What are YOUR Thanksgiving traditions?

Zhoen

FairieVillainMother
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Apr 24, 2011
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Man, I've started a lot of threads today!!! Last one, I promise...

I remember seeing a movie once (I think it was "home for the holidays") where everyone ate their Thansgiving turkey in a beautiful, candlelit, decorated dining room, it was dark outside the windows, and everyone was dressed up nicely. The grandmother brought out a beautifully presented turkey on a platter and the grandfather carved it while everyone sat around the same table where there were cloth napkins and all the servingware matched... and that's the sort of scene you always see in the pictures in the ads...

... in my family-of-origin, my grandmother made everything in her tiny kitchen, and since she didn't have a dining room, you came into the kitchen, filled your paper plate with the turkey that had already been carved and got your (delicious) sides from all the charmingly mismatched corningware that covered the tiny table where they usually ate, then took your plate and vied for a place to sit down anywhere you could find it. It was usually served around noon, and people wore whatever they wanted.

It seems to be about the same way in my in-laws family, except that they have more space, so they serve everything out of the kitchen, and everybody sits at a single table to eat (unless there's overflow, then they go wherever there's room.)

And that's pretty much how we do it at my house nowadays... I dont' get up at 5AM like Grandma used to, because we always use those plastic bag thingies and the turkey cooks quicker... the kids and I cook together, and we always have the Macy's parade going on in the background on the TV... and some years it's good china, some years (this year) it's paper plates for easy clean-up... After the meal, there's a lot of TV watching, BF-ad-ogling, the kids play outside or in, depending on the weather... We're considering going geocaching in the afternoon if the weather cooperates...

I do black Friday that night, and the kids sleep in, and we all eat leftovers for days... On the afternoon of Black Friday, my husband assembles the artificial tree and I put on the lights, then the kids put on the ornaments... later I sneak back and rearrange them if necessary... we have covers for the couch and special a carpet that completely transforms the living room, and then I put out whatever presents I've already got done, and boom, it's Christmastime!

I've heard of people who live the fancy scenario from the movie, I've known folks who don't do anything at all... The grocery stores seem to sell a lot of the pre-made meals, so clearly there are people who like the food but not the cooking... I've known people that make a special recipes from all the thanksgiving leftovers, and others who make a very small meal because they hate the leftovers...So, my question is, what traditions do you have for Thanksgiving?
 
Depends on where we are. My family lives in N.C. and DH and I live in P.A. and so does his family.

We will be in N.C. this year. There my mom and I do most of the cooking. She doesn't have a diningroom so after we cook, we eat around one usually in the kitchen on paper plates or if it is warm enough out on the deck. My mom has a huge deck with a huge outdoor set. Everyone wears what they want usually jeans and sweaters. My step-sister, her husband, and two kids come over. My mom, step-father, and Dh, me, and our DD. We usually save the food and have leftovers for dinner.

My inlaws are different. We go over and cook with them. They have a dining room. They go all out with the china and centerpieces, etc. While we don't get super dressed up; DH usually wears a shirt and tie and I wear dress pants and a sweater. We don't eat until around 8 pm. I swear by the time we get it all cleaned up it is well after midnight. It is DH, me, DH's Brother, DH's parents, and grandparents.

I prefer something in the middle. If I were preparing Thanksgiving, I would probably use our dining room (if we had furniture; we are working on that). Currnetly, it is completly empty and do a centerpiece and china. I really don't care what people wear. I would probably try to have food on the table at lunch or somewhere in between lunch and dinner. I really prefer eating earlier...time to work off all those calories. I hate being up so late trying to clean everything up especially now that we have a LO. I love to shop on BF.
 
I have 5 siblings plus spouses, Mom and Dad and eighteen nieces and nephews. We usually eat at my parent's house for lunch and DH parent's house for dinner. This is way too much food. :rotfl: My parents provide the turkey and some sides and everyone else brings extra side dishes and dessert. My DH parent's ordered from a local supermarket.

At my parent's house everything is served out of the tiny kitchen on paper plates and my parents set up card tables where ever they can fit them. We are always happy when it is nice outside because the kids will eat out there. At DH's parents house we eat off of China in the dining room.

This year my daughter and I will be at a Disney soccer tournament. We will be having Cracker Barrel :rotfl2: The rest of my immediate family will be making their own Turkey dinner at home.
 
We eat around 5- most of the family gets up early to go hunting, we eat on china in the dining room, Turkey is carved in the Kitchen, Buffet style at my family-served at the table for DH's family, Dessert after the dishes for my family, dessert right after dinner for DH's. Yes we dress "up" a bit.

Kae
 

We dress and I take out the good china. The in-laws and I have a disagreement about the appropriate time for dinner. They prefer at least 6 pm, preferably later and I like mine around 3 pm. That's what my family did.
 
Growing up we had the fancy table setting you described from the movie - we even got all dressed up to eat. It was stressful because my mom orchestrated the whole thing but she hated doing. She also isn't a big fan of christmas so we never decorated until way into december.

If I have a large crowd, I will do a buffet and we eat at the dining room and kitchen tables. I have done a few table games like a jar of candy corn or hershey kisses and you guess how many - the winner gets the jar of candy - it gets people to relax a bit. I also usually have those poppers on the table for everyone as an icebreaker.

This year is small so I'm thinking of breaking out the matching china and going all out for the sake of the kids. I plan to cook the day before and then just reheat. I've also been making some disney printables off the disney family website for table decorations. We'll watch the Macy's parade and after dinner start getting down the christmas decorations from the attic.

So I guess my traditions have changed over the years.
 
No real traditions- we get together with family, make a whole bunch of food, clean it all up....and the women do 95% of the work. Maybe 97%. The other 3% is some man carving the turkey and some other man taking out the trash. Other than that... it's all us.
 
You've got me beat! My guy doesn't carve poultry... he stinks at it, mainly because he doesn't want to ;) And taking out the trash? Maybe... with much complaining... he's very good at eating, though!:lmao:
 
You've got me beat! My guy doesn't carve poultry... he stinks at it, mainly because he doesn't want to ;) And taking out the trash? Maybe... with much complaining... he's very good at eating, though!:lmao:

:rotfl2: RIGHT?!?!

Gosh. The carving doesn't really go well.... and the trash is after begging.... :rotfl: :headache:

Although this year my DH said to me... are you ready??

"You know how I can be helpful sometimes?? I'm gong to be helpful this year!"

:woohoo:

I'm HOLDING him to it. Can't say the same for the rest of the males in the family..................... :rolleyes1
 
Well, I didn't come from fancy and I didn't marry fancy, so I've never experienced the "Hallmark" style of Thanksgiving celebrations. My childhood Thanksgivings were almost exactly as described in the OP, minus the paper plates - my grandmother would have considered that frivolous and wasteful ;) . My mother-in-law is a big believer in them though so I've since had a lot of holiday dinners on paper.

I've been the one to host Thanksgiving for several years now. I don't have a dining room per say, so we gather around the table in my "dining nook". I can seat 8 and any overflow goes to the adjacent living room. I do set a pretty table with table cloth, cloth napkins , and good dishes. I like to change things up now and then and use different plates from my large collection. I have a thing for dishes, what can I say? I serve the turkey already carved on a pretty platter. I never wanted to make a big ceremony out of meat carving. Fine for those who do - it's just not my thing.

My son and I do the majority of the cooking and we love that time together.

This year, we are starting a new tradition and having Thanksgiving on friday after. My daughter got married this summer and this will allow them to have dinner with each family without forcing them to choose between the two or have two dinners in one day. His family has only one day together and we are flexible so we're trying to make it easy on everybody.

Love Thanksgiving and can't wait!
 
This year, we are starting a new tradition and having Thanksgiving on friday after. My daughter got married this summer and this will allow them to have dinner with each family without forcing them to choose between the two or have two dinners in one day. His family has only one day together and we are flexible so we're trying to make it easy on everybody. QUOTE]

That is SO thoughtful. It's always hard hearing about the families that have to run from house to house or deal with someone's wrath because so-and-so felt "snubbed"
 
This year, we are starting a new tradition and having Thanksgiving on friday after. My daughter got married this summer and this will allow them to have dinner with each family without forcing them to choose between the two or have two dinners in one day. His family has only one day together and we are flexible so we're trying to make it easy on everybody.
That is SO thoughtful. It's always hard hearing about the families that have to run from house to house or deal with someone's wrath because so-and-so felt "snubbed"

We have LOTS of traditions, some of them have morphed as we've gotten older...

Growing up, we would go to our summer house (which is now my parent's year round house) for thanksgiving through that following Sunday, and on Thanksgiving, we'd take a LONG walk on the beach to gather items for our table decorations, then make place holders (paint everyone's names on individual leaves, or make pine cone turkeys, etc.). We were never really formal for dinner itself - all the food would be on the table, and either my mom or her uncle would carve the turkey. We always hold hands and say one thing we're thankful for. On BF, we'd always go to a local "Christmas Barn" that sells ornaments year-round, and get one new ornament, then either go north to Chesapeake City and window shop, or go south to the Queenstown Outlets and go shopping...

Now that I'm married, we've added to our traditions. Instead of going to my parents the night before Thanksgiving, we stay home, and go to DH's uncle's house from 1-4pm for appetizers, football, Irish road bowling, and lots of conversation. THEN, we leave and head straight to my parent's house for the actual dinner. (Since there's usually a LOT of people - 63 people this year so far! - I don't feel bad leaving...)

As much of a pain it is to split our day, it's not THAT bad, and since we stay the whole weekend at my parent's house, I don't think it's too much to spend the early afternoon at his Uncle's house. (On occasion, his siblings and parents will also go to his uncle's, and when that happens, we usually stay te whole time at his Uncles.)
 
I celebrate with a couple of other families since our extended families all live far away. We generally gather around and say grace standing up, dish up food buffet style, and sit at the regular table with a few card tables set up around nearby. All our holiday meals are kind of the same that way.

When we have an even bigger special occasion meal, I use the regular table in my "dining nook" a rectangular folding table in the adjoining family room, and two or three square card tables set up in my living room/den (what was meant to be a formal dining area) area.

Oh - and it doesn't count as a really big meal unless someone is sitting on the piano bench!
 
Oooh. I thought of another tradition we have... this one is a Pre-Thanksgiving tradition...

This weekend in my home has come to be known as "the purge". Fridge cleaned out and cleaned up to make room for all the yummy food to come. Toy boxes and closets gone through to get rid of what no longer fits/works/is played with and to remind myself that really DO have enough and that I shouldn't go too crazy Christmas shopping on BF... all that stuff goes to charity or freecycle if it's good enough and the trash or the ragbag if it's not...

Then the whole house gets cleaned, top to bottom (and by that I mean, "I hide the mess as well as I can," because by that point I'm exhausted!!!!)
 
Oooh. I thought of another tradition we have... this one is a Pre-Thanksgiving tradition...

This weekend in my home has come to be known as "the purge". Fridge cleaned out and cleaned up to make room for all the yummy food to come. Toy boxes and closets gone through to get rid of what no longer fits/works/is played with and to remind myself that really DO have enough and that I shouldn't go too crazy Christmas shopping on BF... all that stuff goes to charity or freecycle if it's good enough and the trash or the ragbag if it's not...

Then the whole house gets cleaned, top to bottom (and by that I mean, "I hide the mess as well as I can," because by that point I'm exhausted!!!!)

:thumbsup2 That's a great idea! (or ideas!!)
 
My son and I do the majority of the cooking and we love that time together.

This year, we are starting a new tradition and having Thanksgiving on friday after. My daughter got married this summer and this will allow them to have dinner with each family without forcing them to choose between the two or have two dinners in one day. His family has only one day together and we are flexible so we're trying to make it easy on everybody.

Love Thanksgiving and can't wait!



OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH this is SO wonderful! Wish you were MY MIL!!!!!!!!! :goodvibes
 
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH this is SO wonderful! Wish you were MY MIL!!!!!!!!! :goodvibes

LOL! Thanks!
I just remember what it was like when we were first married and both families expected us to spend the holiday with them on their terms and it made for very stressful "celebrations". I vowed then that I would not do that to my children.
 
Before my DH passed away and I still lived in my former home, while the turkey was roasting we would put up the Christmas tree.. That was our main Thanksgiving tradition..:santa:

And I was one of the lucky ones - my DH (2nd marriage) did NOT like football (or any other sports) so we would spend the day and evening watching movies & specials..:thumbsup2

(I was a "sports widow" when I was married to my first husband and I think that's why I can't stand any type of sports now.. When I was in labor for our first child I had to wait for half time before he would take me to the hospital..):rolleyes:
 
Our tradition has evolved as parents got older and some passed away and there was more of a blending of our families.

We now, both sides of the family, eat at our house. we eat around 5 or 6. Everyone brings things. We have about 20 people. Everyone brings food and we serve it buffet style on the island in my largish kitchen. We eat around the dinning room table as well as card tables set up in the adjoining living area. We are having turkey, ham, dressing, FOUR kinds of potato, green beans, mac & cheese, deviled eggs, rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheese cake, coconut cake and some type of cute turkey cookies.

We use really nice, thanksgiving themed paper plates. There is a lot of football watching (but it gets turned off while we eat;) and we go through the black friday sales papers after dinner. DS5 goes home with mamaw so we can get up at 3:00 to go shopping!

Most years we put up our tree on Saturday but this year we are heading to the mountains so it might be Sunday when we do it!
 















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