As a kid we used to play football in the street after thanksgiving dinner. it was a three driveway field. one driveway for each goal line and the driveway in the middle was the center point. (running into a mailbox was out of bounds... ... )
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
Our family tradition in Az was to cook the turkeys in a pit- my hubby has 10 brothers and sisters - there are a lot of us when we get together... we usually had at least 4 turkeys, a pork roast,a beef roast... and we of course made all the sides too- when the kids were young we used to go to Gila Bend for it- it is halfway between Yuma and Pnx... one of the brother in laws lived there... we would take our ATVs and kids would have a ball riding out in the desert, needless to say it was always nice weather for us there... one year when the kids were a little older and brother in law had moved... we had our big dinner at our house.... 200 people.. guys went to another brothers house to do the turkeys- to pit them- pit collapsed.. sis in law called me at 2 am- said they were ruined and could I fix it???? I went to grocery store- open all night... bought 4 fresh turkeys and at 6 called neighbors asked to use their ovens..we had double ovens... I bagged them and got them in the ovens and we had dinner on time... everyone made the sides and brought them.. I had done pies and the stuffing the day before- relish trays and all that- takes a lot to feed that many, kids all played in the back yard, and baseball in the street ... We had a lot of fun in those days.... Nana
We would all gather at Grandma and Grandpa's small house Grandma did most of the cooking then,, mannnnnn she made the best homemade parkerhouse rolls,, I would fill up on those and homemade jelly,,She would always have Ham and Turkey and giblet gravy and fried chicken,, Loads of side foods we'd all eat,, some of us would take walks and some of us would take naps,,, ,, most of us kids would play board games or play outside,, I miss those days,, ,,,,,, I miss my Grandma!
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
when I was 10 or 11 yrs old, I wanted SO bad to make a side dish or desert for our big family thanksgiving meal. someone told me how to make bananna pudding. easy dish for a kid, right? evidentally, I did a surperb job. cause from that day forward, until I was an adult (and grandma and grandpa passed away) my designated dish every single year from that day forward, was banana pudding! ha ha. I never was given the opportunity to make ANYTHING else. but, I did feel SO proud! no one ever had to ask...'yum, who made this?' they all knew, I made it.
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
yep me too---my Grandma would roast a big turkey and a big duck. she would make all the sides, and pies too.
and yes all was home made. well all but the cherry pie. I did not realize that there was any other type of cherry pie than using pie filling.
those were the best of times. grandma would make a big production of gettin out all her fine silverware, dishes & tableclothes. It made us kids remember it all the more.
________
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
i don't remember any of our thanksgivings, except one. it was at my aunts, and i had such a good time. i've tried to model all mine after that one. (hard to know how well i did, i wasn't but 3 or 4)
For Thanksgiving I get to cook and bake everything except the turkey.It's fun.Along with the bread,I heat up some tortillas and my family would make some turkey tacos.It's Thanksgiving weith a Mexican twist.
anything can be wrapped up in a tortilla, enrique! ----especially with a bit of cheese thrown in! (which is completly what they call 'tex-mex' around here.)
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
My sister and I ALWAYS fight over the cranberry sauce. That is pretty much the only "tradition" that has stayed constant over the years. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my family since Stephen and I were married. I refuse to play "musical families" on the holidays....going from one family to the next. So, I split the holidays...one with my family, one with Steve's family. We usually do Thanksgiving with his family, but this year we are doing it with mine because he has to work on Thanksgiving and there is no way we could do it with his family at the farm this year. So, instead of my and my sister fighting over the cranberry sauce, it will be me, my sister, Stephen, Maddie, and 2 of my sister's kids. ....not sure about my brother in law.
Shop at Amazon and Support AGF
Are you shopping online? Click this link first and A Gardeners Forum will receive a commission for your
referral at Amazon.com (shopping through this link to Amazon will not have any impact on your prices at Amazon).