How Do You Spend Thanksgiving?

Recipe for a Successful Thanksgiving

Michael L. Goldblatt

My recipe for a successful Thanksgiving is to outsource the feast. Our family orders a Thanksgiving meal from a local grocery store, but restaurants are also an option. Another alternative is to assign responsibility so guests bring the food. Avoid problems by using a checklist and ordering food several weeks in advance. Take time during the meal to encourage guests to talk about why they give thanks. Wishing you a grand feast and fun time with your guests.

Resources

Neale Godfrey, 5 Tips to Help Put "Thanks" and "Giving" Back in Thanksgiving, Forbes, Nov. 16, 2014.

Layla Khoury-Hanold, Thanksgiving Takeout Options from Restaurants and Grocery Stores, Nov. 26, 2022.

Linley Sanders, Thanksgiving Countdown: A Stress-Free Guide to Hosting for the First Time, Better Homes & Gardens, Oct. 24, 2022.

Staff, Thanksgiving Planning Checklist, PBS, Nov. 2012.

Our Unusual Thanksgiving Feast

Stanley P. Jaskiewcz

We always have an unusual Thanksgiving dessert: home-made chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

You see, our son’s birthday is in late November.

Over the years, family members (particularly from out of the area) who might not visit for his birthday have combined the annual Thanksgiving holiday visit with his birthday celebration.

In our family tradition, the “birthday boy (or girl)” always picks the birthday meal.

Although there isn’t much latitude on the main dish, dessert is wide open – and our son’s choice has not wavered.

In fact, since some opt for more traditional desserts, he gets to keep more of the cake for himself, for later.

(Incidentally, we called the baby “Giblet” before his birth, based on the due date, when we did not know the baby’s gender. But no one has used that name since he grew up bigger than anyone in our immediate family.)