My very dear friend Chris over at Chris's Corner posted her Thanksgiving Traditions and asked us to post ours too... So here I am posting my old traditions and my new... I'll start with what I did until we went full time in Tassie... Thanksgiving did not have as many traditions for us as Christmas but it is the kick off of the holiday season... We always had a huge turn out for Thanksgiving dinner because I have always invited all of my family and people we knew who didn't have any place to go on this 
very special day of THANKS. Sometime our guest list would get as high as 35 people since my daughters, taking my lead, invited everyone they knew that had no plans. The morning started out getting up very early in the morning to clean the BIG BIRD which was usually 25 pounds or more and start cooking the giblets and neck for the broth to be used in stuffing and gravies... I then cooked a breakfast for my little intimate family so they would stay out of the other food for a while... I wake them up to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and enjoy breakfast. By now
I have the turkey and ham cooking... The DH and the kids do all the prep work... luckily... that's the part I hated... Then as I cook and they help we proceed to watch football... We always sit down to eat around 3 pm so that we can digest all our food early and have a Turkey sandwich later not to mention desserts..... Now that we live in Tassie (our motorhome) we have passed the Holiday meal baton off to the kids and other family members... So most of the food remains the same but the location and traditions are a little different. One thing that never changed was our menu:
Apple Cider, Tea, Wine & Coffee Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing & Gravy
Honey Ham
Cranberry Orange Relish & Jellied Cranberry
Cornbread muffins or dinner rolls with honey butter
Relish Tray (olives, pickles, pearl onions)
Waldorf Salad, Stuffed celery, Deviled eggs, Homemade Cinnamon Apples
Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole, Creamed Onions, Corn, Turnips, Candied Carrots, Broccoli
Desserts:
Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Mince Meat Pie
Brownies, candies and cookies
This year we are doing something new my daughter & sister in law s
tarted a few years back... the woman of the family stay overnight at my daughters home on Thanksgiving eve and we watch movies and have a wine & cheese party... We discuss what the menu is going to be and who is in charge of what.... We precook anything that will help cut down on prep time the next day. On Thanksgiving Morning (hangover or n
ot) we get up early, load up the twins and any other small children into the van and head to Clearwater for the Turkey Trot. Now I'll admit this will be my first year walking or trotting or just plain falling over dead so I'll definitely have a post on that... Pictures and all.... you'll be able to find me in all the pictures right behind this hunky fireman... Lordy lordy... I am a bit breathless... Oh watch me go girls I think I can fly... Hope he knows CPR... I may just need it... On the way home we (the girls) stop off at Dunkin' Donuts for a yummy specialty coffee... Maybe Pumpkin Spice... or my very favorite frappachino... The dinner will still be the same menu as it has always been... give or take a few additions with the exception my sister in law may throw in an Italian dish or two... .... All holiday decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving at my daughter's house and we will be doing Tassie.
tarted a few years back... the woman of the family stay overnight at my daughters home on Thanksgiving eve and we watch movies and have a wine & cheese party... We discuss what the menu is going to be and who is in charge of what.... We precook anything that will help cut down on prep time the next day. On Thanksgiving Morning (hangover or n
ot) we get up early, load up the twins and any other small children into the van and head to Clearwater for the Turkey Trot. Now I'll admit this will be my first year walking or trotting or just plain falling over dead so I'll definitely have a post on that... Pictures and all.... you'll be able to find me in all the pictures right behind this hunky fireman... Lordy lordy... I am a bit breathless... Oh watch me go girls I think I can fly... Hope he knows CPR... I may just need it... On the way home we (the girls) stop off at Dunkin' Donuts for a yummy specialty coffee... Maybe Pumpkin Spice... or my very favorite frappachino... The dinner will still be the same menu as it has always been... give or take a few additions with the exception my sister in law may throw in an Italian dish or two... .... All holiday decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving at my daughter's house and we will be doing Tassie.What are your Thanksgiving Traditions????
May your food and blessings be many and your worries none
Until Later
23 comments:
I love the idea of the girls party the night before...with all the hardwork preparing the meal...you gals deserve it. And even I could trot if it meant keeping up with a hot fireman!!!
Wow, your menu sounds so delicious! It made me hungry & I've already eaten dinner. I can hardly wait for the The Turkey Trot blog! :0} Diane
Wow, that's some menu, nothing left out.LOL Maybe I'll come up to the turkey trot and take pictures. What time is it? It would be fun.I won't be in the trot though.LOL
Hugs,
Chris
Wow girl that menu sounds fantastic! Can't wait to see those turkey trot pics. Years ago the torch was passed on to me to have the holidays...we have over 30 in our immediate family...when I was growing up all my aunts would cook and bring stuff to grandma's house and we have around 60 at the gathering...but don't ask why..I don't have the answer...but I don't want anyone to bring a thing...I do all the cooking and I have it ready and hot when they arrive....I know..it sounds weird..but I am a 'Martha' and I love making my family feel special and I love serving them...I have learned thru the years to make alot of stuff ahead of time and freeze it and then all I have to do that day is put it in the oven while I fix the potatoe salad and the banana pudding and all the hot veggies and deviled eggs...it is not unusual to have over 15 different things to eat not counting desserts! lol lol I know ...I know...I spoil them...but to me they are so worth it. My aunts have always told me I was just like my grandmother..(daddy's mama) I remember one year I was standing at the stove and daddy was the first one to arrive and as he turned the corner and ran toward me to hug me...it was like I was seeing a little boy in his eyes..that was flooded with the memories of his childhood at that moment watching his mama standing at the old cook stove and cooking for all her family..I couldn't help but break down and cry...oh if only I could leave as many memories for my kids and grandkids as my grandmothers left for me...oh lordy...didn't mean to get off on a tear jerker...now I gotta go wash my face!
Oh good grief girl..I am so sorry..I didn't realize I had written a book..maybe I should have signed it...it might go into paperback! lol
Your yummy menu makes me rethink my bah humbug attitude about this holiday. I'm ready for some good eatin'. I wish I had someone to pass it off to but I'm afraid I have quite a few years yet before that happens.
I can't tell you how these posts are killing me.... I love the big turkey dinner and I can taste it in my mouth!!! I need TURKEY DAY NOW!!! Waldorf salad... you and Chris have it so it must be yummy!
I found your blog via Dawnies Life and I think you are living my husband's dream. He has always wanted to buy a motor home and travel.
I loved all of your Thanksgiving traditions, especially the one with the Girls Only party the night before. While I was growing up we had the big family dinners and I remember them as being full of warmth and love. The women in my family were excellent cooks.
Once I married, Thanksgiving became a mixed agenda. Some years we traveled home 13 hours away to celebrate with my family. When we didn't we either cooked a turkey dinner for our trio or went out to dinner at a Thanksgiving buffet. The Chicago area has some great holiday feasts. My husband's family doesn't have Thanksgiving traditions so we've only spent one Thanksgiving holiday with his side. This year I'm cooking dinner at home and there will be football games, movies and that turkey dinner with all of the trimmings!
Hey Donna, Thank you for the bookworm award. Right after I saw yours I got another one from Tam at Yackity yak yak. Looks like fun, I'll have to pull one of Kevin's weird books out because they are the closest to me. Hopefully I can post it tomorrow. Looks like you have some great Thanksgiving Traditions. We always go to my aunt's house, she's a cooking teacher so she's a great cook. I usually just bring the easy stuff like rolls, or a relish tray. After lunch all the ladies get the newspaper out and decide where we are going to shop for the next couple of days. All the guys are in the livingroom half asleep watching football. Same thing every year. It's fun though! Talk to you soon, gotta get in the bed. Kristen
Hiya Donna...Your Thanksgiving menu sounds like no one will ever go away hungry...LOL...Turkey Trot,
that's sounds like "work" to me... so I'll just sit back in my chair and look at your pictures of it! Have fun... Hugs, ;-) Bo
Darn, the race starts at 8:45? Guess I won't be there, I'll be doing my own trot in the kitchen at that time. But, it would have been fun.
Hugs,
Chris
Hey, there's no mashed taters on your menu! For shame! Ooh, I'll trot behind that particular turkey! Yum yum!!!!!!!!!! What a way to walk off the pounds, eh?
Justine :o )
Hi Donna...Please come by my blog when you get a chance...you are a part of an unusual meme. ;-) Bo
Donna what a wonderful post I love your traditions we have come to love thanksgiving since we moved to the US and I am glad I will be back for this years celebrations, I can trot to behind the fireman with you all haha. hugs, Kathy
WOW this all sounds great girl...I start real early in the morning getting the BIG Bird ready for the oven...also make allot of things ahead of time..in fact its like I'm in the kitchen for days...but just want everything to be special for my family..Oh and I give thanks to God when I see them all at the same time..so the work doesn't matter..hugs and smiles Gloria
Thanks so much for sharing your Thanksgiving traditions! I soooo enjoyed reading them, and they sound like SO MUCH FUN!!!! For the first time, I am passing the torch to my daughter for the Christmas family get together, but I will still have everyone over for Thanksgiving. Have a great weekend, "talk" soon!!
Good Morning Lady, Families are wonderful aren't they. Our big celebration is a Christmas and about 50 in just our family.
Happy holidays.
Hugs,
Judy
Well, that girly party sounds like it would be soooo fun...and I am gonna suggest it. Well, only probllem here, all the g-girls would want to come, too, so,....let's see, that would be
8 of us...hmmmm....
and, yep, even at 70, bad legs and all, I could fall into a HARD RUN to see if I could catch HIM....course, what the heck would i do with him?? tee heeeee
Donna,
Thanks for checking out Backroad Chronicles! I have been lurking on your Tassie adventures for quite a while already but this is my first comment.
Look forward to meeting you down the road!
Joy and Phil
Hi Donna, Thank you so much for coming by! It means alot when just starting out in the blog world. I have been meaning to say "Hello" as well. I thought it was great how you and Kristen got together recently. They were nice pictures of you both. My husband and I like Anne Rice books as well. I think the "Twilight" movie is going to be a huge hit at the box office! I like the background of Stephanie Meyer. She is an amazing success story.
Please come visit me anytime. You're always welcome!
~Melissa
I have to say that you are in my top 5, very close to the top, maybe on the top of people I most want to meet.. :)
What fun for the women to all spend the night together. I'm not sure our Thanksgiving dinner would ever get prepared if I did that though. Now I might be able to participate in a run with THAT fireman beside me! Since you already have so many for Thanksgiving, you won't mind if my family joins you for that delicious sounding menu, will you? laurie
Donna your Thanksgiving menu sounds incredible! How could that fit on one plate??
I like you new tradition too, I will not miss the post on the turkey trot for all the tea in China!
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