Yesterday we celebrated Easter with our family at my sister’s house. Now, even though as adults we should know better, we still start the holiday digging into the kids baskets with them. Well, we actually eat some of the candy that didn’t make it into the baskets rather than taking their candy. It’s a bit of gorging of course, but we figure it’s only one time a year so why not. Then after we rest and read the morning paper, we treat ourselves to a big breakfast of French toast or pancakes with bacon and lots of syrup and juice. After Church it’s off to the big family get together, where we eat again.
So the family dinner includes ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, and more. After sitting around chatting and stuffing ourselves we usually try to get some fresh air and make room for dessert- a perfect time for the kids to do an Easter egg hunt. Why do so many holidays revolve around food? Of course along with dessert there is usually a second round of Easter candy to go around. After all of the sugar and food, it’s no wonder we all crash early for the night.
So who’s coming to your Thanksgiving feast? Or maybe you’re the one hitting the road and visiting friends and family at their place instead. That’s the easy part. But if you’re the one hosting the dinner at your home, it takes a bit of planning and shopping to make a nice holiday meal. The first thing to do is figure out what size bird you’re going to need, so you’ll need to get a solid idea on the number of people you’ll be feeding. Once you know that, you’ll want to pad the pounds a bit so you can enjoy some leftovers during the week. If you’re doing all of the cooking you certainly deserve to have some extra food to eat throughout the week
Now the tricky part is trying to please everyone. For instance, you might have a few vegetarians in the family, so you’ll want to make sure you have some dishes they’ll enjoy during the meal - you can ask them what they like or they might even prefer to make them at their homes and bring it over for the holiday. You probably also want to make sure you have a few favorites that everyone enjoys, so everyone get a taste of their favorite side dish or dessert.
Just when I thought I could put off thoughts of Christmas and Christmas shopping, family members who live out-of-state have started asking about gift ideas for the children. While I love that they care enough to want to give our kids a gift for the holidays, the very thought of thinking of the holidays starts my head spinning. I mean, I’m still adjusting to the fact it’s already November and that I’ll have to start planning a Thanksgiving menu soon. But I guess there’s no escaping it, is there?
I have some friends who do a really good job of keeping the gift-giving to a minimum. They feel that their children are always well-provided for and do not need to be inundated with gifts like that in one day. Plus it takes a way from the meaning of the holiday. I admire that they’ve been able to keep it to one special gift for each person since I have a hard time not wanting to load the tree with loads of beautifully wrapped boxes. But if you were to ask me what we got each other last Christmas I would have a hard time remembering. So I guess the trick is to not go so overboard but still make it special.
While we haven’t even had a chance to enjoy Halloween, people on the radio on mentioning how many shopping days are left until Christmas! Forget a mention of Thanksgiving - is it because there just isn’t enough money to be made marketing that particular holiday? Well I for one wish it would just slow down a bit and that the stores would stop pushing Christmas before we’ve had a chance to enjoy living in the moment and the current holiday.
Halloween is fun but Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite food holidays and family get-togethers. I enjoy the big turkey and all of the delicious side dishes. And what’s not to love about all the yummy pies and desserts. While writing this I do realize it might sound like I love it most of all for the food, but truly it’s also fun to be with some of my favorite relatives and siblings. Especially when we cook together for the day - half the fun is messing around in the kitchen together. Cleaning it up is another story!
