Oh, boy! What a decision to make. Travel 12 hours to be with family for Thanksgiving or stay home and cook a meal for our immediate family. Day long travel or day long cooking????
Is it wrong to wish that Thanksgiving was already over?
Jennifer :-\
Since my daughter was born 15+ years ago, we have had a strict no-traveling-on-major-holidays rule....I didn't want her childhood to be filled with memories of overcrowded airports, cancelled flights, traffic jams, and cranky strangers! People were welcome to come visit us (and they do), but we were gonna be HOME for the Holidays! :D It's worked out well....sometimes it's just the 3 of us, and one year we had 11 people staying in our house for Thanksgiving - utter chaos, but happy chaos.
Whatever you choose, I hope it works out well for you and you're able to relax some and enjoy the holiday....
Swanson Turkey TV Diners. A little time in the microwave and you are ready to go. No left overs.
We may have to be at our Daughters House with our SIL's family. Shared cooking. Shared Clean up. Shared Left overs.
My wife loves to cook and is very good at it. So we may be cooking ahead of time and toting it there. Jan has an induction cooking system that she loves also. It is amazing what she can do with precise temperature control.
Quote from: jpd54 on November 01, 2013, 01:57:37 PM
Oh, boy! What a decision to make. Travel 12 hours to be with family for Thanksgiving or stay home and cook a meal for our immediate family. Day long travel or day long cooking????
Is it wrong to wish that Thanksgiving was already over?
Jennifer :-\
Or, Plan "C:" Country Buffet!
Sharon
I volunteered my niece for hosting Thanksgiving when we went to see her first new house!
It is nice to not have to clean first!
Sharon
Well Jennifer.. Last year I took the "easy road" and we traveled 2 1/2 hours to my in-laws and stayed overnight.
She had a total of 15 there, and others too stayed the night. I enjoyed the company and food.
Now, it is my turn for Thanksgiving, yes I get help but still the biggest portion is mine plus I work at my job/part-time.
But I will enjoy myself though I will be very tired too
Then there's Christmas..... that I host every year...................................ho-ho-ho-
eye2dry
If you have it at home, don't be shy about asking people to bring things, and recruiting people to baste the turkey, etc. I don't have a big family, so years ago I discovered the joys of the turkey breast (also called a hotel cut), and just do that. If I had to serve more, I think I would just cook two of those, instead of the whole turkey.
Since it is just me and the kitties, I usually get one of those little game hens and stuff em. That is enough meat for me. I don't like the crowds dining out and I have no close family around here.
We made the decision to travel. I am ordering some food online and having it sent to brother's house. If traveling is not enough, I broke my foot. I am having surgery tomorrow to have a screw inserted. At least now I have a visual aid for my family to understand why I can't do everything. Haha
Thanks for all the suggestions!!!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Oh my goodness! How in the world did you do that? Best of luck tomorrow.
Thanks Velcro!! I broke my left foot two years ago. Last year I broke it in the same spot and had to have a screw put in. This year it is my right foot. Going ahead and getting the screw put it because it is not healing.
Thanks for the good wishes!
Jennifer - good luck with your surgery tomorrow on your foot. Ouch!
You probably could have just opted out of Thanksgiving - you didn't have to break your foot! ;)
I would think if you are traveling by car to your Thanksgiving destination that you will need to get out and stretch, especially after having surgery.
I don't envy the long trip for you - that's how long it takes to get back "home" to my family. I don't travel East in the winter months, so I'm off the hook. :)
Best wishes,
Bucky
I had the foot surgery on Wednesday. This is the first day I have had clothes on other than my nightgown. The pain is horrendous so I am slowly moving around. Need time to heal. Maybe the trip is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Happy Holidays, Everyone!!!
Jennifer
You poor dear! I hope that by Thanksgiving it is feeling a lot better and that you can enjoy the day. At least nobody will be expecting you to clean up!
Hugs,
Sharon
I found out the other night that Thanksgiving Dinner is going to be held at a community center. Whoopie.... lol. My younger siblings, and wife of my nephew decided there is a lot more room there.
No problem on travel. We live down the road from it. We could walk if we wanted to. I had first brought up that this year we all get together again at my dad's house where mom always had us come for dinner. I offered to do all I could to clean some for dad. I even told them that it brings back the good memories of mom cooking in her kitchen.
Guess they didn't want to, and my suggestions never have held any weight.
Ok, I will be happy anyway. lol.. Mom would want that. We will be there for dad.
My husband said he is going to fix a little quiet meal for us to have later that night together at home.
I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday. Each day is special. I know I am thankful for so so many things. One is this board of wonderful, precious people.
I love all of you, but I think I must be getting old and cranky. :-[
Hugs,
susanep :)
I love to cook~ love to host family meals....but my hubby hates to have extended family in so just us and our kids. My daughter will be having lunch with her hubby's family. So that leaves my son, hubby and me. I am at the point of what's the point. Since my son lives 5 hours away, I think I will find out what he would like me to fix and go with that. I am thinking no turkey~ steak dinner instead. I am with Susanep ~ getting old and cranky.
Happy Thanksgiving to all~
My hubby's family has a big hoopla for lunch, and my side is just down to my Mom and Dad. They both do lunch, so in the past, we have gone to my Mother's but then we have to eat and run to try and make it to his Mom's for dessert. It's hectic as there is an 1 1/2 drive in between. So last year, we talked my Mom and Dad into coming to his family's house. They did and had a blast.
This year, my Dad is not able to do this. He still has some issues from his major colon surgery that requires him to stay near a restroom (you get the point). My Mom was insistent that we go to hubs family. She's all "There is like 40 people there for hubs to see, and here, there is just us. So you guys go there so he can see his family." My Mom is so sweet and kind but I could hear in her voice how she really was hating not seeing us.
So I finally said, "Ok, well how about this. Would you be willing to do dinner instead of lunch? If you would do that, we could come over and not be rushed and visit for a long time instead of eating and running. That would allow hubs to see his family and still allow us to come over and eat with you guys?" Her voice changed immediately! LOL. She was all "Oh yes! That would be great! No problem at all to do dinner instead!"
My hubs is wonderful. He's kind of like me. His Mother does have 40 people to help her celebrate the holiday and my parents are down to just us. My brother is 10 hrs away and if they come at Thanksgiving, they can't come at Christmas so they are coming at Christmas this year. My youngest is in Texas in the military and my oldest doesn't speak to any of us, so it's just us. I could tell she was tickled with the compromise and honestly, it will make my Thanksgiving Day much more relaxed and not rushed.
It does make it "challenging" when our families grow and everyone has to "choose" where to go for the holidays.
My family lives 500 miles away - I don't go East in the winter unless I absolutely have to. (Went East for Thanksgiving once and there was an ice storm on the way to the airport on our return trip home - I vowed, never again!!).
I miss being with my family at the holidays - now that both my parents are gone, there are just my two brothers who live in two different towns at either end of the state that is 500 miles away.
We'll celebrate Thanksgiving with hubbies side of family. They are "talking" about eating around 2-3'ish, which saddens me - as our son has to work Thanksgiving day serving meals to others who are eating out, and he won't get off work until around 5'ish. I wish they would wait for him. I feel guilty for eating without him and then he gets the leftovers. :(
However you all celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday - may you count your many blessings and share the bounty of goodness with others who are less fortunate.
Bucky