Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thanksgiving...I can't wait!






















Thanksgiving is coming! I must admit, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday! It is a time of reflection and joy...a time for families to set aside all differences and come together in a spirit of unity.
Last year my husband and boys began a new tradition for Thanksgiving. Typically we would visit both sets of families and eat a minimum of two times. While it is fun to see everyone, it is exhausting and leaves little time to truly experience the true meaning of the day. So a new tradition was born! Actually, it was my oldest son's, Michael, idea. We were camping in September and while walking through the campground Michael began talking about the pilgrims (he's a major history buff already!) and about the first Thanksgiving. He casually said, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an old fashioned Thanksgiving?" Ding, ding! A lightbulb went off in both my and my husband's heads at the same time. We looked at each other as if to say, "Oh yeah!".
We discussed bringing our camper to the campground and having Thanksgiving but the unpredicable weather made us stop and think. After all, who wants to tow a 24 ft. long camper or cook outside in a snow storm? The campground has cabins. Immediately, I went to the office and got the literature. We made our reservations before we left that weekend.
For two months the boys were so fired up about Thanksgiving! Nearly every day one would ask a question..."How are we cooking the turkey?" or "Can I have the drumstick?" or "Can we play outside while the food cooks?" This would inspire a whole conversation of our plans which included smoking the turkey, homemade rolls, pumpkin cookies (easier to travel with!) and mashed potatoes made with a hand masher. All four of us were so excited we could harly contain ourselves!
We arrived at the cabin on Wednesday evening and were thrilled at the atmosphere! The inside walls looked exactly like the outside walls, denim curtains hung on the windows and all the furniture was made of rustic wood. A perfect setting to our old fashioned Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Day dawned cool but clear...fallen leaves surrounded the cabin as well as all the walkways and roads throughout the campground. Mike fired up the smoker early which resulted in the few other campers dropping by to say hello and see what we were up to. Mike and I took turns preparing food and checking on the smoker and taking the boys for walks and playing in the leaves.
Finally, the turkey was done! It was dark from the smoker but still looked beautiful. Mike had no more than removed it and settled the bird on a platter when it started to snow! A beautiful setting to enjoy a wonderful meal and enjoy the company of those we love the most.
This year we have plans to continue our new tradition.
Now it's your turn! Share your Thanksgiving traditions and/or your favorite memory of the holiday. Can't wait to hear from you!
PS--That is sparkling grape juice in the first pic! ;)

1 comment:

Allison said...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as all of our family gathers around the table and we say a blessing then we all go around the table and say what we are thankful for this year. Normally there is a few tears shed at the table because this is one time in the year we just open up to one another.