Our Thanksgiving Holiday meal has been the same year after year after year. And I’m okay with that. Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, all the trimmings. And family. This year we’ll have 30 around the table! Our children and grandchildren, my dad and sisters and their families, my mother-in-law will all join us as we take time to celebrate God’s blessings and provisions in our lives over the past year.
We’ve been hosting this shin-dig for a dozen years or more, always the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day. It is one of my family’s very favorite things, even though it means tackling extra housecleaning projects and giving up their bedrooms, not to mention all the food prep and planning.
I love having our family here for a nice long visit. It’s a blessing to have them and I’m getting better at relaxing my expectations and standards of how things ‘should’ be. I want to be hospitable, but I don’t have to be Martha Stewart. How does one pull off a meal for all these people? Stick with what works – plain and simple. We don’t try to out-do ourselves every year. We don’t try new and fancy dishes that may or may not turn out as expected. There is a time and place for that, this isn’t it.
I provide turkey and ham. Everyone has their specialty they bring every year. One sister brings her famous sweet potatoes and her mouth-watering apple pie. Another sister brings the anticipated pumpkin pies and munchies for our appetizer buffet. My dad always brings summer sausage, cheese and crackers for that appetizer buffet. My daughters are now bringing dishes of their own, which lightens my load even more. We all pitch in, and we all bring the same every year. Everyone knows what to expect and we work together as a team. After all these years of doing things in the same ol’ way, we run {almost} like a well-oiled machine.
In order to accomplish all this, I keep our daily routines and meals extra simple these days leading up to the big event.
This week’s Menu will go something like this:
- Breakfast: cereal, yogurt, granola and/or oatmeal
- Lunch: sandwiches, soup or leftovers
- Supper: tacos (M), lasagne (Tu), Quesadillas (W), PotRoast w/ potatoes & carrots (Th), Chicken Corn Chowder (F), Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner (Sa), Leftovers (Su)
Our Traditional Thanksgiving Meal will include:
- Turkey, Ham
- Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
- Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes
- Wilted Spinach Salad
- Succotash, Green Bean Casserole
- Cranberry Jello Mold
- Rolls, Butter, Jam
- Pies – Pumpkin, Pecan, Apple
- Cheesecake
What’s on your menu this week? Do you have a specialty dish you prepare each year for your Thanksgiving meal?
Sharing this post at some of these wonderful places, including Menu Plan Monday and you can find more Thanksgiving Inspiration I’ve collected over on my Pinterest Boards.
I love reading about other people’s Thanksgiving traditions! Sounds like a nice, relaxing holiday at your house.
Hi Keri. It is fun to get a peek into how others celebrate. This is my favorite holiday of the year, and it is very nice. Relaxing is always my goal, but there’s sure to be some chaos mixed up in it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
We also have dishes on Thanksgiving that only get eaten during the holidays like squash casserole. Hubby informed me today that he has ordered a turducken for our feast so I’m off the hook for a turkey. 🙂 Have a happy Thanksgiving.
a Turducken? Wow! That would be quite an adventure in our household. Maybe your husband is starting at new tradition. enjoy!
We have thanksgiving at my mom’s house. Her and dad, my aunt, my 89 year old grandma, my husband and the two boys. I am an only child. My husband’s adult kids are busy with the other sides of their famalies.
Our menu is about the same each year as well. Green beans, corn, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, my mother’s famous dressing, turkey, ham, rolls, coleslaw and cranberry sauce. Plus pies and a few appetizers. I am making the vegetables and rolls. Mom makes the meat and taters and the dressing. And since I always have to work every Thanksgiving, we buy our pies. Pecan and pumpkin from Fischer big boy.
Sounds like and lovely (and yummy!) day, Amanda. How nice that your mom and dad host every year. That way you get to enjoy so much more, I’m sure. You know, with all these posts floating around about Thanksgiving menus and foods, I am crazy hungry all the time. And I have to wait until Saturday! Have a very happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family!