Thanksgiving Thoughts

 

Thanksgiving in our house has never been what most people think of "traditional".  Because of my food allergies, we don't can't do turkey.  While most people have a crowd on the holiday, my family is small.  It's just the three of us and my in laws.  We started our "celebration" on Wednesday and it runs through Thursday. It's not what many people might think of as "normal."  But I have to say that this past Thanksgiving was one of the least stressful and most relaxing that I've had.  

While getting to Thanksgiving was challenging, Wednesday was much less so.   It started out very foggy, but cleared during the morning. Our landscaper FINALLY came to clean up the yard (I've been asking for a couple of weeks) and I found out that the company that supplies our propane and heating oil, would be able to work on our fireplace.  The technician came on Wednesday morning and amazingly it was a relatively easy fix.  (He was also a funny and personable man, which is NOT what we had previously experience...very grateful for that.)  Furthermore, it was not too expensive.  Now that's something to be thankful for!

It was fixed by the time my in laws arrived a little before noon.  So we were able to spend a good portion of the afternoon sitting by the fireplace.  We also exchanged some early holiday gifts, since we won't see them until again until after Hanukkah and Christmas.  Our local grocery store has the same name as my mother-in-law's mother's maiden name (did you follow that?), which also happens to be my son's middle name.  They recently started selling merchandise.  So I couldn't resist buying sweatshirts.  While I had originally just wanted to give my mother the gift and not have her open it until Hanukkah, my husband suggested we do so when she was at our house so that we could see her face when she opened it.  She loved it!  And my husband and I also wore our sweatshirts on Thanksgiving (I couldn't buy just one), which I also think tickled her.

We had a nice relaxed dinner, which my husband and I put together.  Simple and delicious.  We also enjoyed some cranberry wine, which definitely made ME more relaxed.

On Thanksgiving morning, I settled in with coffee and started to watch the parade.  (Which I will admit made me miss my parents.)  My in laws came by mid-morning (my son had just woken up!) and we all settled in the family room to watch the parade together.  We enjoyed coffee and snacked on fruit.  Again, relaxed.

We had our "Thanksgiving" meal around 1:30.  We followed our tradition of having a "Deli" Thanksgiving.  While most may have a hot meal, we make sandwiches of pastrami, corned beef, etc. along with salads and sides.  Simple and relaxed. (Are you seeing a trend here?)

After eating, my father-in-law and husband returned to the family room to watch the game.  I took my mother-in-law and son on a short drive around town.  It gave them both a chance to see the area, which they hadn't previously done.  We ended up by Skytop, so that my mother-in-law could see the homes there.

When we got back we had coffee and dessert.  Remember the chocolate covered cranberry sauce dessert that was a mess?  Well, I tried again, this time using the advice of a friend.  (Thank you Denise!)  I didn't just cut them into "rounds" I also halved the rounds.  After they were frozen, I spooned the melted chocolate (this time I did use a little coconut oil which did make it smoother) over them.  Popped them back in the freezer for a while and then flipped them and used up the rest of the chocolate.  MUCH better results.

  The only thing is that even a half can be a bit much and very rich, so next time (yes, it looks like there will be a next time), I will slice the can into 8 rounds and then quarter each round.  I may need more chocolate, but...

As we did this, I also had my son bring our Christmas tree upstairs and set it up.  I purchased it last year at Walmart.  It is NOT the best, but it works well for us.  It is pre-lit and sports its own decorations in the form of berries and pinecones.  The "kit" also came with some snowflakes to hang (and are a total pain in the you know what) and festive ribbon, which my son managed to wrap around the tree and make it look presentable.  Maybe it's not the best when you get up close, but looking at it across the room it's nice.   Since it's in the family room, it is visible from the road which also makes me happy.

My in-laws left before dusk.  When the sun went down, we took a quick drive around town again so that we could see some holiday lights.  (Yes, I still like to do that.)  We snacked a little that night and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (because it happened to be on TCM).  Afterwards we called it a night.  Or at least my husband and I did.  Apparently my son stayed up to watch Top Hat (also on TCM)

Friday, once my son got up (and that is always later than what I'd like, but...) and had coffee and breakfast, we took a quick drive up to Skytop, this time to go into the lodge and see the incredible decorations.  (Especially the amazing gingerbread house.)  We may have taken some holiday photos as well.  (It's tradition!)

Then my son and I headed back to NJ.  He had weekend plans with friends.  I took some time to volunteer in the thrift shop (and spend some money as well.)

All in all, it was a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.  Not traditional at all, but relaxed (which is incredibly important) and a good time was had by all.  I'm sure over the next few years our traditions will evolve and change, but the one thing that I will make sure DOESN'T change is the whole "relax with family."  For me, that's what I am most thankful for.