I'm Hosting Thanksgiving!

So, I needed some reminders on the whole baking-a-turkey thing...

Figuring out what size turkey to buy for your gang:
Figure out how many will be dining on your fabulous piece of poultry. Allow 1 lb per person for a regular frozen unstuffed turkey. You could go 1 1/4 lb if you want a good stock of leftovers.

Figuring out how long to turn this bird from arctic to thawed and ready to crisp:
Most frozen turkeys will need 3 to 4 days to thaw in your fridge (in their original wrapper on a tray - to catch any drippings). This would be based on something like an 18 lb turkey... the idea is that it takes around 5 hrs per pound of beautiful bird.
It is not recommended to thaw them at room temperature UNLESS you're doing a quick thaw using a cold water method... this is for all you last minute "Oh my gosh! I forgot to thaw the turkey!" people. This method requires filling your sink with cold water & thawing the still-wrapped turkey 30 minutes for every pound... and changing out the water frequently... like every 30 min or so. If you don't change the water, it will stay too chilled and it'll take longer to thaw.
Here's a chart taken from Global Gourmet for convenience:

Turkey Thawing Time in the Refrigerator (40 degrees F):
Approximately 24 hours per 5 pounds

Whole Turkey Weight	Thawing Time
8 to 12 lbs	1 to 2 days
12 to 16 lbs	2 to 3 days
16 to 20 lbs	3 to 4 days
20 to 24 lbs	4 to 5 days

Turkey Thawing Time in Cold Water:
Approximately 30 minutes per pound.
Change water every 1/2 hour.

Whole Turkey Weight	Thawing Time
8 to 12 lbs	4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 lbs	6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 lbs	8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 lbs	10 to 12 hours

Now that it's thawed, it's time to figure out how to give this bird a suntan - i.e. BAKE THE TURKEY:
For this, I'll just recap and add a link to RecipeTips.com where you'll find a very thorough long-winded version of turkey prep and baking instructions.
1. The bird is thawed. 2. Now give it a good rub-down with some olive oil and some seasoning... whatever you like. 3. Place it in your baking pan breast side up. 4. I like to bake mine covered (cover or foil) first and then uncover the last 30 min to an hour to give it that fantastic shiny golden tan crisp on the skin.
Cooking Times - from RecipeTips.com:

Approximate Roasting Times
(additional roasting times and techniques - cooking bags - on RecipeTips.com)

Whole Turkey Cooked at 325º

Weight	8 to 12 pounds	12 to 14 pounds	14 to 18 pounds	18 to 20 pounds	20 to 24 pounds	24 to 30 pounds
Unstuffed	2¾ to 3 hours	3 to 3¾ hours	3¾ to 4¼ hours	4¼ to 4½ hours	4½ to 5 hours	5 to 5¼ hours
Stuffed	3 to 3½ hours	3½ to 4 hours	4 to 4¼ hours	4¼ to 4¾ hours	4¾ to 5¼ hours	5¼ to 6¼ hours