What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year? What would you like to do?

[Faygo Kid]

Me, over to my dear friends of 35 years, with my friend visiting from Maryland (with her three dogs!). Get there early, watch the end of the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade, then watch the Lions lose, as I have always done. Eat too much of an outstanding meal, visit, take our leave, drive home and be a couch potato. I love it. Only thing I would like to do is have my daughter there, or go back 40 years to the family that is gone now. No real complaints, though. May you have a great one!

[SeattleGirl]

1. Having dinner here at home.

My in-laws are coming over, as are my daughter and her boyfriend. My brother-in-law and his wife are coming over later for dessert. I'm sure there will be plenty of football on the teevee, and knowing how Mr. SG likes to cook, enough food to invite the entire neighborhood over!

[Faygo Kid]

6. Seattle is kinda far, but sounds like a great one.

Family to treasure. Football, food. I love Thanksgiving. The calm before the storm.

[SeattleGirl]

9. For about 4 years, my Thanksgiving "celebration"

was a hotdog on the Amtrack train between Seattle, and Eugene, Oregon, where most of my family lives. I didn't have a car, so had to go by train to see them. Wasn't much to offer on that day in the dining car, so a hotdog was usually what I had for dinner! Of course, once I got to my mom's house, there were yummy leftovers, desserts, etc., so I could make up for my weird "dinner" on the train!

[just a girl]

26. I won't be too far from you.

I'm heading up to University Place to spend the holiday with my Grandmother.

[mtowngman]

2. my in-laws are coming here

I'd really rather be in Crawford with Cindy harassing the chimp.

[ThatsMyBarack]

3. Too much!

I have to pick up my uncle at the airport. My mom is cooking the whole dinner at our place, and were bringing the stuff over to my sister and brother-in-law's house 10 minutes away. At least that's how I understand it. Well, what do I know? I'm just the 5th-whell aunt....:eyes:

[ThatsMyBarack]

4. Too much!

I have to pick up my uncle at the airport. My mom is cooking the whole dinner at our place, and were bringing the stuff over to my sister and brother-in-law's house 10 minutes away. At least that's how I understand it. Well, what do I know? I'm just the 5th-wheel aunt....:eyes:

[no name no slogan]

5. My girlfriend is flying in to meet my family

We've got a long-distance relationship going on (met here on DU, actually), and she's visiting me for the first time. I am REALLY looking forward to having her here!

[Faygo Kid]

8. Good luck. Sounds memorable. A woman of courage.

She is courageous to join you at one of the most family intensive holidays, to meet them for the first time. Wow! I hope you appreciate that. Have a great time, and tell her to relax and enjoy herself. And tell her she is admired for doing this.

[no name no slogan]

18. She's very courageous

and charming as hell, too. From what I've told them, my family already adores her!

[fight4my3sons]

33. That sounds great!

Have a wonderful holiday! I hope you both have a great time. I'm sure your family will love her from what you said in your other post.

[no name no slogan]

66. Thanks! I'm really looking forward to it!

I get along very well with her dad and her best friends, and I'm sure my family will love her, too. My family all gets along very well, so there's never any drama over the holidays.

Only six more days until she's here! :toast:

[ohiosmith]

7. At sea on the way to Ecuador.

[trackfan]

10. We're hosting a family Thanksgiving dinner

as we have for the last four years. It looks like we'll have between 15 and 20 people this year.

[Faygo Kid]

11. Geez. How big a turkey, or turkeys? And what is your best dish?

Must be time for dinner. Anyway, the younger ones will always remember that kind of family event. Cool stuff. Enjoy.

[trackfan]

21. I ordered a 20-22 pounder this year.

We also have a ham, and a lasagna, and a slew of side-dishes. The turkey is the real treat though - a once a year thing, as we don't have one at Christmas.

[Faygo Kid]

23. Burp. Haven't done lasagna, but some Swedish dishes were always there.

Whew. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, pies - and some Swedish dishes that I loved, and some I couldn't do (Lutefisk). Is lasagna an ethnic thing for you?

[trackfan]

50. Yeah, we're Italian

Growing up, there would always be a lasagna on big holidays - and I never really liked it as a kid. Love it now though.

[Habibi]

53. My best friend's Italian

and I went to her family's home for Christmas dinner one year. Holy crap. First we had shrimp. Antipasto. Braciole. Then the lasagne, two humongous pans of it. Then the chicken cutlets, enough to feed a family of five for a month. Then--honestly, I can't remember--there were a couple more courses, like, another meat and another vegetable or macaroni dish, and then coffee and dessert. I think I must have passed out.

I'd love to go back! :D

[uppityperson]

12. Some family is coming over, will be fun.

What I'd like to do is be able to get the rest of the family here too since we're scattered all over the globe now. Happy Thanksgiving, give thanks for all you have and who you have. Peace

[bicentennial_baby]

13. being bored to tears

by my oh-so exciting family... :boring:

[Faygo Kid]

20. Find something to be interested in.

You are the same age as my daughter. I'm a stinkin' Boomer. But you always miss family, even if they are boring or idiots (so long as not evil). And they may love you. Somebody is interesting there. Wish I could see my daughter, who is your age. (Will see her at Christmas. 29. Geez). Have a very good Thanksgiving, anyway, and figure it for the simplicity of what it us. The family memories - for me, flawed, like all else, but really pretty good - are like everyone else's, and the older I get, the more I appreciate them. So have a very good one, no matter what you do. Just don't cop an attitude that someday you might regret. Eat well. And happy Thanksgiving to you - and your family.

[Err]

14. I'll be going home.

It'll be my immediate family (dad, mom, bro, sis?) as well as my grandma and her stepson at the house this year.

I'm going to watch the same football game as you watch, veg out, and then pass out from all the tryptophan in the turkey. Then, when I wake up, I'll chow down on pumpkin pie. Mmmmm...

I love Thanksgiving!

[Faygo Kid]

15. Enjoy Grandma.

Mine died at 79 in 1974, which is part of life. But that woman could cook up a storm. And she passed it on to my mother (also now gone), who made the best chestnut stuffing ever. Yum. Anyway, say hi to Grandma.

[Err]

17. Will do.

:)

I think she'll be 82 this year, but I'm not sure. She hasn't been around most of my life, only to resurface a couple of years ago, so I don't know much about her.

I'll try to get to know her more next week. :)

[cally]

16. I'm going to Alaska

I'm joining my sister and her family. I haven't been to Alaska in 15 years and I'm very excited. I'm hoping we have snow so I can cross country ski. My sister has many plans like knitting class (I can barely knit so that's pretty funny), exercise class, cooking, many friends to meet, and the Alaskan shootout (college basketball). We'll see what I actually do but I'm looking forward to the time with her.

[Dave Reynolds]

46. I wish I could visit there now,

but I have to wait until I have a few weeks vacation time saved.

We lived in Anchorage for a little over a year, we want to go back and do some summer camping.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. We live not too far from our youngest daughter's home, so we're

going up there this year. She'll be having a CROWD...Me and my husband, her big sister, and her in-laws plus her sister-in-law and HER bf...about 10 of us, I believe.....

I'll be taking my famous pumpkin pies....from the recipe by Libby's famous pumpkin pie people......

I am looking forward to it a lot!

[Left Is Write]

22. I plan to...

roast a 14-lb turkey (too big for just the five of us, but I want lots of leftovers!), to be served with lots of side dishes: mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans with onions and bacon, cranberry sauce (homemade!), squash, lefse, pumpkin bread and whatever else catches my fancy. Maybe I'll make scalloped corn, even though my oldest daughter and I are the only ones here who eat it. Dessert? Pumpkin pie and cranberry-apple pie!

If it's like a typical Thanksgiving, we'll eat finger-food appetizers during the Macy's parade and watch football while playing board games or card games later. Maybe my husband and I will toss a few games of darts and have a couple of beers.

Those are the kinds of things I really like to do on Thanksgiving.

[Faygo Kid]

25. The very best. Wish I was there.

Except I am very happy with what I have, too. You are blessed, and you make me damned hungry, now. Hello to all from Faygokid. Would kick their butts in darts - but being a lifelong Lions fan balances it out. Thanks.

[flamingyouth]

24. Going to my parents' house, as usual.

It's just three of us for now, which is a little weird for Thanksgiving.

[LeftyMom]

27. I'm invited to my mom's but thinking about bowing out

I just have to much shit on my plate at the moment to deal with family gatherings.

[Ikonoklast]

28. Going to Mom and Dads' new house

that they just moved into only five miles away. I am going to make a twenty or so pound turkey with stuffing and bring it with us as Mom will not be able to cook enough for all in her stove and still get everything done on time. (I make a damn good bird, ask my kids.) I'll be in the kitchen all morning getting things ready so as to be done just in time to high-tail it across town asap with turkey in tow.

It'll be me, my oldest son and his g/f, second oldest son with a friend whose folks will be out of town and asked to tag along, daughter with her roomie from school.

Mom was bitching up a storm about all the extra people that we dumped on her at the last moment, but I know that she was secretly pleased at having a full house for the holiday. My oldest sister and her son are flying in from Spain, my younger sister, husband and their two kids from Louisville, my aunt and uncle from St. Pete, long-time family friends, and other assorted out-of-town relatives coming in for the wedding.

My niece is getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving so the whole clan is gathering. It is going to be one hectic weekend, and I can't hardly wait. Three days of non-stop parties! Woo-hoo!!

[Faygo Kid]

30. Quite a family. You are so fortunate.

At least three generations, totally disorganized, aunts and uncles (not to be underestimated), and a Mom complaining, while secretly loving it. Sounds like a Thanksgiving to savor, and one that someday you will look back on, and say, thank God I had that opportunity, and that family. Congratulations. You win. May you be exhausted, and hectic, and love those memories. I have them from 30 years ago, and glad of it.

[Dave Reynolds]

29. My wife and I are driving to Missouri to pick up a horse.

We will have dinner with the horse's current owner.

A lovely Spanish Mustang, all black with one white sock and a white blaze on the nose.

[Faygo Kid]

32. And as the Michigander poster, I wish you a good trip.

Might not be the best weather, but all the best traveling from Chelsea. And a safe trip back. Thanks for sharing.

[Dave Reynolds]

45. It should be a nice trip,

my wife knows the lady who owns the horse.

My trailer is an old 1962 model, but it is from the west coast and is still solid and serviceable. Ugly as hell, though....

[fight4my3sons]

35. Wow!

I would love to be doing that! I love horses! Haven't owned one since I was a kid. Have a wonderful trip and a great holiday!

It will be the first time I am going to cook turkey and all the fixins for my husband and kids, they are still all babies (3 and twins who are 17 months). We moved out of state away from family last year. It's our first real holiday by ourselves. I think it will be kind of cool to hang out and not be stressed by all the other family members like we usually are.

[Faygo Kid]

41. And your children will always remember.

Thanksgiving is second to Christmas in family memories. And I will always remember your response. Thank you so much. I love your response, and you have my greatest respect, and don't forget to tell stories of Thanksgivings to others when you were young. Some aunts and uncles are gone. I am 54; I bet you are about 34, and they are still here. Happy Thanksgiving. You Get It. Send me some stuffing, and I will be there with you. Congratulations.

[fight4my3sons]

43. Hey, come on over!

You can have some stuffing with us. I will miss celebrating with most of my family. You are right I do have great memories of Thanksgiving with family. I actually just hung up with mom - I was getting some of the old recipes from her!
You were dead on - or pretty close, I am 33.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Can't wait till Christmas! First one with a real tree and everything since the kids have been born. We are going to take the kids out an cut one down ourselves - at a tree farm. My three year old is so excited - I don't think as much as my husband and I are. I never realized that my parents may have enjoyed the holidays more that we did when I was a kid.

[RevCheesehead]

31. Going to Mom & Dad's

They live in a Senior Residential Apartment. The place is great, and they have a really nice Thanksgiving dinner for any residents & family who'd like to come. Also, my brother and his 2 kids are coming out.

We're all mindful of Mom's declining health, so we want to spend as much time with them as possible. They're coming out at Christmas (well, the week after), and my SIL will be coming, too.

The older I get, the more I appreciate Thanksgiving and the wonderful family I have.

[Faygo Kid]

34. Bless you, and I share it.

So many for me (54) are gone now, and so many declining. Spend that time. And your closing comment is why I posted. Thanks.

[RevCheesehead]

36. Thanks, faygokid.

I just noticed your avatar - very nice!

[Faygo Kid]

39. Yeah, well, it's ethnic, but your cooking is better.

At least, that's what I hear. And thanks. I think someone can cook, anyway.

[Tikki]

37. For no particular reason, other than we want.....

...our grandson (age 3) to see a big snow capped mountain....we are heading up to the Sequoia(s) for the Thanksgiving Holiday.



The Tikkis

[mvd]

38. Visiting family in State College, PA

Fortunately, it's family I enjoy being around. What would I like to do? Bring my parents and grandfather to have dinner at Harry Reid's house to talk strategy.

[yellowdogintexas]

40. big family gathering at my husband's nephew's home

with about 17 people,counting the little kids; maybe more as there is always some stray friend or another brought by one of the relatives

My husband will be out of state for his job but he will have Thanksgiving with friends up there;

We will eat a big meal, most will watch the Cowboys game, some of us will get up a good game of "Chickenfoot".

I would enjoy Thanksgiving with my sisters and all of our children, and all of our cousins and their kids. That is hard though because I am in Texas, one sister is in Connecticut and the other in Kentucky. The cousins are in Kentucky and Mississippi.

We did have a reunion last year with the cousins though; it was so much fun!

[Faygo Kid]

42. Bless you and your family. Sorry to hear your husband is not there.

Those small children will remember this as a big part of their lives. Like I remember Thanksgiving and Lions football in 1962, when I turned 11. So, you have that opportunity. And I am going to see my daughter for Christmas, who is 29! So, enjoy. And have an extra help of stuffing for me. I am jealous. Send me a damned postcard.

[yellowdogintexas]

54. thanks, hope your day is wonderful ...

and I agree, the little kids will remember the big family dinners. I know I remember them from my own childhood!

I was lucky to have grandparents and a great grandmother plus several great aunts and uncles still living up into my adulthood, and the family dinners on both sides of my family were always fun.

At my dad's family dinners we had the cousins who were our age and all the special traditional foods for that family

and on my mom's side we had only occasional cousin visits but my mom's brother and his wife and my mom's step brother and his wife were always a riot. We had great after dinner stay at the table for ever discussions. And a different set of favorite foods to enjoy.

[erinlough]

44. same thing, I mean exactly the same thing, I've done every year.

Yes, I think I have the record of having the exact same thing for dinner in the exact same place for the last 53 years. I kid you not. My family is, to say the least, very traditional. Other members have missed the turkey day once or twice, but I've been there every year. I actually like it because in some way the sameness gives me comfort.

[Faygo Kid]

47. Yes, God Bless You. Please, tell us this story!

Tell us the tradition. I was born in 1951. I want to hear your memories. Please. I will share mine! Who has come, and who has gone? Your memories are solicited, by a peer.

[huskerlaw]

48. Probably going to Nevada

assuming the mountains aren't coated with snow by then. Dinner with the West-Coast Parental Units. Some veg time in a cooler climate, then back to Los Angeles. :)

I'm torn between that and sleeping/watching football/doing nothing for 4 days. Thoughts?

[tyedyeto]

49. Working!

My S/O is preparing dinner for some friends and I will join them when I get home (just in time for dinner!).

[NMMNG]

51. I'll sleep until mid-afternoon

Then I'll get up and eat some goodies with my friends. Turkey for them and I'll probably give Tofurkey a try, along with all of the side stuff. Then I'll relax for a while before heading off to work :puke:. No rest for the wicked, even on holidays.

[LVdem]

52. Workin'

[MrScorpio]

55. The Lions will not lose

What the fuck is wrong with you?

[Canadian Socialist]

56. Already celebrated.

Ate beef, played with the kids. Drank beer. Was done almost a month ago. That is when Thanksgiving is. No big deal.

[BigMcLargehuge]

57. We are going 100 miles south to my brother's restaurant

which he closes and brings together 100 or so family and friends to present with 4 turkeys, 30 pounds of mashed potatoes, 20 pounds turnips and carrots, rolls, fresh baked bread, broccoli and cheese sauce (home made cheese sauce), fresh corn, green beans, five huge bowls of salad with Feta and home made dressing, and about a gallon of home made pickles, turkey neck and rice soup, fine local wine from the Westport Vineyards, and a view of the Westport river.

I'll post pics :)

We'll get back on Friday night. Mrs. McLargehuge works Sat and Sun so I'll be preparing the traditional "Day Late and Dollar Short" Thanksgiving Dinner for all our local friends on Sunday.

[Kali]

58. Starting the day before, I will bake some punkin pies

then all day Thursday I will alternate between busting ass cooking and napping and/or sipping champagne. Requesite repeats of Alice's Restaurant and the Band's last concert playing on the radio, of course.

Menu is pretty set in stone (kids orders): Huge Turkey; dresing from recipe my mother cut out of the Anchorage newspaper in 1975 (cornbread/sage/sausage w/ onions, celery and green peppers. Smashed potatoes; roast gravy with the neck meat and celery; waldorf salad, made as my mother-in-law did with whipped cream instead of mayo; green peas with pearl onions; "yams" with brownsugar,butter and marshmallows; fresh cranberry sauce (triple recipe - youngest son eats it like applesauce with a spoon) and a plate of pickles and olives.

Pumpkin pie and whipped cream and coffee for desert.

Edited to add this mass consumption, after two days of prep will take approximatly 15 minutes. :crazy:

Then the leftovers. Must have several repeats of above, turkey and swiss on white sandwiches, turkey enchilada casserole, turkey noodle soup, hot turkey and cheese melt open face sandwhiches, and maybe turkey croquets. Yum.

[SW FL Dem]

59. I will spend too much time cooking too much food for 3 people

I spent the first 15 years of my married life cooking for 20+ family members, then we moved cross country. It isn't the same and I really miss being around my family. It sucks being far away from friends and family during the holidays.

[clyrc]

60. I will have our Pakistani friends over

for their first Thanksgiving. They are excited, as are we. I'm making Turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans, gravy, cranberry snow and my husband is making pumpkin pie. I was going to make a pecan pie, but I can't find pecans now. ( I'm just grateful I can find as much as I can, since I live in the Middle East.) After we eat, we are going to decorate the house for Christmas, also a first for our guests. In the states we never did it so early, but being an expat has made me want to get things up earlier.

Later I will call my family and I'll probably cry a bit. I really miss my family during holidays, especially since my mom is the best cook.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

61. Just sit around and watch TV. and make myself something.

:cry:

[Omphaloskepsis]

62. Going to my sisters house..

This will probably be one of the last holidays we will spend together for a few years. *sigh* Life goes on, she has a new family, I need to find mine.

[hippywife]

63. Have to go to my

BIL and SIL's. I would rather do anything than that! And I love your suggestion of going back in time to family that is now gone. I miss them all so much! :cry:

Boy, MissHoneyChurch and now you getting me with the long lost relatives this morning! :hi:

[Trigger Hippie]

64. I'm not doing a thing.

I'm far from my family and friends and will probably just eat a frozen dinner, maybe with turkey in it. I'm kinda looking forward to a non family Thanksgiving. It's usually too stressful. :)

[quiet.american]

65. It's great to see people exicited about spending time with their families

Unfortunately, not me.

Every year since my sister got married, I've been invited to spend Thanksgiving with her and her new family. She does a big Home-Living-style spread, and is a very good cook.

What leaves me less than excited, though, is for one, the travel to get there; her always screaming at her husband in front of guests for one reason or another, and the awkward, less-than-heartwarming assembly of our fractured family that will never come close to the big, jovial ethnic-type family she dreams of.

Hopefully, this year, I can get past the guilt trip of not going and just stay home, which is what I would so much rather do!

[Midlodemocrat]

67. Going to Manhattan to have Thanksgiving

with my three brothers and their families. We have never done the Thanksgiving Parade in NYC thing, so we are really looking forward to it.

And, we are going to the American Girl Place to celebrate my niece's 8th birthday and I expect to part with quite a bit of cash in honor of her birthday, Christmas and their stand on women's reproductive rights.

[MissMillie]

68. I'm the host

but it looks like it will just be my folks, my son and me.

[hyphenate]

69. Taking two close friends out to dinner

It's impossible to have them come "home" with me, but I thought that it might be simply nice to take them to dinner. There's a nice restaurant/tavern called Wiggins Tavern in Northampton, Mass, and we've got reservations for 3:00. Eat, drink and be merry.

I was supposed to be going to California this Friday to spend the week with family, but too much chaos and not worth the hassle. This is a more peaceful solution and I know that my two friends, who would otherwise be alone at Thanksgiving, will have company. I'm the youngest of the three of us, but I tend to worry about such things as being alone.

[newyawker99]

70. I am spending Thanksgiving with my aunt and cousins.

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

71. I have no plans. My parents are on vacation and won't be back

until after Thanksgiving.

So, I'll have a turkey sandwich or something. :shrug:

[Faygo Kid]

72. Uh-Oh. No parents? Could be trouble.

[Jamastiene]

73. This trailer we live in has a smelly oven

that no amount of cleaner will remove so we don't use it. We will forgoe the beloved turkey ( I love turkey and my cats love the leftovers, what little there are). We will eat something special, but I haven't figured out what yet. Probably will make a return trip to the grocery store early next week and buy some chicken breasts and make some chicken and dumplings, with stove top and yams and string beans and cranberry sauce. We don't like the "real" cranberries, so we get the gel kind. That sounds good enough. Damn, I wish I could afford a new oven. Maybe next year.

[BamaGirl]

74. Me and about 35 of my closest relatives

:yoiks: Haven't been that many of us together in about 15 years. I'm bringing beer lol. :evilgrin: