Thanksgiving

[CaptTom]

The lack of Thanksgiving hype in the stores is one of best parts of the holiday. I could never comprehend the motivation to go do battle in the stores on the day after, either.

To me, Thanksgiving is a family day, along with a 4-day weekend for those still in the w*rking world. No presents to wrap, a truly easy meal to prepare and all morning to do it. Plus guests usually help out with side dishes and desserts. Turkey with all the fixin's is still my favorite meal.

The whole idea that it's a holiday with nothing to do but eat and be with family, to me, is sacred. Early Black Friday shopping was bad enough, but now it's been creeping into Thanksgiving day itself. That's unforgivable, and I'll never participate.

 

[jollystomper]

The stores pretty much have merged Halloween/Thanksgiving/Harvest/Fall Festival into a single sales period. Since Thanksgiving is more for food shopping and not "stuff" shopping, that is why the Christmas/Winter Holiday stuff is in the stores now. You can already see some stores holding "Black Friday" sales before Black Friday.

 

[WestUniversity]

Thanksgiving? You mean the day before Black Friday has a name?

LOL! This site always brightens my day!

 

[scrabbler1]

From 2005-2011, my dad and my ladyfriend went to my brother's house in MA to spend a few days including TG. It's about a 4-hour drive from Long Island but good to get out of town for a few days. My dad and I split the driving (in his car) for most of the years until I took it over in 2011 because my dad's driving skills at age 80 were not as good as they used to be.


Starting in 2012, my brother and his family (wife and son) began using that week to go out of town because his son had the entire week off from school. My brother has his own business and his wife works from home, so being able to get away for a week was an opportunity they couldn't pass up.


In 2012, my ladyfriend and I put together a TG dinner at my place and my dad came over to join us. In 2013 and 2014, my brother was hosting again although the 2014 trip was hectic due to a snowstorm the day before. Since 2015, they stopped hosting and instead began going to my SIL's mom's house for the day, a 3-hour trip for them. This left my LF and I on our own. My dad didn't want to join us, though. My LF has sometimes been off the day before TG when we hosted, including this year, giving her more time to put the meal together (at her place, near mine). It's nice not to be driving 4 hours each way, for sure.

 

[kaudrey]

My family hasn't gotten together for Thanksgiving in years - travel is so bad around that week. But, we've each always had traditional Thanksgivings with friends.


This year, due to family circumstances, we are getting together. I am traveling to my parents' house, and I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy, green beans. My sister is making cranberry sauce and dessert.


I'll brine the turkey and oven roast it.....

 

[ponyboy]

Whats more odd is people still step foot in stores to purchase material items. I never notice decorations when im browsing the interwebz. I do still shop at costco and the grocery store though.

 

[candrew]

I was about to say that I'd take Wild Turkey over a roasted one any day, but doesn't the one end up creating the other?

 

[MRG]

I was about to say that I'd take Wild Turkey over a roasted one any day, but doesn't the one end up creating the other?

Turkeys are tea drinkers! No 101 for them.

 

[Scuba]

Same here. Since it's just the two of us, we have whatever we want. Often it's a prime rib roast, but this year DW surprised me when she asked for baby back ribs. Turns out she likes my ribs done on the BGE more than I realized!

Same here. DH loves the traditional Thanksgiving foods but I don't. We sometimes make turkey & trimmings but more often than not, he goes out for a traditional turkey meal a day or two before Thanksgiving and we have a nice meal on Thanksgiving Day that isn't turkey. I always include green bean casserole as that is his favorite.

 

[Scuba]

Costco had their Xmas stuff out before Halloween!

I do see lots of Thanksgiving dinner stuff in the grocery ads this week so there is that.

Christmas is the big money machine and I'm sure all the retailers want to maximize their sales.

So did Home Depot! We were shocked when we went the second week of October and the entire front of the store was filled with Christmas items.

 

[gayl]

Whats more odd is people still step foot in stores to purchase material items. I never notice decorations when im browsing the interwebz. I do still shop at costco and the grocery store though.

I'm a woman and we shop

 

[gerntz]

When is American Thanksgiving?

There's no such thing.

Thanksgiving is a tradition that started here & so it's THE Thanksgiving, no American modifier needed. If anywhere else or any non-American group has a Thanksgiving too not in line with the original, then it's their hyphen Thanksgiving. Similarly, the Brits don't call their golf & tennis championships British whatever but just THE Open, THE Championships, because those sports tourneys originated there.

 

[braumeister]

There's no such thing.

Thanksgiving is a tradition that started here & so it's THE Thanksgiving, no American modifier needed. If anywhere else or any non-American group has a Thanksgiving too not in line with the original, then it's their hyphen Thanksgiving.

Somebody needs to bone up on their Canadian history.

 

[Danmar]

Thanks - I was in Toronto for Canadian Thanksgiving. And I didn't know it was Thanksgiving until I got there. I wasn't prepared for the business closings, but we had a great time.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to you!

Thanks. We get two thanksgivings. One in Oct in Canada and another down in Arizona next week. Get my fill of Turkey.

 

[gerntz]

Somebody needs to bone up on their Canadian history.

Wrong. Frobisher was not a Canada resident nor did the practice start & continue as a tradition from 1621 as THE Thanksgiving has.

 

[MichaelB]

Come on, are we going to get into a squabble over Thanksgiving?

 

[Meadbh]

History of Thanksgiving

May I refer you to Wikipedia...

“An unusual annual Day of Thanksgiving began in 1606 following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and developed into Guy Fawkes Day on November 5” in England!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

 

[Bestwifeever]

Come on, are we going to get into a squabble over Thanksgiving?

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a good meaningless squabble or two!

 

[Meadbh]

Come on, are we going to get into a squabble over Thanksgiving?

It’s safer than politics!

 

[RobbieB]

Or Financial Advisors.

 

[MRG]

Come on, are we going to get into a squabble over Thanksgiving?

Well I just saw a local place has free range fresh turkey for $4.59 a pound. Add in $25 for smoking. DW's still insisting on the restaurant. So maybe!

 

[Bamaman]

We always went to the grandparents 2 hours south for holidays until I was 20 years old and the grandparents started passing.

Then we moved to my brother in law's parents home as their dining room table sat over 20 people. And something like 50 friends and neighbors wojld rotate through there on Thanksgiving--many of which were college friends.

After another generation started passing on, we moved to my sister's house in the city we all lived in. After my niece and nephew had families, we finally started staying home for Thanksgiving. We also moved 3 hrs. away.

My wife's first three children are somewhat unreliable, and we just quit trying to celebrate Thanksgiving when no one would show up. Sometimes we cook the full meal, sometimes we go to our RV in the mountains and sometimes we go to Cracker Barrel. This year we are taking a 1 week road trip ending at the stepdaughter's house. We always show up when a meal is offered.

 

[aja8888]

It’s safer than politics!

After reading the Wiki page you posted, it's more complicated than politics.

 

[MOSAT]

We moved 1300 miles away from both my and DW’s family about 24 years ago. The first few years of TG here were pretty sad in our house, since it was always a big deal with our families, LOTS of food, football, etc. 3 years later friends of ours, moved here, actually less than 2 miles away, with their three DD. They too left all their families 1000 miles away. So we made a pact, we do Thanksgiving dinner, they do Christmas, and we split Easter. Seems to work, the meals started to get big with boyfriends and girlfriends, some turned into spouses, all came to dinner. Now the crowd is erratic, our kids started to have other obligations, with spouses families etc. My DS is hosting thanksgiving for his spouses family, so he won’t make it this year, but our friends and all but one of their daughters and her husband will be here. Back to the big table this year. Looking forward to it!

 

[RobbieB]

Good for you! That sounds like big fun -