No matter how many times you host Thanksgiving, there’s always bound to be a few mess-ups, whether that’s the stuffing accidentally ending up burned, the grocery store being out of your mom’s favorite canned cranberry sauce or the unexpected arrival of six extra guest who definitely don’t make easy additions to your already set table. But while a few mix ups are to be expected with any holiday celebration, the Today show’s Dylan Dreyer has a surprising tip that helps her Thanksgiving go off without a hitch — a dress rehearsal (well, sort of).

The NBC News meteorologist shared that she leaves nothing to chance, often staging a rehearsal for any recipes. “Thanksgiving is my husband and my favorite holiday. Like, I just love everything about getting the family together and cooking a big meal that everyone gets to enjoy,” she told TODAY.com. “My husband gets very anxious because he wants dinner to be perfect, because it’s his favorite meal of the year.”

But it’s not just her husband’s love of the holiday that makes her want the holiday meal to run smoothly. After her oldest son Calvin, 7, was diagnosed with celiac disease last spring, it’s more important than ever for her to make sure the gluten-free recipes she’s becoming more familiar with taste good when she goes to serve them, especially since so many recipes call for flour.

“Stuffing has to be a little different because you can’t use bread, and gravy has to be a little different because you can’t use flour. Rolls have to be a little different,” she explained to the publication.

John LamparskiDylan Dreyer with oldest son Calvin.

Lucky for her, Calvin, her husband Brian Fichera and her other two sons Oliver, 4, and Rusty, 3, are more than happy to give her feedback when she makes dishes during the “dress rehearsal” before the holiday and give her tips and critiques on how she can tweak it so that everything tastes great when it’s time to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. What she learned from this year’s first run through?

“The feedback on the gravy for rehearsal was it was a little too watery but the flavor was good. The stuffing was too dry, so I have to add more chicken broth. So, you know, I’m taking notes on what I need to fix,” she said. “[But] the apple crisp turned out perfect.”

What do you think — would you find it easier to do a run-through of Thanksgiving beforehand, or are you willing to risk it and hope everything turns out delicious come Thanksgiving Day?