There’s Nothing Like Family Thanksgiving Traditions

In our household, Thanksgiving has always been a day for family - and we have a rather large one, which is something itself to be celebrated! I have five children (although they are grown adults) and some have spouses, and some have ex’s, some had children and some did not, and some of those children are now having babies (great grandkids for me) and we watch the family grow! It’s exciting to sit down at a table and see how the family has grown and watch them interact with each other. Some don’t get to see others because of distance except for this time of year. This will be the last Thanksgiving we celebrate in my home in Lakewood, so it’s extra special. My granddaughter (who is with baby at this time) will be taking over the Thanksgiving celebration next year. She is so creative and loves to cook, and so does her husband. This year it will be “same old, same old.” I just ordered a 24-pound turkey (the grocery store hopes they will be receiving the turkeys in time for the holiday. Hmmm, what would we do with all those people and the other food, without a turkey???) Everyone always helps and brings the food their family especially likes. My one daughter, Sherri, loves candied sweet potatoes, my mother’s recipe, so I make sure we have them in memory of my Mom. My daughter Deb stays here in East Naples for the holiday and helps to make the whipped potatoes (she really does a great job) and is a big help with the stuffing (I make the old-fashioned style rather than something from a box). My son does the heavy lifting (I could never carry a stuffed 24-pound turkey from the kitchen counter to the oven!!!) Everyone present digs right in to help where it is needed. My guess is we have about 20 people for dinner. As the rest of the family arrive, they bring all sorts of passing dishes - pies, Jaymee’s stuffed eggs, jello delights, other desserts, and whatever they bring. Luckily, I have a patio (if the weather is nice, it’s very pleasant under the screen), and we have plenty of chairs if others want to eat outside, but really, we can all fit inside the house (I have a four-bedroom house) if it is raining or cold. Everything is okay, everything is good, no pressure and no worry!! It all works well. Deb makes the gravy at the end, the men carve the turkey, the mom’s take care of their younger children, and our home is a busy place for a while. There is always throwing the football around in there someplace. 

As a tradition, after the meal the kids go out to play, the men haul down the outside Christmas decorations from the garage shelves and start stringing them into trees and around bushes, along the roof line, etc. Meanwhile, the women are cleaning up after dinner, washing dishes, putting soiled linen into the washing machine, and keeping watch over the smaller children. Depending on the day and weather, sometimes the kids want to jump into the pool, but the parents are the decision makers in this regard. It seems with this team, everything gets done without too much of a problem. One son is up in Albany, so he misses out on all this fun, but he’ll be here for Christmas, and on Thanksgiving he’ll be with us through the phone system.

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving with your own family traditions.