For as long as I can remember, I have hated Thanksgiving. I mean, what kind of holiday revolves around football and food? And bad food at that! I know this is completely blasphemous to say, but I'm not particularly fond of turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, or cornbread. Don't get me wrong, I can eat them just fine. I just generally don't cook those things myself. Eating them once a year is enough for me. And gathering dozens of people in a church building to eat mass-prepared amounts of said not-so-good food on paper plates while children run wild and adults are forced to converse with people they'd rather not converse with? Yeah, I'll pass.
But this year. This year was different.
First of all, I found out that between Sam and I, we have 20 ancestors that traveled on the Mayflower. Very cool. And then I discovered the most awesome part yet...all my teasing Sam about being Indian (you know, cuz he's all tan and has black hair) IS ACTUALLY TRUE. His 12th great-grandpa was Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag Indians that attended the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. So our Thanksgiving dinners are actually with descendants of Pilgrims and Indians. AWESOME.
Second, we ate Thanksgiving dinner ALL BY OURSELVES. Yes, you read that right. Me. Sam. Three kids. That's it. And it was lovely.
Third, because it was just us, I didn't have to cook a huge fancy dinner or entertain any guests. So we started our day with a rousing game of pin-the-feather-on-the-Turkey. Followed by making edible necklaces, drawing hand turkeys, painting watercolors of the Mayflower, crafting Indian vests out of brown paper bags, putting on a First Thanksgiving play, and making Mayflower baked potato boats.
18 comments:
That's awesome! Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday either. But I've been trying to concentrate more on the "being grateful" part lately, and less on the food and such. It's really helped me enjoy the day more!
I'm sorry...but who is that little boy? and WHERE IS YOUR BABY?
(and hey, fun thanksgiving! :)
Your kids are so big! I have to whole-heartedly agree with the it's better to celebrate with just your immediate family rather than a cultural hall full of random people idea. We got roped into one of those last Christmas (Christmas!) and I Hated it. Maybe it's just me, coming from a family with only three kids, but large crowds are not necessary for me to feel it's a proper holiday. And Bob doesn't like turkey either, so one year we just made chicken and it was good!
What a special Thanksgiving! I hope when we live closer to family someday and the "wanting us there for every holiday" wears off a little, we can start having our holidays at home. :) I love your dining area!!!!!! So beautiful!
And btw, that drawing did bear a striking resemblance to me! :) That's crazy!
Your family activities sounded so fun! And I still can't get over Enoch's hair. (cue music) One of these things just doesn't belong here, one of these things just isn't the same.
oh, and btw, nice beard Sam.
Still...WAY too much work! :)
I LOVE your cute little idea to make Mayflower boats out of potatoes, tooth picks and Kraft cheese slices... great idea. I'm with you Janae. I don't particularly like any of the food that is traditionally dished up for Thanksgiving, however I do still and always have enjoyed Thanksgiving... even making the food I don't enjoy eating. Actually I just really enjoy having another reason to celebrate with family and host a gig. But there's something about being sick & pregnant this year though, I couldn't imagine actually preparing a turkey to bake in the oven SO I told my family and guests that this year I was putting a twist on Thanksgiving. We did a Thanksgiving brunch instead. Pumpkin french toast, eggnog french toast, crepes, sweet potato wedges, country potatoes, turkey bacon and ham, we still had cranberry sauce, cornbread pudding (so much better than traditional cornbread or stuffing), eggs, etc. etc. It turned out really well and I think all the guests agreed it was MUCH tastier than the traditional feast. In the years to come, just start putting your own twist on Thanksgiving... it's totally okay to do... in fact I think most Italian families eat lasagna at Thanksgiving... I'm pretty sure lasagna WAS NOT at the first Thanksgiving.
So creative! I love all the things you did during the day...I didn't even think to do that...so using those ideas next year!! Glad you enjoyed it this year our Thanksgiving was with Ben's parents and us so it was nice and simple! (I am also writing cause Ben and I will be in Salt Lake end of December and he had mentioned wanting to meet up and see Sam so I thought I would send ya a message see if you guys would be around and would want to dod dinner/lunch or something? I believe it's December 30 and 31st we'll be there)
How on earth did you fit that many crafts into one day? Now that you've reclaimed the title of "Most Awesome Mom Evar," Seara will totally have to forgive you for forgetting picture day.
I think you're the first to ever admit to hating Thanksgiving! For myself, the food is what I LOVE! And my mom showed me a way to make the turkey so it wasn't dry - because as much as they say it's "moist", it's not. It's just dry. I simmer my turkey meat in a crock pot in all it's yummy juices and it is so good!
And this year I made a Maple Pecan Pie. Oh. my. goodness. AMAZING! Somehow I always forget about the whole Pilgrims and Indian thing until a day later. Aaah well.
I think the way you did it sounds much more relaxed and fun. I'm glad you like the holiday more that way!
I miss the chaos in the church with large amounts of people and food. But I guess I was always on the kid end of that, so it is different. But it does sound like a pretty perfect day. All of those activities must have taken lots of preparation, but it does seem more productive than just a dinner. I'm glad you now like Thanksgiving.
Looks like such a fun day! What a great way to spend Thanksgiving.
and why wasn't I invited to this "low key" Thanksgiving? sounds like a blast!
Actually, it sounds fun to have "just the family" and nobody else. way to go.
Um...they are Native Americans, Janae. I can't believe you would stoop so low.
I'm loving the Mayflower potatoes. You really are one of the most creative people I know.
p.s. The "homemade" pumpkin pie was amazing. (I put "s around homemade cause you didn't scrape out the inside of a pumpkin...geez, you slacker.) ;)
So, I guess I shouldn't hold my breath for you guys to come to Thanksgiving next year . . . :) You're always welcome whenever you do come.
Thanks, Cara.
Your Thanksgiving looked so fun! I love all the crafts. And the table looks pretty. I love the snowy mountains in the background!
As a side note, I set a nice table for our Christmas dinner. I had to yell at the kids to quit banging their forks on the plates! It was a "special" moment!
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