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Most families have a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. Traditional may vary from family to family and sometimes change from year to year. What was your traditional thanksgiving like, Not just from what you have for dinner, but what you usually do, that day, from a family standpoint. Will you be traveling over the thanksgiving weekend? Ladies what do you do on "Black Friday"?
Thanksgiving Day: watch the Macy's Parade on TV, and have dinner of:
roast turkey
meat stuffing with cashews
green beans with almonds
candied sweet potatoes (I make them, NOT canned)
Pillsbury Crescent rolls
cranberry sauce (I make it with Sweet N Low)
roast chestnuts
apple pie
ice cream
Walk the dogs then take a nap. :p
Black Friday: some years I have an item or 2 I need to try for. Mostly, it is just another day to take the dogs to a park for a nice long peaceful walk (weather permitting). Not too far from home as traffic is horrendous!
We always have Thanksgiving dinner with family up in Missouri. I am really looking forward to my mum's cranberry salad! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it... After we eat we typically go on a good, long walk on the backroads or down to the spring. Then we go back to my aunt's house where all the old farts will gossip and us young "adults" play video games. Thats how it goes pretty much every year. :)
I have never attempted to do the whole Black Friday thing. Since I already have the necessities here at home I am afraid I would end up buying things I truly don't need. Plus, I have heard too many horror stories. Last year my mum's friend (she's an older woman) was knocked to the ground and no one even bothered helping her up.
I took over cooking the Thanksgiving meal a few years ago. My parents, sister and her husband always come and sometimes some extended family. This year I have a set of grandparents coming down from New York.
Since I took over cooking the Turkey we started frying it and it's always a huge hit with everyone. I season the turkey the day before, then my husband does the actual frying on Thanksgiving day. Everyone always loves being here when he lowers the turkey into the fryer. It takes less than an hour to cook and everyone likes to sit around outside talking and playing with my son while they wait. During that time I'm inside putting all of the finishing touches on all the other food.
We usually eat in the early afternoon and then have a bonfire afterwards. We won't be having a bonfire this year though unless our county lifts the burn ban they put in place this past week.
I do the cooking and DIL helps.
When we sit down at the table, and before we can eat, everyone has to take a turn to speak, and tell what they are thankful for.
Now the menu:
Turkey
Stuffing - stuff the bird plus the crockpot is filled with it too. My son and granddaughter really pig out on it, so I always have to make tons of it so that there will be plenty for leftovers
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter
Corn
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Broccoli with cheese sauce
Dinner rolls
Sparkling wine
Pies - apple, pumpkin, and mincemeat
We sometimes watch the parades on t.v., and after everyone collapses and rests after the big feast, then we break out the DVD Christmas movies and watch some of them (Chevy Chase is the favorite), or sometimes play board games too.
With the family dwindling or living too far away to be here, it's just myself, son & DIL and the 2 grandkids. This year my grandson's half brother will be joining us - so just the 6 of us..
Black Friday for me is just another day, and as much as I hate crowds, I stay home. My son and DIL always go out bright and early tho. I can remember a couple of years when they were out at 2 a.m. They always go for specific early bird items, and are home way before noon. They have gotten some really fantastic buys over the years. I'm about done with my shopping anyway, and since I'm retired, I can go during the day on weekdays when most people are working and the stores aren't crowded. I only have a few more items to get, and will probably finish up the week after Thanksgiving. :cool:
We rotate which family we spend the holiday with. This year it's my family. So we will go to my moms brothers who lives in Valley Springs, CA.
The menu consists of:
Two turkeys (one baked one fried)
Mashed Taters
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Corn
Gravy
Ham
Sweet Potatoes
Many more things that I can't even remember.
Dessert consists of:
My brownies
My Aunts famous chocolate cake (usually she frosts it too soon and it slides:))
My mom makes cheesecake, coconut pie, lemon pie, chocolate pie and I think she might try these traditionall pastry rolls my grandma used to make.
Oh, before dinner there is the traditional dip. It's a five layer dip: bean dip, sour cream, avocado dip, cheese and lettuce.
After dinner (and while it's being prepared) the men watch football, the kids play outside and everyone else might play a game. This year we have bananagrams, a fun word game.
I'm sure I'll have to hear the question about why Bruce and I aren't married, when are you going to get married, don't you want to get married and have kids? Blah, blah, blah.
But it will still be LOTS of fun! I'm excited!! :D :D I just wish I could bring my doggies with me. But they will stay home with their "cousins".
This year will be my first experience with Black Friday. I don't like shopping in general and only go when necessary and get what I need and I'm done. This year my mom asked if I'd go with her, my sister-in-law and my nieces. So I figured I could do it once in my life. They have the game plan set so I'm going with the flow. I hate crowds but I think I'll handle it (I hope).
I usually watch the Macy's Parade while I'm having breakfast. Later about 1pm I go to my sister's and have dinner with her and my nephews. After we do the dishes we have dessert and then just relax cuz we're tired by then :) The rest of the family comes over later and we just chat and enjoy each other's company. It's usually a pleasant day.
Black Friday I do not move out of the house, I don't like mob scenes at the stores.
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I have to be at church at 8:30 to play. The service starts at 10 and it's a "blended" service with the praise band (that's who I play for), the adult and children's choirs. If it all goes as planned we should be leaving church around 11:15-11:30.
My sister-in-law has her family for Thanksgiving and my mom, dad and I go to my sister's. We will eat, clean up, spend some time together.
I don't like to shop the day after Thanksgiving. The weather is supposed to be chilly and rainy, so I'll probably do house work.
Thanksgiving is the only time of year I miss my extended family. We used to have an "early" Thanksgiving every year because my grandparents would winter in Arizona. That was always fun! It would be a big "traditional" lunch followed by chitchat and games.
We moved away in 2006, so we don't get to do the family gathering anymore. This year it's just us plus my brother. Our menu is vegetarian, since we are all vegetarians:
Tofurky with potatoes, carrots, and onions
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Stuffing
Dinner rolls
Green salad
Apple pie
Working in retail, I totally AVOID black Friday. I saw an ad for Wal-Mart for some hot game for Christmas. Stores open at 4 a.m. and if you read the fine print, there are only 10 games per store. What are the odds????
J and I plan to sleep in.. Yay! Then I'll have to make the dish I'm taking to my Mom's. We have 15 or so people over there, J's brother, SIL and neice are coming this year as well.
Menu: Turkey, Stuffing (usually with apples), Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Souffle (what I'm making [YUMYUMYUM]), Green Bean Casserole, Mac & Cheese, Cranberry sauce, and some type of bread.
There's not really a set routine for activities... I'm sure my brother's girlfriend will get uncomfortable and they'll leave earlier with some lame excuse.. I hardly ever see him anymore. Since she's so socially awkward, she gets uncomfortable and of course, doesnt drive, so he has to take her where ever she wants to go! :end rant: I'm sure we'll watch tv and maybe play some games.
I too wish the fur-kids could come! Just too many people to have 3 obnoxious dogs running around like nuts. =)
Oh yea.. Black Friday. J and I have gone the past few years. Went to Walmart and got 2 Wii's several years ago, then she got a PS3 the next year. Our Walmart had 29 Wii's that year. We stood outside in 40 degree weather. Thankfully, we were number 28 and 29! So J sold her console, made double the cost, and I gifted mine to her.. lol. Last year we got a 32" lcd for our bedroom.
I'm trying to avoid it this year though. Before we moved in together, I'd never gone, so just the past 4 years I've gone. It's never as bad as I've seen it on tv.. but it's definitely not a whole lot of fun being surrounded by SO many people. I'll probably just sit and check Amazon for deals.
We have a meal at home and then visit with our families. I've only went out on Black Friday once, last year. I needed some things from the pet stores. They weren't bad but the traffic was awful. Not sure what I'll do this year. If I'm smart, I'll stay home.:D