at Groovy dc (425 Eighth St. SE) can lighten the chores. New fall and winter candles are a must to set a glowing mood in a home that’s seen too much family togetherness where even the grownups are unwilling to stop the fun and pick up. And when museums close, you can depend on Groovy dc to be open with special trunk shows of American Doll and Thomas the Tank Engine to dazzle the kids. Even multi-generational shopping squads will find success at Groovy, where owners Manuel and Dennis are stocking up on all manner of family games to challenge the smarts of the whole clan. (202-544-6633, www.groovydc.com)

Prepare bedrooms and baths with scents from Sweet Magnolia (703 Eighth St. SE). Lavish your powder room with Oprah’s favorite, Seda France candles. Guest baths will smell like a spa in Provence with simple bath salts from La Lavende, or select from US-made soaps designed by Trimmings, a company out of Texas that grows its own herbs. For guest rooms, Sweet Magnolia has a lavender spray for bedding that will have your kids believing they have landed in a posh bed and breakfast rather than at the humble family homestead. (202-232-3707, sweetmagnoliadc.net)

The Answers for Pet Dilemmas
Usually your best friend would be in on all this visiting, wagging his tail in agreement. But if family crowding (or family allergies) demands that sleeping arrangements must change, Valarie’s Animal Den is there for boarding. Valarie specializes in one-on-one attention for her clients, bringing 18 years of understanding and comfort to pets at her location at 737 Eighth St. SE. However if family isn’t family without your dog or cat, Valarie’s also has grooming services to make any pet a standout for the big day. Free tooth brushing comes with every grooming session until New Year’s. Be sure to book ahead for all of Valarie’s personalized services. Valarie’s Animal Den is the longest running pet grooming and boarding establishment in the area, and in June 2009, they won the Best in Washington Award in the Pet Washing and Grooming Category from the US Commerce Association! (202-547-7877, www.valariesanimalden.com)

But what to do for your pet during Thanksgiving dinner itself? Chateau-Animaux (524 Eighth St. SE) has the answer: a gourmet pet food actually called Thanksgiving Dinner for Dogs (or Cats)! And dessert? Cookies decorated with pumpkins or Redskins helmets designed by the bakers at Chateau-Animaux will top off dinner on a festive note. Because of seasonal demand, Chateau will have grooming available seven days a week. Chateau sends its patrons home in complimentary seasonal bandanas and offers a 10 percent discount on grooming for new customers. For the time stressed, Chateau even does home delivery! (202-544-8710, www.chateau-animaux.com)

With a record cold snap in October, the temperature on Thanksgiving may be perilous. Seasonal dog sweaters are now in stock at Pawticulars (407 Eighth St. SE), making that after-dinner stroll a comfortable walk in the park for the whole extended family. For the ritual Thanksgiving snooze in front of the games on TV, make sure your family room is up to the minute with a coordinating pet bed to tie in with the décor and give your pet a place to call his own in all the family togetherness. 202-546-7387, www.pawticulars.com.