What are You Doing on Thanksgiving
Nov 17th, 2000, 08:38 AM
#1
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What are You Doing on Thanksgiving
I'm wondering...do you prefer to stay home with family, or, do you like to pack up and go somewhere special?
If so, what is your favorite travel destination or "haunt" that you enjoy visiting at Thanksgiving, and why? Have you any Thanksgiving travel stories, funny or otherwise, to share?
My family stays home. We've thought about going somewhere warmer (we're right outside of Chicago), but we can't bear to not have the house have the aroma of turkey dinner cooking on that day!
If so, what is your favorite travel destination or "haunt" that you enjoy visiting at Thanksgiving, and why? Have you any Thanksgiving travel stories, funny or otherwise, to share?
My family stays home. We've thought about going somewhere warmer (we're right outside of Chicago), but we can't bear to not have the house have the aroma of turkey dinner cooking on that day!
Nov 17th, 2000, 10:27 AM
#2
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On Thanksgiving Day, 28 aunts, uncles, parents, in-laws, and friends will be at my house all day doing the traditional menu and also making homemade cider on an antique hand-cranked cider press. I love doing it each year, but right this moment, as I contemplate the shopping, cleaning, and furniture moving that will have to take place by next Thursday, those e-mail specials for a quick trip somewhere nice look mighty appealing! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Nov 17th, 2000, 11:15 AM
#3
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My family and I drive to Atlanta, stay at nice hotel, and do some Christmas shopping.
The traditional thanksgiving sounds wonderful, but it has never been a big deal in my family. Growing up, we often attended a big college football rivalry in our state. Other years, my brothers, father and grandfather hunted together. So, we were rarely together on T-Day.
I married a non-hunter, but he had an allegience to yet another college football rivalry. For our first Thanksgiving together, my Mom and Dad invited themselves, which was fine,and brought the turkey and dressing. Hubby wanted dumplings, which I had never cooked. On some bad advice, I bought the frozen kind. After the meal,my father and my husband settled in front of the TV for the rest of the visit.
The traditional thanksgiving sounds wonderful, but it has never been a big deal in my family. Growing up, we often attended a big college football rivalry in our state. Other years, my brothers, father and grandfather hunted together. So, we were rarely together on T-Day.
I married a non-hunter, but he had an allegience to yet another college football rivalry. For our first Thanksgiving together, my Mom and Dad invited themselves, which was fine,and brought the turkey and dressing. Hubby wanted dumplings, which I had never cooked. On some bad advice, I bought the frozen kind. After the meal,my father and my husband settled in front of the TV for the rest of the visit.
Nov 17th, 2000, 11:39 AM
#5
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Not much. My parents are coming to visit, more to see my daughter than my husband and I. We ordered some food from Boston Market and will make some other dishes. My husband has to work 12 hours that day, so he won't even be eating with us (he is only guaranteed every other Thanksgiving off). Thanksgiving has never been a big deal for us. I want desperately to go away, but with his work schedule, and the fact that I am still recovering from knee surgery, makes that only a dream.
Nov 17th, 2000, 01:01 PM
#6
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We almost always travel somewhere fun (can't pass up a 4-day weekend using only 1 vacation day). This year I was just about to book a fantastic fare to London ($299 plus 10,000 bonus airmiles) and then my wife invited her mother to come visit us.
Better believe I'll be at work that Friday.
Better believe I'll be at work that Friday.
Nov 17th, 2000, 01:34 PM
#7
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Thanksgiving is MY big holiday. Family of about 25-30 people (4 generations still hanging on.) This is the only holiday we have with most of us together. Christmas has become much more difficult as we usually have to make it before or after Dec. 25 because of distance, divorce etc. etc. BUT our Thanksgiving is still wonderful and the favorite of all, especially the 4 in college right now. One is coming from Villa Nova, one from Univ. of Chicago, one from SIU and one from Northern Ill. It's also the week of my mom's birthday and she will be 80 this year. She has
9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and all will be there again. It's a huge amount of work and I do most of it- but it is probably the most happy day of the year for me. We really are NOT a Norman Rockwell picture, but on this day and since I have the room- we seem to somehow connect in the older ways that we used to experience all the time. Turkey, lasagna, homemade pies, red cabbage, sweet potatoes, at least 3 other kinds of potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce with nuts, dressing, my dad's cheesecake, homemade cannoli and pizzelles etc. etc. Food beyond belief, seldom seen outside of Italy. Kids all bring friends, exes show up, and at least 3 or 4 people are added each year at the spur of the moment- because we found that they had nowhere else to go. This year I think we are having my son-in-law's brother from Texas and a work friend from New York. We play trivial pursuit, and other work games until very late; it is very, very loud at times since all unfolds with constant football game noise and babies crying etc. etc. I have traveled and be gone for Christmas, New Year's and Easter on occasion (and boy was I told about it)- but I can never violate the Thanksgiving covenant or I will truly become the "puttana." I cook my 24 or 25 lbs. turkey in a great big black covered kettle and feel sorry for the second wife as she can never compete and she knows it. Even her kids want to come to my house. I think someone said- "The best revenge is living well."
9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and all will be there again. It's a huge amount of work and I do most of it- but it is probably the most happy day of the year for me. We really are NOT a Norman Rockwell picture, but on this day and since I have the room- we seem to somehow connect in the older ways that we used to experience all the time. Turkey, lasagna, homemade pies, red cabbage, sweet potatoes, at least 3 other kinds of potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce with nuts, dressing, my dad's cheesecake, homemade cannoli and pizzelles etc. etc. Food beyond belief, seldom seen outside of Italy. Kids all bring friends, exes show up, and at least 3 or 4 people are added each year at the spur of the moment- because we found that they had nowhere else to go. This year I think we are having my son-in-law's brother from Texas and a work friend from New York. We play trivial pursuit, and other work games until very late; it is very, very loud at times since all unfolds with constant football game noise and babies crying etc. etc. I have traveled and be gone for Christmas, New Year's and Easter on occasion (and boy was I told about it)- but I can never violate the Thanksgiving covenant or I will truly become the "puttana." I cook my 24 or 25 lbs. turkey in a great big black covered kettle and feel sorry for the second wife as she can never compete and she knows it. Even her kids want to come to my house. I think someone said- "The best revenge is living well."
Nov 18th, 2000, 04:43 AM
#9
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This will be our first Thanksgiving without our son, who has a medical condition that makes it hard for him to travel. It is also our first Thanksgiving after my husband's diagnosis of cancer and surgery for that. I didn't think I could cope with having just the two of us sitting over a turkey breast and mini-casseroles of sweet-potatoes, etc., but fortunately one of his siblings is visiting Williamsburg and invited us to join them for dinner.
This is better than sitting at home, and also better than going to the house of a relative -- where we've often gone before -- who has no idea of the dangers of leaving stuffed poultry or fish sitting out on the counter for hours before serving it -- we get sick every time and the relatives say they get "holiday flu" every year.
On the other hand, I'm having some guilt about not going to work at one of the soup kitchens, which was my original plan when I knew we'd be alone this year.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
This is better than sitting at home, and also better than going to the house of a relative -- where we've often gone before -- who has no idea of the dangers of leaving stuffed poultry or fish sitting out on the counter for hours before serving it -- we get sick every time and the relatives say they get "holiday flu" every year.
On the other hand, I'm having some guilt about not going to work at one of the soup kitchens, which was my original plan when I knew we'd be alone this year.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Nov 18th, 2000, 06:52 AM
#10
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Whoa - downer, Cass. Sorry. Hope other people have better stories. Myself I think Thanksgiving is sort of a weird holiday anyways, as if eating turkey with people you don't live with anymore on purpose is worth paying top dollar to ride cattle-car for 4 hours in a plane each way.
Maybe if we didn't have planes, email, telephones, cheap turkey and sweet potatoes available year-round, it would seem like a bigger deal. But I admit, I usually do go home to Illinois and seven kinds of white and sweet potatoes for the 4 days of Thanksgiving and then I don't have to feel so guilty about begging off traveling for Christmas.
Maybe if we didn't have planes, email, telephones, cheap turkey and sweet potatoes available year-round, it would seem like a bigger deal. But I admit, I usually do go home to Illinois and seven kinds of white and sweet potatoes for the 4 days of Thanksgiving and then I don't have to feel so guilty about begging off traveling for Christmas.
Nov 18th, 2000, 05:42 PM
#12
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We'll spend this Thanksgiving in London. Great airfare, $350 RT just couldn't be beat. We share our family between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so November is our time to travel. Last year we went to Paris. It is a lovely time to adventure - hardly any crowds. We spent last Thanksgiving Day at the Louvre and we were able to get great seats for Lion King this year in London on short notice. I think American holidays are the best times to travel abroad.
Nov 19th, 2000, 07:44 AM
#13
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Englishman -- a troll-ish sounding post but here goes: The first Thanksgiving was, indeed, marked as thanks for survival and a good harvest in order to help the Plymouth (Mass.) pilgrims to get through the coming winter (1621), and it was probably repeated henceforth as a religious day of thanks to God. However, it did not become an official "state" holiday until much later (not sure of the date).
Celebration of harvest was not new with the colonialization in America and was already observed in various places in Europe (this shouldn't surprise you).
American school children are usually taught that it also involved sharing the bounty with the "Indians" in gratitude for their having taught the colonists about raising indigenous crops such as corn.
However, some darker stories later arose about Indians coming to share the Thanksgiving table unbidden or even murdering their hosts. It is likely that the indigenous folk also celebrated harvest and were unlikely to make any act of war or hostility on that occasion.
There -- more than you wanted, maybe.
Celebration of harvest was not new with the colonialization in America and was already observed in various places in Europe (this shouldn't surprise you).
American school children are usually taught that it also involved sharing the bounty with the "Indians" in gratitude for their having taught the colonists about raising indigenous crops such as corn.
However, some darker stories later arose about Indians coming to share the Thanksgiving table unbidden or even murdering their hosts. It is likely that the indigenous folk also celebrated harvest and were unlikely to make any act of war or hostility on that occasion.
There -- more than you wanted, maybe.
Nov 19th, 2000, 02:38 PM
#14
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Cathy
We are going to my granny's for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Usually about 12 of us (my family) get together each year at my granny's for dinner. (delicious) Looking forward to it.. Me and Hubby often think about going somewhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I think my grandmother will have our heads if we don't show..
We are going to my granny's for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Usually about 12 of us (my family) get together each year at my granny's for dinner. (delicious) Looking forward to it.. Me and Hubby often think about going somewhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I think my grandmother will have our heads if we don't show..
