Okay, so what are your plans for Turkey Day?

In My Humble Opinion
1

In which we discuss our plans to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Partly because my wife and I want to establish holiday traditions for our nuclear family, and partly because I prefer not to go to prison for assault, we are hosting our own feast separate from the one crazy older sister traditionally throws. My father, siblings, and & cousins are welcome to come, but I’ve just gotten the last email confirmation for what I expect will be the core group. Attending will be me, my wife, our three kids (we[sup]1[/sup] had twin boys in late September); my work wife and her girlfriend; my baby sister, whom after a lot of soul-searching[sup]2[/sup] I have agreed not to try to set up with anyone, no matter how handsome, charming, or solvent; my stepdaughter, her mother, and my stepdaughter’s fiancé[sup]3[/sup]; my best friend from college and her husband; my favorite little cousin and her five-year old; and my handsome, charming, solvent banker friend whom I am totally not planning to set up with my sister.[sup]4[/sup] Cinderella the Rhymer & I will be doing the cooking, and as some fine scotch will be served, I will be taking the precaution of removing all the firearms[sup]5[/sup] from the residence. Both ham[sup]6[/sup] and turkey[sup]7[/sup] will be served, and anyone who attempts to turn a football game during the meal will be viciously tickled, unless it’s my baby sister (because she was exposed to a bad element as a small child and thus has a wicked right hook).

But that’s just me. What about the rest of you?

[sup]1[/sup] Okay, my wife did all the actual work there. :smiley:

[sup]2[/sup] Read: threats.

[sup]3[/sup] Who, after a great deal of rumination, I have decided not to throttle, but that is another thread.

[sup]4[/sup] I am totally not lying about that. It’s not my fault if they accidentally sit together.

[sup]5[/sup] Well, not ALL. One must allow for unexpected zombie attacks.

[sup]6[/sup] For persons of taste.

[sup]7[/sup] For the uncouth.

2

Just the two of us, so last I heard* we are having stuffed Cornish game hens and probably a salad.

*He’s doing the cooking and is quite capable of changing his mind several times between now and then, to pork tenderloin or prime rib or who knows what. It’s all good. No, I mean good.
Roddy

3

Same old same old. For the 30th year in a row, we will be heading out to camp in the desert with a core group of friends. The three males have been doing this since 1984, the wives lesser time spans. We divide the various meals between us, and have set roles in the holiday presentation. The wife and I handle Wednesday night’s meal - this year it will be Italian. For Thanksgiving proper, there will be a small turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing, pea salad, gravy, rolls, several wines, afters, and a few pies. I’ve vowed to bring my own pie this year, since everybody else likes Harvest pie (pumpkin chiffon or some such shit) and I can’t stand it. Give me mince any day. All of this being done at least 50 miles from anything even remotely civilized (if you call Amboy “civilization”). Coleman stoves, propane ovens and a big pit for the turkey. Much alcohol will be consumed, what with bloody marys for breakfast, beer all day long, margaritas at 5-ish, wines with dinner and bourbon around the fire.

A fine time will be had by all. Anything to avoid spending time with “family.”

4

stay home and watch football all day

don’t know about food yet

something easy

5

Home made pizza, salad, pie , assorted goodies…and football!

6

I’ll be inching up I-95 until I get to my in-laws’

7

Avoid everybody and stay home with my love. I don’t hate T’giving or anything but it does seem kind of like a silly, pointless holiday - everybody get together and eat half-cooled food and try to make awkward conversation as you get fatter and fatter.

My SO will cook or we’ll order out a nice T’giving meal from a restaurant, whatever we feel like - no pressure. And people will insist on feeling sorry for us, even though we probably end up having a better time than they do!

8

“Half-cooled food”?

:: hyperventilates ::

I will respond to this silliness as soon as I find a paper bag.

:: continues hyperventilating ::

9

Same old. Family dinner at my parents house. Only this time apparently there will be two guest families, meaning 20+ people.

Which only means more complaining and martyrdom from my mother, even though she’s the one who invited them all. :rolleyes:

10

As usual heading up to Mom’s house though this year it will be sad, Mom is now in assisted living as she is 90 and really not well. Not circling the drain yet, but her alzheimers took a nosedive and she fell 2 months ago and my brother is no longer able to care for her at home.

We will do the family traditional of turkey, dressing cooked outside the bird [sourdough, cranberries, american chestnuts from the tree in the yard, celery, onion, garlic and assorted herbs] cranberry jelly from the can for Danny, cranberry relish homemade for the mrAru and I, scalloped sweet potatoes [no sugar or marshmallows! just some cinnamon salt and pepper and good sharp cheddar cheese] chinese restaurant garlic fried green beans and for dessert apple pie, pumpkin pie and the sugarless vanilla ice cream from Ben and Jerrys.

I also usually take advantage of the better area of counter space and double ovens to make cookies for the christmas season - springerles, pfeffernussen, spekulaas in particular because they need to age a bit before starting to dole them out. I also make cut out sugar cookies because my mom has a decent collection of cookie cutters and I can sucker my brother into doing the base coat of frosting on them. I like to also make the thumbprint cookies, usually strawberry jam, apricot jam and mixed berry - blackberry, cherry and strawberry. I usually make about 4 dozen of each and divide them up 1 dozen of each kind to my brother, mrAru for taking to work potlucks, us for in house visitors and the last dozen of each is wrapped up with a few of each type on a little Christmas decorated paper plate for passing out to friends. Back when we were all living at home and adolescent my mom and I used to make 30 or 40 dozen assorted cookies, and sometimes made the cut outs and thumbprints 2 or 3 times in the season depending on how fast we went through them.

I have been thinking of adding shortbreads to the assortment of cookies. I keep seeing some really nice shortbread molds…

11

For my wife and I, Thanksgiving is about the cooking. We do the whole traditional spread even if it’s only the two of us to eat it. I just enjoy the process as much as the results. We always throw out some invitations to various friends, but don’t usually get any takers.

One of the particular problems is that the two family members who do live in town have totally different food tastes than us. They’re doing dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in Seattle. They invited us, but I think I’d rather have a root canal. Thanksgiving, driving, in the city, in a restaurant, with no meat… yeah, sign me up for the root canal.

Anyway, we did compromise on a Thanksgiving brunch with the family here in the suburbs, so that should be a nice chance to visit. I think we’ll do that as a sort of Thanksiving-themed English tea service, which will give us a chance to pull out some of my wife’s favorite dishes that we only use once year.

Then we’ll have the afternoon free for the serious celebrating/cooking.

12

I respect your choice and have made a similar one myself some years. I enjoy the holiday, and I have fun with my family. We all get along well and we usually play games that need a large group and that’s something I like. But we do that when we get together on non-holidays, too so I beg of every other year or so.

My preference would be to stay off the highway this year, but my husband passed away last week and I’m actually eager to be gathered with that group. (The memorial service isn’t until January) I just wish I could teleport there and back.

And when I don’t go to big family Thanksgiving I fix whatever I like. Baked ziti, meatloaf, or an assortment of dips and hors d’oeuvres.

13

Make a turkey dinner for two, eat it, then engage in sloth the rest of the 4 day weekend.

I’d love to do something different, say roast beast, but monkeys will fly out of my wife’s butt before she ever has a menu change on T-day.

14

Earlybird movie then Chinese. Tradition after all.

15

oh I forgot another important t-giving tradition

of course we will be listening to Alice’s Restaurant

16

I’m with you there. It’s like someone complaining about Christmas because they all had to sit in the snow around the tree while they opened soggy presents. Someone, somewhere missed the memo on how the tradition works. :slight_smile:

17

Alone in my room reading the dope or playing minecraft/cookie clicker.
Don’t know about food, maybe a subway sandwich.

18

A 45-minute drive to the house I grew up in, for turkey and whatnot (starting off with the “traditional” tortellini in chicken broth), with my mother, and two of my brothers, each with a wife and two kids (and one will probably bring his dog as well).

At least you didn’t call it Macy’s Day (as in “the Macy’s Day Parade”), which, if anything, is the next day (although most stores will open at 8 PM on Thanksgiving Day this year) - where I have a tradition of my own: put up, and light, the National Artificial Christmas Tree (as seen on YouTube). Actually, I only decorate the top half of the tree; the only large window that looks out over anything is a glass door that opens up onto a balcony, so only the top half of the tree can be seen from anywhere. (Another tradition: it comes down on December 26.)

19

Husband returns home sometime Thursday morning, so whether we treat Thursday or Friday like the feasting holiday depends on how rough his night at work was. Just the two of us, as usual due to our work schedules and distance from family. Haul out the nice dishes, make the ever-changing Traditional Turkey Dinner (I gradually change it a little every year so he doesn’t notice - it has undergone significant mutation over the past two decades), drink a bit too much, and watch movies in our pajamas. Really the best way to spend a holiday, at least as far as the cats are concerned.

20

The two of you who still insist on feeling sorry for m T’giving (See how that works?), please don’t! T’giving will be wonderful this year as it has for the last couple! I will spend it with my other half. We’ve now been together 17.5 years and are still happy together. We will make a nice meal or buy a nice meal, eat it together, and give thanks that we have each other. The food will be delicious. We can eat it in our pajamas. We don’t have to be dragged shopping or be social, we can spend it with the person we love the most in the world. We’ll call our families and wish them a heartfelt wonderful day. That Saturday also happens to be my birthday this year, and Sunday, I will put up the tree.

What could be better?