Thanksgiving, if we’re lucky, Thanksgiving is that one day a year we all gather with our families and give thanks for our many blessings. We embrace that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with this Holiday and then hang onto it as long as we can.
As it approaches, visions of perfect Turkey dinners dance through our heads. Long walks through the autumn leaves with our kids. Evenings wrapped in warm sweaters against the chilly autumn air. Time spent indulging in wine by the fire, eating too much from appetizers to pie. Laughing with those who know us the best. Making the kids (and the adults) put those cell phones away to squeeze in precious time with Grandparents and cousins. That’s how you enjoy a Rockwell Norman type Thanksgiving weekend, right?
Pft. Reality check. The truth is there’s a dark side to Thanksgiving here in the suburbs. Some weird kind of pre-dinner turkey day drama. Why? Because Thanksgiving doesn’t just magically “happen“. (Even if that’s what your Husband seems to think.) There’s a whole lot of work revolving around that stupid bird.
Magical turkey day prep looks something like this:
Cleaning.
Stomping of feet. (that might be me)
Heavy sighs.
Dropping of half of paycheque at grocery store for the Thanksgiving feast.
Yelling at my sweet, sweet family to help me with the damn cleaning.
More cleaning and foot stomping.
Slightly heated conversations about what the teen girls will wear to dinner.
Pouting because I hate all my clothes.
Wondering why I didn’t go buy myself something new to wear. Good grief.
Rush job on laundry so teen girls have “acceptable” Thanksgiving dinner attire.
One last run to the grocery store because I forgot the cranberry sauce that nobody will eat anyway.
Cooking!
Massive turkey success.
Fabulous family time.
Dinner you prepped for for 3 days over in 40 minutes because …. dessert.
More freaking cleaning.
Sigh.
Every single time I host a big old family event it’s the same destructive pattern.
This year, a different approach to the Holiday Feast. Will it be less stressed? Less chaotic? More manageable? I think so. This year my friends, for the second year in a row, I have hit he Thanksgiving jackpot. Two Thanksgiving dinners on different days and I’m not hosting either one of them! WHAT! I’m just taking desserts. My girls have been put on notice that they had better have their skinny little butts organized, I shall not be doing laundry at midnight this year. Outfits for Thanksgiving feasts will be ready. I don’t have to clean my house. I just have to help clean up after two dinners which is NO problem at all. All the benefits of the big fabulous family time and none of the stress.
This my friends is the way to do Thanksgiving.
Hope you all have a warm, fuzzy and drama free weekend!
Mwah!
Yep, days of prep, minutes of actually eating it. LOL
Haha, that’s how I did thanksgiving this year too.
We’ve taken on hosting my mom’s family for thanksgiving – they’re the ones that are all local. But our favourite new tradition is hosting “leftovers lunch” the next day with friends. Everyone shows up with leftovers and containers and takes different stuff home.
I’m spending thanksgiving with my in-laws and the rest of the family. It’s gonna be a different thanksgiving as we’re missing a family member.
Bravo! Well done! 😀
Happy Thanksgiving!
I miss making my own turkey. I am happy I can roast one in November. 🙂
Sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving with less stress!
Thank you for the honesty. My thanksgiving involved my kids at each other’s throat, and me standing in my kitchen yesterday afternoon with tears streaming down my face. The pressure to “make thanksgiving special” is too much sometimes! It was no Norman Rockwell….But we survived it.
We always end up with a last minute run for cranberry sauce at Christmas. We don’t do a Thanksgiving meal.
Way to go! Even if we go somewhere this year we often have an early dinner here with our kids. So I never get away without making one……
Lol! I could add “family 😣” and then totally feel your pain. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your year off.
Sounds like a wonderful day of Celebration! Don’t forget containers to take mamas’ leftovers home in….one of the best parts of Thanksgiving Feasts!! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope your Thanksgiving goes well this year! It’s on my favourite holidays, I love all the food!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family sweetie.
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have a great weekend!
I am not hosting this year either but unfortunately I have kids on the ice 3x one day and 1 the next so it’s still going to be super stressful, just in a different way. I will never understand why they can’t take holiday weekends off the the hockey schedule!
Happy Thanksgiving anyway!