Thanksgiving Traditions!!!!
 

What are yours?

Our family will be down at Hilton Head for the annual family reunion. My husband's uncle lives down there and all his neighbors on the cul-de-sac let him have their houses free for Thanksgiving so the whole cul-de-sac is full of Carnations!:) 75 this year.

Has anybody tried the new pumpkin-flavored coffee creamer? I think it's only out for the holidays and was afraid it'd be gross, but it's fabulous!

Yes i have and it is delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i swear i was like just give this to me in place of the coffee. :)

My uncle and aunt live there in Hilton head also. I love it t here so pretty and relaxing

as far as traditions there is usually 15 of us who gather at each others houses this yr it is back to mom and dad's. I am stuck again a s i am every yr with the green bean casserole , mash potatoes ,and yam souffle ( ok casserole)

I cook the ham & turkey. My sister Olga makes the chicken & roast beef. Mom & eldest sister make all the side dishes.

Other 3 sisters & 1 brother can't cook worth a damn so we make sure they stay out of the kitchen and away from all cooking activity.

I guess this is a tradition b/c this is the way things have been done in my family for years. When I was a little girl, I was allowed to stay in the kitchen and learn b/c I was the only one that showed any interest in the cooking process. As soon as I turned 12, I was allowed to cook the ham by myself. At 15, I did the turkey & ham and that's the way things have been done ever since.

Lets see...I usually work. :(

we don't really have any thanksgiving traditions anymore... long story.

BUT this year we're having a pretty big gathering of "orphans" at my mom's house. (friends with family outta state)

my friend juls and i are cooking the whole meal...

should be pretty interesting and a hell of a lot of fun!!


side note: carnation, it's good? i saw it last time i went to pick up some amaretto and almost grabbed it, but then thought - nah, i better find someone else who likes it first! haha. have you tried the other ones?? they've got a whole bunch of news ones, it seems. mmm coffee!

I don't really like turkey that much, so my dad makes my favorite dish for Thanksgiving-- shrimp and grits. Yummy! While the grits are cooking (the right ones take a few hours), the fam has a football game. It's a lot of fun. After the dinner and dessert (pumpkin and pecan pies), mom and I usually scour the sale papers and plan our attack for the next day's after-Thanksgiving sale specials.

My immediate family usually gets together & watches movies all day. Somehow the food gets cooked somewhere in there-usually my mom makes biscuits & my dad makes everything else. :p


We stopped getting together with the extended family because it just got too big to get everyone together in one place.

I would not kid you...it's heavenly!:) Ballerina kept raving about it and finally brought some home--mm'mmmmm.

We have our big family dinner then my extended family on my mom's side all rent rooms at a local hotel (about 7 or more rooms) Everyone brings their left overs and pull all of the tables out of their rooms and we play poker all night in the little meeting area. We've been doing this since I was 4 or 5, and it's a lot of fun. We play in the indoor pool all night too. All in all there are about 20 or so people.

But we are staying here this year for Thanksgiving. So we are starting a tradition of our own and going camping. *LOL*

Church with my boyfriend's family (apparently most churches have Thanksgiving services, who knew?) and then stuffing our faces at two different houses and playing board games. :D

I tend to go out to Marie Callendar's with my mom, brother, and grandmother, and maybe a couple friends.

This year might be a bit different, though. I'm talking with my future roommate about us meeting each other's families for thanksgivings! I bet if that happens, we're gonna be SO FULL.

in the grand tradition of my procrastinating family, both my mom and aunt have bought turkeys but neither has taken responsibility for hosting thanksgiving.

all the "kids" in my family have grown up, with my youngest cousin being 22 so traditions have changed much since we were kids. if my cousins/brother actually come around, i believe we will have the kids table again. about 2 years ago when my grandmother's alzheimer's started getting bad, we resurrected the kids table. which quickly turned into a drinking game and "i bet you won't" table. longest talked about bet: when i bet my brother he wouldn't drink the gravy boat for a dollar. he did. last year, we welcomed my cousin's husband to the table...but not her. as a child, she shunned us for the adult's table. and now she is stuck there. but bless her heart, she let her husband join the kids tables.

you could so make that into a movie... sounds like boatloads of fun! ;)

My immediate family usually gathers at my grandfather's house early in the morning to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade together. My dad cooks the turkey every year and he's expert at it! Since my grandmother passed 7 years ago, I am the one who carries on the tradition of fixing the Polish side dishes (three dishes: one beets with onions, one cucumbers with sour cream, and one herring with sour cream). My sister is a professional chef and she usually has to work during the holidays. If she's there, she'll jump in and fix the regular side dishes.

Then, my dad and grandpa fall asleep. :p

.....Kelly :)

Your Family sounds like a lot more fun than mine!

We usually alternate years between my husband's family and my family, however this year my parents decided to fly to Seattle to visit my sister for Thanksgiving, so we are going to my in-laws again. My mother-in-law uses Velveeta any time a recipe calls for cheese, Cool-Whip any time it calls for Whipped Cream, Margarine for butter, and a packet of powdered "brown" gravy instead of making gravy from the drippings. I even offered to make gravy last year, but she told me that I was a guest and didn't need to do anything. I think I'll pack snacks and horde them in the guest room for when I get hungry.

Thanksgiving used to involve 50-60 people at my house (my Mom is one of 7 kids) and it was easier to invite everyone's in-laws to our house so everyone could be together (since the 'in-laws' usually involved like...10-15 people). We also have had family friends join us. But then my great-aunt and great-uncle and their family broke off...then one aunt & uncle moved to New Mexico and another aunt & uncle to Florida. And some of the 'in-laws' have broken off as well. I think my Mom said there are only 29 of us this year--all family and 'in-law', no family friends.

But since there are so many people, and since my great-aunt and great-uncle own a catering company--we've had catered Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. It's my great-aunt's recipes anyway--so it's not like the food isn't good. My Mom still makes applesauce, a strawberry-rhubarb jello mold, corn bread muffins, and pumpkin pie. And this year she's told me that most of that will be my responsibility--plus making my special margarita pie and brownies. Most of it we'll cook on Wednesday--but Mom always gets up at 6 AM on Thursday morning to make the pumpkin pie fresh.

We've also started a new tradition the past couple of years--celebrating Hanukkah on Thanksgiving. There are 10 of us cousins and since we're all grown (except one who is almost 11--the 3 oldest after him are all seniors in high school) no one is around for the Winter anymore. Since my cousins and I are 'no fun' (meaning--we all just ask for money) my Mom and her siblings used to go all out for each other--but it has turned into a mess...and really complicated Thanksgiving in many ways. So supposedly, this year, it's just my cousins and I getting stuff. I'm the oldest and somehow no one ever listens when I ask for money (which is funny--since I'm the one who needs it most since I'll be paying off grad-school loans really soon!) so we'll see what happens. Last year, some people did...and one Aunt got me the most unnecessary gift ever--the first gift I've EVER returned for the cash...so I told my Mom she really needs to be explicit with people this year. Not to say I'm a money grubber--but my other cousins just spend their money on beer and college fun or whatever high school kids spent it on these days (up until May I was the only one who had graduated from college yet--although 2 just did)--and I'm the one who uses the money to pay for stuff for my cat and my apartment.

My family usually goes up to Michigan and we stay with one of my two aunts who are up there. If it's a "big year" (when my two cousins and their families come back...they alternate years between our family and their wives' families), then we stay at my Aunt Anne's house. If it's a "small year" (when it's just the normal crew...my aunts, my uncle, my immediate family, and my grandparents), then we stay at my Aunt Margie's house. No matter the size, though, every year is crazy. Just because that's my family. But it's lots of fun too. We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, we spend the whole day cooking the turkey (so the house smells AMAZING), we goof around a lot, and then we completely engorge ourselves in the great food. I look forward to my Aunt Anne's corn pudding the most.

But the real question is... stuffing or dressing? Bread or cornbread?

Make mine cornbread dressing. MMmmm!

(My mother in law makes stuffing with saltines, which really tastes much better than it sounds. Very Yankee of her!)

My Hubby and I did that a few years ago and it was great! We made hens on the fire in a dutch oven with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and smores for dessert! We had a very nice time and were suprised at how crowded the campground was.

This year his parents are coming in town. Its their first thanksgiving that they don't have to cook for and they are kind of lost in what to do! :)

My family is pretty small. When I was growing up, it was pretty much just me, my parents, and my grandfather. We'd have turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce (if my mom remembered to prepare it - she forgot half the time), and some type of veggie. My birthday is around Thanksgiving, so dessert was always an ice cream cake.

Nowadays, my husband and I live not far from my parents and in-laws, so we visit both sets of parents over the course of the long weekend. This year, we're going to my parents' for Turkey Day, and they're doing the turkey breast, stuffing, etc. that they've always made. On Saturday we'll visit my in-laws.

My mother still serves ice cream cake for dessert. :rolleyes: The only difference is that the cake also has my husband's name on it; his birthday is a few days after mine. *sigh*

Traditionally, my family has always gone to my grandma's house (dad's mom) for Thanksgiving along with between 30 - 60 of the relatives depending on who can make it - my dad is one of 12 kids. However, this year, my Aunt Mary is hosting Thanksgiving since my grandmother passed away this summer.

There's always too much food, however, it's fantastic food. My Aunt Mary will make the turkey and the ham, and probably the mashed potatoes and that will probably be it. Everyone else will bring everything else. My mom always has to bring the green bean casserole and she's so sick of bringing it, but people tell her that she can't not bring it.

While I have no family any more, I end up at Bookems, my best friend.

He has to work being a Police Officer and I work 1/2 Day for My customers.

His wife Debbie is a cooking fool!:D God Bless Her! She fixes enough for 20 people with 6-7 or less, The Good Guy takes home left overs!:D

But it used to be that When My Aunt took it over, there of course was The Turkey and all of the fixins, there was "Red Salmomon" salad. It was A Family Tradition for good luck. It was fantastic and pricey.:)

Being Poor, it was, well, it was something special.

But, anytime that Family can get together it is special.

Carnation is so Blessed because she has such an extened family then it is even much more special!

My Thanksgiving was last month (crazy Canadians)...I skipped going to my aunt's (dad's family) or my grandma's (mom's side) and went to Chicago to dance.

Despite this, I still made pumpkin pie from scratch. I think this is my new tradition, since I only made pie for the first time last year. This year was fun though since I went over a friend's house to bake my pies and he later had thanksgiving for all our friends (when I was in Chicago). It was nice being able to participate in the potluck even if I wasn't there.

Every year the extended family heads up north to spend the weekend at the cottage - so a huge dinner with much wine consumed amongst all the fall colours on the lake.... perhaps my favourite event of the year. The weekend is also the time when we "close-up" the cottage - take in the docks, put boats into storage, take pump out of water, go for last swim ;)

Oh and like Moosegirl said it was last month for us Canadians... so it's not to cold on/in the lake.

I am forced to go to my brother & sil's farm every Thanksgiving. They don't have anyone fooled - it's the only holiday they can have both of their families in one fell swoop. But since there's a limit to how many times you can say, "nice horses," it gets boring pretty quickly. Also, no matter how many times you say, "I'm catching a 6am flight in the morning, I need to leave early," my sil doesn't hear you - even though it's an hour plus drive home. By 7pm, Healthy Choice starts to sound good!

But the real tribute is not the turkey breast, it's the fact that there is almost literally a different dressing for every adult there. In the bird, out of the bird, cornbread with sausage, bread with apples & pecans, cornbread with apples & pecans, "stuffing balls" (to be avoided like the plague!), and dressing with hamburger. One learns never to say, "Please pass the dressing," as five other people will hand you a dish! I think most of us would be happy with cranberries (jelled, whole, or frozen) with the dressing of his or her choice.

My mom's family and dad's family all live in the same area, so typically we head over to my dad's mom's house for lunch (they are a small bunch) and typically we aren't there long.. love my two girl cousins to death, but its always been a wierd family situation there.

Then we head to my mom's mom's house. Typically there its a crowd of 30 or so of us. We all hang out in various rooms talking and have the "kid's table" too which has turned into a room of us. Its mostly just a night of socializing.

I love getting to see everyone in one day. I am very lucky to have all my family so close. My boy's family is only an hour and a half from mine so hopefully in the future it will stay this way.

I can understand the Cool Whip, but Velveeta? Ugh!

This year we're staying home for Thanksgiving with no guests expected. So I've already gotten a turkey, a smallish ham, pumpkin and apple pies (frozen, because I just can't master pies). Will probably cook up the ham on Sunday to snack on throughout the week. DH grills the turkey on Thursday (yes, you read that correctly, and it's the best darned turkey in the land) and is on mashed potato duty. I handle the rest of the sides (salad, corn, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, etc) and make sure to put the pies in the oven on time. Lots of football and reruns on tv, and if I get lucky, I'll get the entire brood in the basement to clean and dig out the holiday decorations over the weekend.

Best thing about the Thanksgiving meal is that we'll make Hot Browns on Friday. Yummy!

I love Hot Browns! If you're ever in Pittsburgh, try their cousin, Turkey Devonshire - equally yummy!!

right before thanksgiving this year my sisters and i sat down for a big thanksgiving dinner.

hopefully this will become our chapters tradition...and i love that i get 2 full thanksgiving dinner in a matter of a week haha.

<3 nicole