It's time for another OMC blog contest!
For today's contest we want to hear all about your Thanksgiving traditions. What does your family do on Turkey Day? Do you have any funny or unique traditions that you look forward to?
Leave us a comment on this post about your favorite Thanksgiving traditions for a chance to win a prize! Three people will be randomly selected to win.
Good luck!
88 comments:
My favorite time is NOW going to spend Thanksgiving with my grandchildren. We just moved MUCH much closer to them and I am thrilled! I hope to pass the joy of giving and recording those memories!
Does it count even though I had Thanksgiving last month? :D
Every Thanksgiving, when I was a lass, we'd go over to my maternal Grandparents for turkey and stuffing. It was an evening of social quirkiness and steeped in traditions that many of us didn't understand (like why Grandma made brussel sprouts when no one, including her, ate them). It was something I dreaded taking a new boyfriend to because it would surely scare him off.
But I loved it. And I miss it. That was my favorite part, being reminded that I'm not the weirdest one in my family... and reminded why I love my weird family so much!
Thank you for a chance to win!
We don't have "family" other than our two kids, to celebrate with, so it is always the usual stuffed turkey and low key. But not this year. I am missing my college kid, and my youngest just told me he never liked turkey, so we are not having turkey this year!...we are breaking tradition! In fact, I am going to start some new traditions....hmmmmmm....paper plates anyone (but really nice ones)?
We always make a dish called pumpkin squares.. pumpkin pie mix with yellow cake mix on top and drizzled with butter.. soo good! always look forward to it!
Most of the men go hunting and if not, then football for the rest and most of us gals as well. We used to do the huge meal thing and be stuck in the kitchen, but the last few years we have been going to a dinner that is put on for the community and several help out and deliver meals to homebound folks, we eat our feast there, and then get together at my house or my sister's and visit, play games, and watch football. We can spend our day with each other instead of slaving in the kitchen.plus we give a nice donation to the group that sponsors. win/win
My husband and I have always hosted Thanksgiving. After we graduated college and we weren't married yet, we always had Thanksgiving together wherever he lived. Most of the time it was just the two of us. Once some lady in the grocery store made fun of him cause he only bought a turkey breast! Since we have married, our friends come to our house. Last year was the first year we could not celebrate together because he was sent on deployment. I still had Thanksgiving at our house with my neighbor (her husband was deployed too). I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this year because my husband is back! And our friends that are in town will be coming over!
I remember a few traditions as a child, that I have tried to pass on. We always start our day with monkey bread. I remember as a child we always took a trip to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. Our family is all local, so we have dinner at home with just my hubby and my kids, then have dessert with grandparents. OH and of course the annual viewing of the Macy's parade!
I love the turkey and cranberry sauce and looking through the store ads and spending the day together.
A relatively new tradition is that my mother-in-law and I cook together. I do the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and she does all the side dishes. I really love partnering up with her. Thanks!
My family goes to my stepmother's family reunion on Thanksgiving. Our group has got so big that we have moved it to the church they attend. We have a great time together eating, singing and sharing stories.
Normally our Thanksgiving tradition is to travel to visit relatives but this year we are staying home... I guess a stay-cation :) So we will have to create a new tradition this year! All I know is there will be Turkey and all the trimmings and FOOTBALL!
we celebrate thanksgiving 3 days in a row. 1st night at our house. 2nd day is at the inlaws. then the 3rd day is leftover celebration at a friend's house where we bring all our leftovers to feast on so they don't sit in our fridges forever.
I can't remember when I started my own tradition that I have kept up for so many years now. Ok, so my oldest child is 26, so it must be somewhere around 24 or 25 yrs ago that I started to make sugar cookies cut as a TURKEY. I decorate my cookies with several colors making sure you can see all the feathers and all the other parts of the turkey. Some years I even added autumn color sprinkles to make them more fun for the kids. One year I didn't go to the big family Thanksgiving dinner and I got phone calls asking where the Turkey cookies were(and not" we missed you this year"). Last year I also added making the cookies cut as leaves. Since I started stamping, I find myself using COLOR everywhere now.
My sister and her family moved into a bigger house a couple of years ago and had room to host the whole extended family. Since then, our new Thanksgiving tradition is to get together at her house, with all of the fixings! The entire family, all 15 of us, enjoy the time together.
My family gathers at one person's home & celbrates together! Thank you for the chance to win!
My family all gets together at one place and we work together to make the meal. And it's a huge meal. We also invite friends that we know are celebrating alone. One of my favorite parts is.....dessert!
Thanksgiving is the only time of year that our entire family gets together. I was very close to many of my cousins growing up, so I cherish the little bit of time that I get with them now!
my favorite tradition is.. after dinner we sit down with all the circulars and get a game plan together for the Black Friday shopping..up at 3 am and pray that it snows while we shop :-)
shelley
lostnwa98 at frontier dot com
For the past several years, we have had Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-law's house. The best part is that she invites my parents to come as well so we get so spend the day with both sides of the family without taking time away from either side.
Another benefit is that my mom always brings her Waldorf salad which for me is a traditional part of Thanksgiving dinner even if it isn't for most people.
Our family, gets together early Thanksgiving morning. We all pitch in with the cooking. We play games, look at the past year of photos everyone has taken. Talk about everything that has happened in our lives. Figure out some ideas for Christmas, on what we are doing that year, and where we are getting together at. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving! I love being with my family, and getting so stuffed nobody can move!
We do a Big family dinner or at my in-laws! there is about 40 of us and when everyone gets there we do a big game of basketball! then go back to the house a chow down on some warm turkey! It's Great. Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year cause we spend it with all of our loved one!
We stay at home to keep stress levels down BUT we do pie making...lots and lots of pies!!!
Having dinner with my family and taking family photos for the CHRISTmas cards.
I love my moms stuffing, I look forward to it every year!
Our families take turns each year going to my family then husband's family but I always talk to my three children about being thankful for what we have and realizing that we have so much more than others do. I ask them to tell us one thing they are thankful for and what they could do without and hoping it leaves an good impression on them.
we all cook like mad women at my sisters house on wed for a grand feast on thursday.
Since I don't live close to my family, and we always get together for Christmas, Thanksgiving is spent at home with my 3 kids and a small feast. This year I'm starting a new tradition of having each of my kids write down what they are thankful for. I've made a mini-album to record our blessings!
Thanks for another fun giveaway!
Our tradition is lots of eating!! From Thanksgiving day to Saturday, we have four family gatherings: My Mom and Dad, my husbands Dad and Stepmom, my Dad's family, and my husband's dad's family. If my mother-in-law didn't live 15 hours away, we would have five family dinners to attend.
Tradition has my parents coming to my home for the holidays. Having the entire family come for Thanksgiving and setting all the tables for everyone!!
When I was a child we lived a few houses from my grandparents who hosted Thanksgiving every year. It was an all day event with football, food, family, and more food. Before dessert all the kids would lay in the living room with the Sears Wishbook and work on our Christmas wish lists which we would then share over dessert. Now however, I live a thousand miles from my family, and with my husband's work (police officer)it's been hard to establish new traditions, but I love the memories.
Thanksgiving growing up was always held at home. My Mom and Aunt would trade off each year having the celebration. When my Mom passed away, that tradition fell to the wayside. Now, I have moved back into the family home to care for my elderly Dad. The tradition of eating at home is BACK! I am so excited to have the family back around the same table we used all those years ago. I am thankful to have the opportunity to bring the tradition back to life.
Our Thanksgiving Day is the traditional dinner. But, we also take the kids to the movies during the day. Usually is Disney has a new movie out in Theatres. And of course our houshold watches Football Games just like alot of households out there.Thanks so much for the chance to enter.
Sweet Creations...
www.sweetdelightspapernmore.blogspot.com
We have started a new tradition of playing Thanksgiving charades when dinner is over. It gets you up and moving! It is also really fun to watch someone try to act out the word tryptophan! Getting together with family is the best!
The kids are grown and spread out in different states. This year my husband and I will cook a turkey with the trimmings and miss our kids and grandkids. We always talk to all our kids/grandkids on Thanksgiving on the phone and wish we were all together. We give thanks for our wonderful kids/grandkids.
Every time I smell sourkraut I think of Thanksgiving! LOL!My mom and dad loved sourkraut (me too!) and in the fall, would put up 2 or 3 5-gallon crocks of cabbage. It took hours of thunking shredded cabbage into the crocks then the salt was added to the layers. Thanksgiving day we'd walk into my parents house to the mixed smell of turkey, pumpkin pie and saurkraut and know the kraut was ready!!
There aren't many of us left who get together on Thanksgiving, but that doesn't make us any less thankful! We'll be having turkey and all the trimmings, including my grandmother's recipe for cranberry congealed salad and our favorite dessert, Chocolate Delight Pie. One of my traditions is going out in the yard and woods beyond, picking any remaining blooms, seed pods, colorful leaves, and anything else that's pretty, and make a bouquet for the dining room table.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, my three siblings and I gather at my mother's house (my father is deceased), along with our children and grandchildren and their spouses, and sometimes the parents of the inlaws. We usually have 30 or more people gathered at my mother's. My mother roasts the turkey, makes dressing, mashed potatoes, oysters, creamed onions, and whatever else she wants to make. Each of us brings a dish or two to contribute, including other sides, several desserts, and drinks. It's quite an ordeal to get it all together just right.
After dinner, which is usually at 1:00 pm, we all help her clean up, and then several of us nap wherever we can find a spot. Then we all help out with different chores around Mom's house that need to be done around her property and spend time playing with the kids.
On actual Thanksgiving Thursday, we each go to our in-laws for dinner, if we have spouses. The two of us who are no longer married spend that day with our children and their families.
Thanksgiving is especially a time in which we celebrate all that the Lord has blessed us with. (home, vehicles, fuel, family, friends,amazing marriage, Oh My Crafts, honestly the list is never-ending.
In doing so---we get to extend Thanksgiving day invites to those that do or do not have a place to enjoy the Holiday. (we love to make people feel special---because they are) We also watch football on TV oh and who can forget watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while preparing food for the day!
It was a little different last year as my husband's brother passed on Thanksgiving morning---
Be so blessed!
We deep fry our Thanksgiving Turkey and can't wait to dig in as it is the most amazing flavor. It is funny to look out the window to see all the men huddled around the deep fryer pot & burner, with beers in hand, trying to stay warm LOL
I look forward to getting together with my family on Thanksgiving. It doesn't happen often, but when it does we have such a wonderful time together. We spend the whole day together cooking, eating, making leftover sandwiches later at night, playing cards, laughing and enjoying each others company. This year Thanksgiving is extra special, it's also my Dad's 83rd birthday! Thanksgiving is also when we draw names for our Christmas secret Santa! Around 8:30, my sister-in-law and I get down to business planning our Black Friday shopping trip! Then it's early to bed so we can be up and in line by 2 a.m. at the first store! I can't wait to spend the time with my family!
Thanksgiving is pretty much the same for my ILs as for my dad's family (as half my mom's family is on the east coast). Buffet style dinner, no place cards for seating (because no tables!), blessing before we eat, sports on TV, with little kids running around. For my ILs, it's always at their house. For my dad's family, it rotates around to accommodate whomever is able to join us.
As long as I can remember everyone in the family wanted, and did come to our house for Thanksgiving. We were, and are, the Normon Rockwell picture of Thanksgiving. There would so many people at our house (around 50)that we made tables out of saw horses and ply wood, and even then there wasnt enough room, so kids were made a table also and we squeezed all together.Everyone brought food to go along with the mouth watering, most delish main event, "the turkey"!
We'd go all out, put out a feast that would feed small countries. Before we ate, we always gave thanks and then as we would sit down and eat, we would share how the Lord had been good to each of us during the year. After dinner we would have sparkling apple cider in clear crystal goblets, and toast each other, and thank God for everything and everyone around the table.
To this day some have passed away, or moved, but we are still a family that wouldnt even dream of not getting together and celebrating, this my favorite holiday!
We don't do a whole alot of stuff on Thanksgiving except visit and eat! We do make sure someone makes the Cranberry relish. Real cranberries, apples, oranges sugar and jello! Yum Yum Beth
bethandgreg@hotmail.com
every year on the in-law side of the family we get together and play cards and board games. Also can't forget we plot out our shopping excursions for the next day.delegating a list for each store,to a person or two if the list is long enough and for backup of course! In the evening before we all go home we make sure to draw names for x-mas. it gives us all a chance to hurry home for bed in order to wake up to shop at 3am the next day! this is always a wonderful time of year to gather with the family and reflect of the year or years past!
We are planning our annual trip to El Paso TX. We go and visit my husbands family and just hangout and eat alot! Catching up with everyone is always so much fun.
Well we have a diffrent tradition, everyone in my family comes over to our house and brings their dogs, we call it doggy daycare, all the dogs get to play together and the kids love it, tennis balls flying everywhere lol
It's my husband, 8 children and sometimes my brother and his wife, and I. After we eat, I say, " ok is everone ready? Then comes the puty faces and complaints as I bring out the my scrapbooking supplies. Then we all start making a page, and everyone ends up having a really good time." I always wonder if they would still come for the holidays, but, they do. Deep down inside I think they really love putting their creations down on paper.
For as long as I can remember, my family has spent Thanksgiving Day out at "our spot" in the desert. Over the years our tradition has morphed into a Thanksgiving breakfast in our same spot... those who can stay all day and play, do, and those who have other family dinners to go to, leave when they need to. Breakfast is always a feast with pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, dutch oven biscuits and my dad's specialty... spicy scrambled eggs with sausage, onions, green chilis, potatoes, etc all mixed in... He calls it Sheep Herders Hash. YUM!!!
I have a family "Thanksgiving scrapbook" We ask everyone there to write what they are thankful for in the book and add pictures that weekend. Thanks for a chance to win! cjdempsey9@msn.com
Yayyyy for the Holidays!! A time were we can eat as much as we want and stillhave time to lose the weight before summer :) This year, my family will travel to my parents, in-laws, and grandparents house to set around the house and spend quality time and EAT :) It should really fun this year since my son will be 14 months old. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Coming from a split family. I spend time with both of them. First is dinner at my Father and Step Mother's house which is always wild and chaotic with all of her children and grandchildren. Then it's on to my Aunt's house where I have dessert with several of my aunt's and my grandmother who comes up from North Carolina every year. Something I always look forward to.
I love that when we sit down to eat we go around the table and say what we are thankfull for.
Our tradition is eating way too much food and vegging on the couch the rest of the evening! LOL!!! Thanks for the chance!
One thing we do is watch the Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning...No, not Macy's. The Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade...the kids love it: ) Then later in the day we will watch the Detroit Lions play football! Go Lions! And of course we enjoy Turkey and all the trimmings with our extended family...Yum; )
My husband and I drive to Deleware to spend thanksgiving with our daughter and her husband and the two grandsons. And our tradition is to go out and look at the christmas lights after having a big old feast.
In our household we actually celebrate 2 Thanksgivings. I am Canadian, so we always have a big turkey dinner in Oct to celebrate canadian thanksgiving and the American celebration in Nov. My son-in-law thinks it's great coming into a household where there is 2 thanksgivings.
This is my first year that I am married on Thanksgiving and I have re located to the states so a brand new year for traditions. I was thinking this year of creating a thankkful box where everyone can put in what they are thankful for and then read them the next year again and add new ones. Maybe scrapbook the ones from the year before =)
We swap around homes, and when it is my turn, I have a new white tablecloth on the table that everyone present signs and puts what they are most thankful for this year. My mom has been ill for the last few years and the stress of the holidays seems to make it worse, so last year we decided to try something new and go out for dinner to celebrate. Everyone seems very excited for the new adventure, but I think I will bring something that we can all sign, date and write our favorite gratitude for the year on.
Thanksgiving is pretty low key here. It is usually just us and our 2 kids. I make the complete meal though as if there were 20 people. We love to snack a little early in the day then feat later in the afternoon. We finish with pumpkin pie and chocolate pudding. We must have those because that is what my husband's mom always made.
We just have a big ole' family get together thats lasts all day then after dinner we play Crazy Rummy, card game....just the adults! Its a blast!
Out of nowhere, last week DH announced that he would like to take everyone (we have a small family, hehehe) out for Thanksgiving Dinner this year and right on cue all 3 of our adult children proclaimed "what about Mom's homemade noodles"...so I guess Id have to say that Homemade Egg Noodles are one of our holiday tradiitons, LOL! Thanks for asking and Thanks for a chance to win!
I usually spend Thanksgiving at work....but no matter what my mom always brings me the biggest bowl of dressing! I could survive on her dressing alone!
Well, we don't celebrate any particular traditions. But we do the usual getting together with family and having a big meal. It's nice and rare to have so much family together at once and catch up!
My favorite tradition now is to trace my kids hands and make turkeys out of them. I miss my old tradition of making sweet potato casserole with my mom.
Thanksgiving dinner is usually at my SIL's house, but this year, it's going to be at Gma Gracie's house. My hubby will be watching football I'm sure. We'll all eat sitting in the living room instead of at the table, which the kids will love.
We have a multi-generational tradition of food, food, and more food. I once spent a Thanksgiving with my Great- Aunt where she made a 35 pound turkey, pounds and pounds of mash potatoes and gravy, and all kinds of side dishes. As we were all about to pass out, she brought out 10 pies (there were only 30 of us and some were small children). Then I was introduced to the concept of back up pies, just incase we ran out of pie. Now that was a feast.
There are 10 of us, me being the last. I learned a song in Pre school called Gobble Gobble Fat Turkey and sung it at the table. 35 yrs later, we all sing it at the top of our lungs laughing the
whole time! At least 8 of us get together each Turkey day with our families and teach the new additions to the family, the song!
mrsroddy4@aol.com
My mother used to use a white sheet for the table cloth and everyone who came over for dinner would sign it and say what we were thankful for.
It is a tradition to have this green jello, cottage cheese, fruit cocktail mixture every Thanksgiving.
I must confess, it is horrible tasting and I can't imagine what the person who created that recipe was thinking.
However, it would not be Thanksgiving without it.
I mentally grit my teeth while smiling on the outside as I choke it down and thank God for my faith, family, friends, freedom and green jello salad.
When my husband and I married 23 1/2 years ago, we merged 2 very different cultures...Mexican and Italian. My husband's Italian grandmother would always serve and antipasto prior to eating the big turkey meal. My Mexican served traditional food like Chile-con-queso. Over the years we came to realize that it was WAY too much food! Now we serve antipasto on Thanksgiving Eve and chorizo stuffing and chile-con-queso on Thanksgiving day. The pluss side is I don't have to cook all weeken, cause there is SOOOOO much food!!
Our family tradition is to have yummy sticky buns in the morning and my mother and I search the ads for great deals, we have dinner around 3 and then the whole family goes to the new Disney movie in theaters :)
I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday. I am the youngest of 8 and even though we all have our own families now, as well as two of my nephews, we always come back together for Thanksgiving. It is such great fun. All of us ladies, take part in preparing the meal. It is a time of catching up and cutting up. After everyone has eaten, all of the guys go outside and play football, while the ladies sit inside and chat. Usually after a while, the guys come back inside for another plate of food and the ladies may have another piece of dessert. We usually spend several hours together that day.
These are traditions that I will always hold near and dear to my heart.
My family has an annual cookie exchange the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Then we will all have a beautiful tray of homemade cookies for Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving morning is cook, cook, cook, then it's eat, eat, eat. All done with the family together. You can't get any better than that.
I love Thanksgiving! Until we were stationed in Japan, everyone would go to Mom's house. I mean EVERYONE!! Surrounded by family is the best! Mom and I would cook all night and all day. I loved spending the time with her. Now that we are in Japan, we invite the guys from our command that do not have family here. And we do all the cooking and when the guys show up we are surrounded by our Navy family! My girls really enjoy all of their "big brothers" and it helps us not miss family quite as much! Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and count your blessings! I am so grateful that we have been given the chance to serve our Country!
Best memories since a small child was Detroit Lions football game trying to stay awake on a full tummy---- still do that today.
We don't have any unique traditions. But we always look forward to the Thanksgiving meal, and desserts. Lounging around all day. Different years we have different people here, or we visit them.
Thanks for the chance to win!
My favorite tradition is having everyon (both sides of the family) come over to our house and celebrate the day with the big traditional meal! :)
We usually have all the family over to our place. My Nephew Brock is a very picky eater and his mother told me he would not eat the mashed potatoes. After much pleading he finally tasted them and much to all of our surprise, he loved them. Ever since then (5 years ago) that mashed potato recipe has been affectionately known as "Brock's mashed potatoes":)
no special thanksgiving traditions, just stuff oursleves into a tryptophan daze...this Thanksgiving eve we are heading to FL for a vaca
Every since I started growing my own pumpkins my kids have insisted upon home made pumpkin pie with my "special" gingerbread crust. Our other awesome tradition is making our own "Krackers" stuffed with Lindt Chocolates! My daughter and I have so much fun making these together!
My husband is in the Navy and is always deployed or on Duty for Thanksgiving. Every year, since we can't spend it with Daddy, we go to a local nursing home and eat lunch with an adopted Grandma or Grandpa
we get doughnut holes every thanks giving day every morning, the girl look forward to it. We reserve sugary foods for special times.
We go around the table and say what we are thankful for and even thankful for brussell sprouts lol!!
My favorite old tradition is spending the holiday with family - I remember piling in the car with dishes for the meal and driving 3 hours to my aunts house when we were young. Now everyone comes to our house. My favorite new tradition is a crafty one - making decorations with my little ones!
One Thanksgiving my brother (then quite young) was told that everyone in the family could have a piece of pumpkin pie because the pie did not have his name on it. When my mom went to serve the remaining pieces of pie that evening she discovered he had taken a knife and gently carved his name onto the both sides of the remaining pumpkin pie in the pan. Amazingly my mom found this hilarious and my brother continues to do this each year!
Our family gets together to eat a big dinner. We used to go to Christmas tree valley the day after, but it closed down... Thanks for a chance to win!
wake up very early to get the newspaper for the ad's... love Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.... only like the skin and stuffing from a turkey... then later that night start decorating... off to dream land very early... because the next day is Black Friday!
Lisa
lamerlisa@hotmail.com
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