STEP OUT OF THE TRADITIONAL BOX FOR THE HOLIDAYS
There is a saying that goes like this: "Never say never!" One needs to be careful saying that phrase. Just like most people, I truly enjoy our family traditions at Thanksgiving. It is a time to give thanks to all that we have as a family, as well as friends. All of the traditional foods that MUST be served and please don't stray too far from them.
Every once in a while, I like to throw in something new and sometimes it is a keeper and other times..meh! It just does not work. It is so exciting to see our children and our children's children all helping to pull together a wonderful meal that is full of our grandparents' and great-grandparents' recipes and ideas.
It is a fact that I once asked my grandmother to please write down what she did two days before Thanksgiving and what went into each dish. It is a definite keeper of what she wrote. It was a little of this, a pinch of that...never would you have an exact measurement. So I had to visually watch her every step of the way. Her dinners were always scrumptious. EVERY YEAR. And it was amazing for many reasons. She only had one oven. I am lucky enough to have a double oven, so the turkey can be in one and all of the other goodies can cook along in the other one. Never once did she have a problem pulling all of the recipes together and having them ready to serve hot at the same time. WHEW!
And, yes, I loved that and still do. Every family member has their own favorite that they would like to have served on Thanksgiving.
One holiday Steve and I had the day to celebrate all to ourselves. Our children were away for the holiday. We seized the opportunity to actually make reservations at a very posh restaurant and just enjoy each other's company and be thankful for all that we had. And that was quite a lot and never taken for granted! It was a step away from the traditional box of how most Thanksgivings are supposed to be. I am not sure who wrote those rules but we decided to break from them this particular year and it worked beautifully for us. I still relish that year, as now, I no longer have Stephen with me physically to celebrate. Just all of our loving memories that he gave to me.
Enter Thanksgiving 2025. It was a time that we had a staycation for Fall Break and just loved being around the pool and having fun together. It was at this time that we decided to check on a cruise over the Thanksgiving break. It turned out that all of the females in the household were thrilled to be headed to The Bahamas for the week of Thanksgiving. Talk about stepping outside of the traditional box! And, yes, they have so many activities, as most cruises do, that we would never ever miss one year of this kind of special time together over Thanksgiving. The one male member of our household was not interested in going out on a cruise. And that was ok. He still will have his Mom and Dad and brother to spend Thanksgiving with. He will be at work on all of the other days. Everyone is happy to try something new. I am so glad that we have a family ready to try a new twist on the holidays.
When we return, all of us will be in the festive mood to get Christmas decorations out and decorate the house. Usually, this is done when we are off for Thanksgiving holidays. Obviously, an exception will be made this year. You will not find any of us upset with this. It is called just rolling with the flow. And, oh wow, does that ever feel good. No time line. No stress. What will be, will be.
Yes, we will have some of the favorites for Christmas time this year. The snacky favorite tons of Chex Mix will be made. We will decide on a turkey or ham or both. We will have all of the other favorites that will be made and eaten. Who knows? Thomas and I may just decide to try once again those famous Stephen Miles' English Roasted Potatoes.
For now, I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
