Or do you do something different? What are some memorable and fun traditions you have as a family?
When I was a kid my grandpa, dad and uncles all went out pheasant hunting while the meal was being prepared by the ladies back at home.
What are some of your favorite dishes?
Just wondering…
Hope you all have a blessed holiday and give thanks for what matters most.
It’s a tradition in my family that my one remaining brother and my nephews
that play the game, get together for a round of golf early in the day. It’s about the only round I’ll play in a year anymore. Fishing for trout now rules the day!
We then gather at my 93 year old Dad’s for turkey and ham and all the traditional southern trimmings. I love homemade cornmeal turkey dressing,
scratch-made mac and cheese, green bean casserole, my sister’s wonderful cranberry salad, excellent deviled eggs, my favorite sweet potato casserole, and that wonderful turkey gravy, washed down with the best homemade iced tea I’ve ever drunk! There are other dishes but the aforementioned are my favorites!
We then retire to cuss at and root against the Cowboys!
Sorry Cowboy fans!
We do the traditional turkey day. I’m staying home and eating with the inlaws. My moms going to my uncles.
We are having a ton of food for 5 people. Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, my home made corn bread stuffing, yams, corn, peas, and 4 kinds of pies. First year with out lasagna :(. I guess it’s enough for 5 people, 17 pounds between the ham and turkey.
I’ll watch the games and tie some flies. I’ll be in my fleece pants all day unless it get hot in here and then I’ll put on shorts.
We never went for the whole dressed up thing. But thats just us.
Going elk hunting in the morning. Then to one of my brothers homes for turkey and a smoked elk backstrap with all the usuall fixins. Pumpkin and peach pies for after.
Warren,
Good for you & Deb, although it doesn’t surprise me.
As for us, we always head down to Columbus to our niece & nephew’s. Family comes from Ohio, Virginia, & DC. I take peanut butter fudge, Niece, Colleen & her Sister Katie roast a large turkey & I deep fry one. We call the deep fried one the “kitchen turkey” because LITTLE of it makes it as far as the dining room table. It’s eaten as soon as it’s carved.
I hope EVERYONE has a Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving.
Mike
Duck hunt in the morning with my dad, then off to my grandparents’ house for turkey dinner. Generally we do a more or less traditional meal, but we’ve done a big German Mennonite meal before (verenike, fried potatoes, german sausage, ham, cream gravy…). I offered to do a fish fry/ grill goose this year, but they didn’t go for it.
This year my wife and I are traveling to my sister’s to celebrate with her grown children and families and with my mother, Turkey and all the trimmings
pumkin pie,apple pie, games and visiting,and normally some archery deer hunting, this year I will hunt the week following the the holiday.Also my wife will be taking family pictures for my sister and her family… that are all home only a few times a year together.
Flyfisher121
My family do things really early for everything except New Years so i already celebrated my birthday/Christmas/Thanks Giving/Vet. day all 2 weeks ago :P… We had Korean style roasted turkey (it was nasty…) some BBQ, which made up for the nasty turkey AND for 15+ people…, gave thanks, watched Titanic (random), gave out and received MANY gifts, hugs and kisses (PLEASE STOP GRANDMA! AUNTIEs!) All in all, it was a fun day
Thanks to my early gifts, mostly mainly THANKFULLY in cash!!! :D, i now can get better functioning vice that i NEEDED for a while now! :lol:
with the passing of my mother earlier this year, it certainly wont be a nice as that rockwell painting but will be OK.
it will be just my brother and sister in law, their 2 kids and my dad.
the turkey will also be present as will all of the usual trimmings. we are french canadian, so maybe there will be a pork pie (tortiere) and some french meat stuffing as a side dish.
many many years ago when my great aunts were still alive, thanksgiving was always at their house and all of the great aunts and great uncles would be there along with their children and their children. sometimes the relatives from canada would come down to connecticut by the train. some would come in from cape cod, various parts of massachusettes and florida. one long table for the adults and another table for the kids. the adults would have to eat in shifts, there were that many. everything was cooked on an old fashion wood and coal stove in the kitchen. boy was it hot in there, it was also where the dinner table was. but that was years ago and i have some good memories of that time.
today will be the same but on a much smaller scale.
Normand,
I would have loved being there with you. Thanks for sharing those wonderful memories with us today. Cherish them always and please know that on this Thanksgiving Day you are not alone. Enjoy the day with family and know that I am thinking of you.
For the years of my youth we always went to my grandmother’s on my mom’s side and it was very traditional. The stand outs in my mind of that time were my older siblings getting chased out of the kitchen for sneaking turkey before it was served. By the time I caught on to what was being done the STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN rule was in strict enforcement. At the table manners were taught first and for most. No uncooked joints on the table (elbows) would be announced from my grandfather and hard lessons to follow. Desert of pies made by my mother were served with homemade whipped cream, my favorite, and the kind in the can. My grandfather would squirt the whipped cream from the can it into our mouths till we couldn’t close them to the horror of my grandmother. I always wanted the drum stick because it reminded me of Fred Flintstone and my uncle wanted them for his lunch.
As we got older we found that stealing of the turkey was as much fun for them as it was for us. Table manners were learned and not forgotten and hard lessons learned were laughed about.
Then we got older and new traditions came to be. My brother and sisters with thier children in tow all gather for Thanks Giving the Saturday before the actual Thanks Giving. This was my mom’s idea. That way we all can spend the day together without splitting time with the in-laws. My wife and I host (didn’t this year cause I was really sick) and we laugh, eat, play and sip from a fresh keg of Christmas Ale. When dinner is over we repeat insert a nap watch Planes Trains and Automobiles and Christmas Vacation. We recoup all day Sunday then back to work.
On Thanks Giving the actual day I have worked the last 10.
My wife and I spend a couple of hours the two days before Thanksgiving making Lefse (Norwegian potato-based flat bread). It has a delicate taste. I make the dough two days before and make them into balls about the size of golf balls. Refrigerate overnight. The next evening my wife rolls them out paper thin and then I cook on a special grill. The best part is that we then deliver them to our friends and family! My wife isn’t that fond of lefse so she doesn’t mind giving the stuff up but I love it…only this year we gave so much of it away (seven families) I had one piece. We do the same thing for Christmas. It’s a tradition we started and look forward to it every time.
A simple family meal, with brother’s family and friends and my 91 year old mother. It gets harder each year with her and that makes it bittersweet. Today we leave for the annual gathering of upwards of 30 friends that I’ve know since high school and college days. It is an annual highlight for me.
Pretty much Norman Rockwell at our house. Then after dinner we try to give away as much of the left-overs as we can to those who attended. This year it was two of our grandsons and one of their girlfriends. Holly Cow! It took as long to clean up the mess as it did to make it.
Green Salad
Turkey
Stuffing
Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans
Cranberry Salad
Rolls
Wine (the kids are in their late 20’s)
Apple Pie w/ice cream
Fluffy Pumpkin Pie w/whipped topping.
Ah Norman…the picture of the coal stove brings back memories for me. As a child my family would go to Mr Carmel, Pa to visit relatives and all of the cooking was done on their coal stove. Polish cooking and a coal stove are some great memories for me.
Thanks
Bernie
