Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Checking in . . .

The halls are decked. Already. :-) 
I know it's been a while, but I've been caught up in baking (check out the baking blog and the latest macarons!), doing edits for FIVE MILES SOUTH OF PECULIAR, trying to work on my dissertation, and decorating the house for Christmas.

Yes, you read that right.  The inside of my house is now officially decorated with garland and red bows, and the Christmas tree stands guard in the living room. I don't usually decorate this soon, but the days ahead are full and my daughter and the Grand Baby are coming to visit around the first of December.  So I wanted to have Christmas, and if that means decorating on November 21, well, so be it.  :-)

We will wait to do the outside of the house until AFTER Thanksgiving.  :-)

For our family Thanksgiving, hubby and I always jump in the car with a few dishes and drive a couple of hours to this little town called Lake Hamilton--trust me, it's small.  But they have a lovely old woman's club, and my family rents the women's club so all the aunts and cousins and friends can eat a meal together.  We catch up and eat too much, then we play Dirty Santa--a tricky gift exchange, if you've never played it.  Then we take pictures, clean up the dishes, and head home until the next year.  It's a simple tradition, but I'm grateful for it. Without it, I'd hardly ever get a chance to see many in my extended family.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?  Do you travel or stay home?  Do you have a favorite dish that simply must be on the table?  Have you ever had Thanksgiving alone?  I have, and it's not much fun. So if you know someone in that situation, invite 'em over and pull up an extra chair.  You'll be glad you did.

~~Angie 

7 comments:

Ronnell Kay Gibson said...

This Wisconsin family is looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving at home (did I say quiet? no I meant relaxing in front of a roaring football game). Any other Wisconsin families are welcome to join us, as long as you are NOT routing for the Packers. Dinner is at halftime.

Unknown said...

We are moving the Saturday after Thanksgiving so there will be no cooking for us, just lots of packing. Cheeseburgers are on the menu so even the food, while sort of tasty, just won't be the same this year. Oh well, we will be able to spend Christmas in front of the fireplace in our new home. How exciting and enticing that is!!

Suzanne said...

Our family Thanksgiving tradition is to go to the mall the night before Thanksgiving. There's hardly anyone there and some of the sales have already been keyed into the registers. Great deals + no crowds = happy me.

Southern-fried Fiction said...

Since none of our family except one son, live here in Atlanta, we get together with some friends we met through our son. They are exactly 15 years younger than us and 15 years older than our son. We started sharing holidays with them about 8 years ago, so it's a new tradition and one I love now. :)

daisymarie said...

Just the opposite at our house. My husband decided to put the outside lights up a couple weeks ago before the snow fell. Funny thing is we're still averaging around 50 degrees. We're heading to his family with dghtr#2 and grandson for Thanksgiving. It's nice to to have to worry about all the cooking and the cleaning, but I sure miss the leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Anonymous said...

A new tradition this year, I made a 17-lb turkey and everyone else brought the rest of the food--I liked this very much! My brother's family, My husband's sisters' families and mom, my sons and a new fiancee, my daughter and two PhD students who live too far away to go home for Thanksgiving--lots of food and visiting, horse & buggy rides, four wheelers, walks, card games, and a game on TV that A&M lost but nobody noticed...Sandy from Navasota

Angela said...

Sandy, I would like that new tradition, too. That's why I like our family's pot luck style. Everyone brings their speciality, and no one is responsible for the ENTIRE meal. Makes baking and preparation much more fun!

And buggy rides? Wow. I love Texas!

Angie