Thanksgiving tops the list of my favorite times of the year, followed by Christmas. I love the smell of pumpkin spice, wood fires, and a Thanksgiving feast. I also love how quick and easy the entertaining can be with just a little preparation. I know, “little” is a relative term. I mean it in relation to Christmas. 😉
In the 26 years that I’ve been married, there have been only a handful of Thanksgivings that I did not host. Early in our marriage, pre-kids, we lived away from family, so we created a family from a montage of local people who were in the same boat as we were: Bible college students we hardly knew, foreign medical fellows conducting research at UMMC, neighbors, etc. Those fun-filled Thanksgivings included foreign foods and games—lots of games. On one Thanksgiving with the Bible school students, the fun and games lasted until very late in the night, and hubby and I wondered how we could gently nudge our guests out the door! It turned out that a couple of them were heading back home to Michigan (from Jackson, MS) that night and were waiting for their ride (coming from Michigan) to arrive. The others were determined to see them off.
Then, when we settled back in Mississippi after a two-year stint in Nashville, we included our elderly friends from church who had no relatives living nearby, single teachers from the homeschool co-op, and foreign exchange students. On one of those Thanksgivings, my 8-year-old son wallowed in misery in my bedroom, burning up with a 24-hour fever, while we carried on with dinner as if nothing was amiss so that our elderly friends would not be distressed. We took turns checking on him and bringing more food to the table. So many memories….
As far as easy entertaining, we’ve tried everything! We’ve ordered a fried turkey from our local burger joint (Trace Grill) and done the other 20 or so sides and desserts ourselves; we’ve purchased an electric smoker and gotten up at 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving to have the big bird ready for the 1 p.m. dinner; and we’ve ordered the entire meal (and still added our necessary/expected side dishes) from fancy establishments in recent years just to have an opportunity to sleep in on that eventful day! My family doesn’t hunt wild game, so the huge midday meal is typically followed by a photo shoot for the various families’ Christmas cards, shopping the Black Friday ads, and dragging out the Christmas décor. If my mom is with us for Thanksgiving, then the whole house will be decorated for Christmas before nightfall; she’s that good.
I keep a few recipes as expected staples to the meal. We’re not too picky. The source of the meat can change as needed, but we will definitely have Aunt Lori’s Corn Casserole, Aunt Christy’s homemade whipped potatoes and her from-scratch crescent rolls, and a sinfully delicious Chocolate Cake baked in a cornucopia cake pan! All the other sides are wild cards. Even with those expected dishes, the number of items on the menu can cause even the most organized Thanksgiving event coordinator to forget about the corn casserole in the warming drawer. I guess we had too many sides that year!
I hope that you have an especially blessed Thanksgiving Day this year, even if it means you must have it on a picnic blanket with your mask at the ready!
