How Not to Get Stuck With All the Thanksgiving Leftovers

Yahoo DIY editor-in-chief Katie Brown is sharing this and several other simple and stylish Thanksgiving projects on Wednesday’s “Live With Kelly and Michael.” Check out links to more of them below!

We all love to overindulge on Thanksgiving, but for as much as Americans eat every year on the food-focused holiday, we also end up throwing a lot of perfectly good food away. According to the USDA, more than 200 million pounds of edible turkey meat – worth a mind-boggling $282 million – goes to waste at Thanksgiving. It’s not all that surprising, really.

After dinner, guests are usually stuffed and the last thing they want is to cart home a few leaky bags of leftovers. Want to entice Uncle Fred and Aunt Emily to take a plate home? Here’s a thoughtful and stylish DIY to-go container that’ll ensure dinner guests leave with their hands full.

OK, we know this isn’t an earth-shattering innovation but it’s a simple solution to an age-old problem. Plus, your guests will be charmed by your thoughtfulness and your newly thinned-out fridge will be giving thanks too.

Materials:

• To-go box (save them when you bring home doggie bags from restaurants, or buy an eco-friendly set online.)

• Big red rubber bands

• Gift tag

• Paper napkin

• Plastic silverware

Instructions:

• Fill your to-go box with lots of yummy leftovers.

• Wrap it in two big rubber bands.

• Fold a paper napkin around the disposable silverware and stick it under the rubber band.

• Write a little message on the tag and send your guests home happy!

Check out more of Katie’s Thanksgiving table ideas on Yahoo DIY:

This Pilgrim Hat Project Will Be a Hit at the Kids’ Table