Community Chat

[cherry]

Did any of you have a special Thanksgiving routine, that your family always followed. We always went to my maternal Grandmothers for dinner. There was about 30 of us, so we always had 2 turkeys and ham.

Grandma always made oyster dressing(mainly because my cousin Don, who was the apple of her eye, loved it)

The adults always ate in my Grams huge country kitchen in the old farmhouse. It was a neat place with a long wall of cupboards ,and a grinder for  coffee beans mounted on the wall beside them..The house was heated with coal, and grandpa would routinely go into the  basement( he had to enter from outside and stoke it ) a few times while we were there. I used to stand on the floor register and watch my dress fan out  when the warm air shot up ,to warm the house. For some dumb reason I always thought this was  such fun????

The kids ate in the parlor, and there was about 10 of us. We always had birthday cake  from a bakery ,because my mom and aunt had a birthday  around this time. We also had pumpkin pies , and fruit pies, and mincemeat pies..The women did dishes all afternoon, it seemed to me. The men played poker( penny ante) at the table and drank beer

Then later all of the leftovers were brought out for  supper.  Then all the dishes had to be washed and died again before we could go home... I have never had a better pumpkin pie than my Grams

[teachergal]

Our Thanksgiving was always during rifle deer hunting.  My mom would bake and prepare all day.  When  it got dark the guys would come in from hunting.  Barn chores followed, while my sister and I did the dishes.  We always tried to be done by the time milking was done.  Mom made turkey, ham, dressing,  mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salads, at least 2 vegetables, homemade buns, pies, and usually a cake.  Mom's still on the farm at 94 years old and my sister and I (and husbands) make the feast.  We have 25 people every holiday at mom's house on the farm.

[Travone]

Everyone always came to our house for Thanksgiving.  The morning was filled with setting up an extra table and bringing in extra chairs....and of course cooking and cleaning.  The house always smelled so good it seemed to take forever until we were finally allowed to eat.   I remember we always had celery with cream cheese and nuts in the shell out to tide everyone over. Football was always on the television.  After dinner all the women would wash and dry the dishes while the guys continued to watch football.  After everything was put away the kids would get out the Sears catalog and start our wish list for Christmas.  Then it was time for dessert and left overs and playing games (cards, yatzee etc). 

When I became a teenager, in the evening I would go to the movies with my two best friends who lived down the street......we met at the age of 4 and are still best friends today.  Good times.

[tototwo]

As family members passed on, and new family joined in, our T-day and Christmas traditions changed over the years.  But I do remember when I was really young going to my dad's parents' home every T-day.  All the ladies gathered in the kitchen cooking and talking, and the men in the living room watching football.   

Now everybody comes to my house.  I'm a horrible cook, but one of my cousins and I fake it every year.  The important thing is that we're all together!

[faeriemoon]

When I was a kid Thanksgiving was at my paternal Grandmother's.  She lived with my Aunt, Uncle and their two daughters who were my closest cousins at the time.  We were close in age.

It wasn't a huge gathering; there were about ten of us.  Our Thanksgiving had the Italian spin on it: the lasagna course.  By the time the lasagna course was over everyone was already full.  Then came the turkey and all that went with it.  Then the nuts and fruit, and finally the pies.

Happy times.

[Group 5 minus 1]

Daddy was a fireman so our TG dinner revolved around his scheudle. I do remember one in particular. My grandparents came for dinner and I remember waving goodby to them from the living room window. Snow was starting to fall. The next morning Mom woke me up we had had a blizzard.

[LindaSal]

I have nice memories of Thanksgiving's of the past.   My mom, me and my sister would prepare the entire day before.  Though it's a ton of work, it was great quality time........My parents are both gone now so my sister and I and our daughters keep up the tradition of that day before prep time!   We do have a ton of laughs and still stick to our Grandmothers recipes for the stuffing and pumpkin pies.   (As a child we would go to our Grandmothers for dessert).   I would never trade this holiday time for anything in the world and I treasure those memories of the special time spent with those very special people.  

[qualitygal]

Although I dearly love Christmas and the trimmings, Thanksgiving is dear to me.

While I did the turkey and all, (aromas) I always heard the Macy's Day Parade on t.v. and then later after the big meal, I'd hear the familiar football music and sounds from the living room.  This has dear memories for me.  Christmas has it memories too, but somehow, the Thanksgiving ones, were able to transfer from childhood to adulthood.  Thanks(giving) for the memories folks. 

[kaydee50]

Yes, my mother always did Thanksgiving dinner.  I would get "dressed up" for our company.  One year I had an emerald green jumper and a print blouse.  Those were the days!!

[alicedee]

I was one of 7 children and our house was small....and my aunts and uncles all had big families....so everyone just had their own Thanksgiving at home (Grandparents were always invited to one of their children's dinner).

Mom would get up early to get the turkey in the oven, and we would use her good dishes and silverware (wedding gifts) that only appeared at holidays, and a tablecloth.

We watched the parade on tv, and then dinner was almost always early afternoon,  Sometimes Dad would go out deer hunting on nearby property, but just in the morning.

Turkey, dressing, biscuits and gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberries, a Waldorf salad was the menu, with pumpkin, apple and sometimes mincemeat pies for dessert.  Most years it was snowy outside.

Dad never watched football....we all just watched tv and hung out together after the kitchen was cleaned up.

Good memories of cozy, happy family times.