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Thanksgiving traditions or plans?

NC MacGuy

NC MacGuy

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 9, 2005
6,233
0
The good side of the grass.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here, that's a fact. So what are you doing? Where are you going? Staying at home? Watching the footballs?

I've got a 20 + year tradition that goes like this:

Wake up at 6-7am, have special coffee. Start on bird preparations.
Finish bird preparations and make famous oyster dressing while watching the parade.
Bird goes in oven around 11am.

Go to office and drink two glasses of good red wine while listening to "Alice's Restaurant Massacree." By myself - always. There I reflect on the years that have past and the year that just did. Give thanks for all I have and try to appreciate the madness that's about to come. Song goes for at least two or three times LOUD.

Go home, turn on the football. Guests show up. Used to be family, but since we've moved now friends or neighbors with no place or local family to go to for Thanksgiving. Wine flows, football is watched and usually conversation ensues which isn't always pretty (- but more civil since no extended family is present anymore.);) Dinner eaten around 4.

Ladies clean up dinner. Men more football and maybe a good cigar on the porch solving the worlds problems or reflecting. You know, manly things...:rolleyes:

Have pie and special coffee again, play a few rounds of bingo with little prizes given away. Trade prizes at end.

Night winds down, guests leave hopefully with no broken dishes, noses, chairs, etc. Have a nice turkey sandwich with feet up.
 

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sounds like you've got quite the master plan there. ;)

my family's tradition is pretty simple, actually. everyone converges upon grandma's house for turkey and all the trimmings, then the ladies clean up (sans grandma, who has done most of the cooking) while the guys watch football and/or fall asleep. then everybody funnels back into the kitchen for pumpkin pie and conversation.

this year's a little different because grandma's getting old (87) and she's been ill lately. everyone's bringing a dish or two, and i'd imagine that we'll spend a little more time reflecting and being thankful for what we've got. :eek:
 
I always go to my friends Heather and Tracy's place. They make great food that's traditional with a twist. It's always great, but sometimes we drink too much Beaujolais Nouveau. :)
 
We usually have a big family gathering but this year it will just be me, mom, step father, niece and nephew. My brother has to work so since this Thanksgiving is his turn with the kids, I will head into the city to pick them up and drive them out to mom's in bumf%$k.

We'll watch some football, do some farting (always a big topic at my family gatherings) and try and keep the kids amused.
 
rdowns said:
try and keep the kids amused.
Click to expand...

That's how the bingo got started! Nice little time getting everyone together since usually kids are one place, women another and you know where the guys are.;) Kids are grown and we tried to forego it one year and they were really troubled by this change.:rolleyes:

Bingo prizes always consist of little things like packs of baseball/football cards, chapstick, candy bars, cigar cutters, travel kleenex packs, decks of playing cards, etc. Just little doodads that are always traded at end of game since they're all wrapped and you don't know what you're getting.
 
That sounds like so much fun. I wish we had Thanksgiving or something similar here, I would really enjoy some time with my family before Christmas.
 
I dunno if tradition is the word, but I guess in typical fashion ...
I am the baby so my role has pretty much always been to just show up wherever I needed to be. Younger years I would play with the kids, now a days it is more about grabbing the closest cocktail or beer and finding a free TV for a football game.

Tradition wise, I've always carved the turkey. It's my thing. It usually is a game of "who will get stabbed first" because my mom and sister tend to grab the skin from the turkey. I usually favor one over the other and sneak them a nice crisp piece of skin, this year it'll be my mom seeing how I have to spend nearly 10 days with her alone after the new year! :eek:

As for everything else, it's pretty low-key, except this year my sister has invited 6 guests from her work ... I'm hedging bets on drama.

In the end, this is my family and though they give me headache sometimes and generally drive me nuts, I wouldn't want another family. :)
 
With my job, the tradition for Thanksgiving (or any holiday, really) is to be working. So true to form, I'll be headed to Monterey (CA) tomorrow morning, and staying until Saturday. If I'm not going to get to spend Thanksgiving with my family or friends, at least I'll be in Monterey - a place I enjoy.

And the Chart house has a killer all you can eat Thanksgiving dinner. :)
 
dmr727 said:
With my job, the tradition for Thanksgiving (or any holiday, really) is to be working. So true to form, I'll be headed to Monterey (CA) tomorrow morning, and staying until Saturday. If I'm not going to get to spend Thanksgiving with my family or friends, at least I'll be in Monterey - a place I enjoy.

And the Chart house has a killer all you can eat Thanksgiving dinner. :)
Click to expand...

The Chart House has a killer menu ... even without all you can eat!
I simply love Monterey!
 
jessica. said:
The Chart House has a killer menu ... even without all you can eat!
I simply love Monterey!
Click to expand...

I agree! My wife has to work over Thanksgiving too, otherwise I would have just airlined home. But since she's going to be working anyway, I'm going to spend the time up there and enjoy myself. Especially since it'll be on someone else's dime. :)
 
In past years I have had two thanksgiving meals, one is always with a friend of the family who takes us out to eat the day before thanksgiving, and then there is the family meal where my dad smokes some turkey and makes his dressing and such. This year will be slightly different because I had to work today and missed eating out with the family friend. Tomorrow there will be two meals, one with my girlfriend's family and the other with my parents.
 
dmr727 said:
I agree! My wife has to work over Thanksgiving too, otherwise I would have just airlined home. But since she's going to be working anyway, I'm going to spend the time up there and enjoy myself. Especially since it'll be on someone else's dime. :)
Click to expand...

I'm coming up then! Seems like I may fare better staying away from the battling hens I refer to as mom and sis. ;) As always, I'm the good child and it shows every single Christmas!
 
Family get together at my place. I enjoy entertaining and having the family over. Plenty of food and drink.After dinner,will more than likely enjoy a nice single malt and possibly a cigar outside in the cool air. Hope everybody has a nice holiday :)
 
This year is going to be my first time cooking turkey so hopefully would be good for my friends :D I guess that's the new tradition !!!
 
im alone. all family members went out of town...and my g/f's family members all came into town. i opted to stay out of the family reunion.

ive got the idea of some burgers on the grill and just relaxing outside with the dog all day.
 
bebetc said:
This year is going to be my first time cooking turkey so hopefully would be good for my friends :D, will see how it goes ....
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My mothers first turkey, she forgot to take the giblets out.. She still tells the story, that was her first married Thankgiving. A disaster then but funny story now.

How are you cooking yours? Fried, cooker, in a bag, plain old pan?
 
For the past five years or so, we've gone up to Wisconsin to visit my mom's girlfriends family. In fact, we just got here a little bit ago. Terrible, long drive, but it's over now. Anyways, it's all right. I basically chill out, we go to Prime Quarters (A great restaurant where you pick and cook your own steak), they watch football, et cetera.
 
for the past decade, it's just been me and my immediate family at our house enjoying thanksgiving and football with no work or anything else to worry about. this year, i have a cousin staying for the holiday, and i'm making the all unimportant stuffing (the gumbo is the right hand dish to our meal). we usually eat mid afternoon and hunker down on a nice fried turkey and do thanksgiving up cajun style. too bad we haven't been able to have the big thanksgiving gathering down in the big easy like we used to have, with relatives going nutty, us living too far for reasonable travel and flood katrina.
 
Just hanging out with my father and step-mother this year. Used to have dinner with her daughter and grandkids in Spokane or Vancouver, WA. But this time the kids will be over for christmas.

It's been almost a decade since I have experienced the stereotypical large family get-together that is portrayed all over the media/shops.
 
jessica. said:
I'm coming up then! Seems like I may fare better staying away from the battling hens I refer to as mom and sis. ;) As always, I'm the good child and it shows every single Christmas!
Click to expand...

Come on up! You know where to find me - at the Chart House bar! :)
 
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