My co-worker and I were talking about how Thanksgiving tends to be neglected, sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas. As soon as Halloween is over, Christmas seems to dominate the scene. Well, Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday in our family. In the past my family has celebrated TWO Thanksgivings in ONE day (yes, and we did this for 17 years). We'd first go to DH's family for a very early dinner, and then go to my family's house for a second dinner. TOO MUCH. So, last year I decided to take on the Thanksgiving dinner myself. Now BOTH sides of our family come to OUR house for ONE dinner. I have to admit...after last year I wasn't sure it was easier to do the ONE dinner at my house. I almost went back to 2 dinners at the folks' homes instead. But my children convinced me to give it another try when they told me how much they loved having everyone over here. So, this year I will have 19 people here for Thanksgiving. Bless my mom's heart, this year she volunteered to cook the turkey and stuffing at her house and bring it all over. THAT is going to save me big time! I'm having everyone else bring a dish, too. I want this to be fun and relaxing. I've made a menu and a shopping list, and I will start this next week. I bought napkins at a post-Thanksgiving sale last year. I also kept all my recipes and notes from last year! No, I will not forget Thanksgiving!

Sheryl

Excellent reminder, Erica! :-) I love Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving decorations are so hard to find, but I managed to get my hands on a few little fall things this weekend, and with the fall wreath and mini-pumpkins I left up after halloween, the place looks pretty good. This weekend I also redid the candle centerpiece in the middle of the dining room table - cleaned out all the halloween candles and marbles, and replaced them with clear and yellow marbles, a couple toffee colored candles, one white candle, and an adorable white pumpkin candle that I found at a craft show this weekend. I'm hoping to find a little more Thanksgiving stuff each year - Avon has a scarecrow garland on sale that I think I'll order at the end of this month for next year. :-)

So my decorating is done, and finally the planning is done too. This is my first year of holidays with in-laws, which is difficult (I knew it would be), because MIL is very "needy" in terms of time spent with her son. I tried to get both his and my parents to come to our house, but his refused to move it from their house, so we will go over there for Thanksgiving day. I did *not* want to go to both houses in one day, so I asked my parents if they'd like to come over for dinner the Sat. night after Thanksgiving, and they've agreed, which is a relief. So I still get to make a big meal (I've always wanted to try cooking a turkey - this year will be my first year), just a couple days later.

So I think we're all set - now if I could just find some cranberries... ;-)

Halloween has never been a big deal for me I just buy bags of candy and put on a costume to hand it out, that's it. And Advent doesn't start till December 1st with all of December to get ready for Christmas at sundown on the 24th so I don't really do ANYTHING till the 1st anyway.

So thank goodness that leaves lots of time to think about Thanksgiving. I'm host the family Thanksgiving this year. Poor Mom looked so desperate at the thought that I offered my house. (Dad is in the middle of tearing out their 25 year old carpets and laying hardwood through the whole house so you can imagine exactly what a mess it is.)

I created a "control journal" for both Christmas and Thanksgiving that lays out a shecdule in small little bits that are easy to do. All the non perishables for our Thanksgiving menu are on my grocery list for this week, and I'm also scheduled to check my serving pieces this week (and put a little note in each so we remember what is used for what. Linens get checked and ironed next week.

I'm also gonna try cutting up veggies and making the rolls the day before this year. That should help make this easier Thanksgiving morning.

I'm only cooking for 5 so not really a huge deal at my house thank goodness. And I don't decorate, just put out the good china and the actual linen so that's another thing I don't have to do.

I love Thanksgiving! Because I don't have to do hardly ANYTHING.

Thank God--since it's so close to both Halloween (when I go overboard on costumes) and Christmas (when I go overboard period).

I make sweetpotatoes and winter fruit the day of, and the day before, I make my famous pumpkin bread. And, we try to show up on time!

Tandania, you sound all prepared and planned out! Nice that you can take over the holiday from your mom--I bet she's SO relieved!

Jamie, I've glad that I don't have to try to get to two families' homes on the holidays. I sometimes wish I lived closer to my folks, but it could be hard. Fortunately, my MIL, while "needy," is also able to put a check on it when she needs to. So we could go to just one family's place each holiday. But, like you, we'd have to plan the VERYNEXT day to be at my ILs. My mom would probably cope if I made her.

Sheryl, I'm glad you didn't give up. A big meal is a lot of moving parts. It takes practice. Oh, and make those kids help. There's got to be SOMETHING they can be in charge of.

Erica, great thread. And good luck w/ the linens. You might consider using plain white, w/ a fall runner. Probably a less expensive way to spruce up the table!

I love Thanksgiving, but it's never been a big holiday with my family. We've been to the in-laws' house several times, especially if at least one of DH's brothers can make it home. My FIL is from MD, so it's also not unusual for them to go there for the weekend. My family especially doesn't do much since my mother died. Actually, DH & I have spent two of the past three Thanksgivings in London! I usually use it as a day to rest & start putting up the Christmas tree.

Yes, I think Thanksgiving is getting lost too. A radio station is already playing continuous Christmas music. I put up some holiday decorations with the Halloween stuff, wreath, colored silk leaves, scarecrows, etc. Then I take down the halloween and leave the fall/autumn, the pumpkins are only decorated on one side, so I turn the little faces around to the back. Our parents are in states a great distance away, so we've always had our own dinner, but not usually on Thanksgiving. My husband often worked Thanksgiving day so we had it on another day instead. This year we will have it Wednesday. My 3 college kids, live at home, so they will have dinner with us Wed and Thurs they are free to eat at their boy/girl friends parents houses, also boy/girl friends are invited to our dinner on Wed if there schedules permit. I always make the same things for dinner, so I have the routine down. I just wish I had a bigger table. We put up a card table at the end of the dinning room table and I really hate that. How do you disorganized organizers seat a lot of people at your house?

My parents have a small dining "area", but they went ahead and bought a table that extends out far enough to seat about 10 people...a couple more if you "squish". Normally the table is left small, but for big holiday dinners they extend it out, and everyone just works around it (very tight quarters...but it works).

So when DH and I bought our house, we knew we wanted to entertain, so we bought a table that seats 8 very comfortably...and our dining room is such that it is left extended all the time. I also still have the table my parents bought for me when I first moved out - it seats 4 comfortably, and 6 with less room. I keep the leaf out normally, and can put it in if we need the extra table.

At my grandparent's house, she has a huge table, but the kitchen isn't really big enough for it, so at large family gatherings, the kitchen table is used as a "buffet" of sorts, and then a 6 ft. folding table is set up in the living room. People eat wherever they can find a spot - at tables, on furniture, wherever. LOL

I wouldn't worry too much about having to use a card table if I were you - having to "make" extra seating is just part of having those "big family dinners"...I'm sure your kids look forward to it fondly (we have "wars" about who gets to sit at the "kid table" to this day when we head to my grandparent's house). ;-)

I'm so thankful I'm not having 19 people over for Thanksgiving dinner! ;)

Making progress. Found a couple of great tablecloths on Ebay for the kitchen and banquet tables. I like vintage stuff and just couldn't get excited about what I was seeing in stores.

Talked myself out of buying a 2nd folding banquet table. I use ours as the base of my so-called desk now, so it means some dismantling to use it as a dining table. But this way 1) I won't have to store a 2nd one, and 2) I'll HAVE to get it out of the living room right away because I'll need to put the "desk" back together asap. (Some years it's stayed there and become a clutter magnet.)

Lilypad, I agree don't worry about the tables. We don't actually have a dining room, so a folding table is our only option. I'd feel embarrassed about it, except I went to a big Thanksgiving dinner once where they actually used a picnic table and benches set up in the living room. I'm pretty sure they even used Chinet plates. Very relaxed and fun.

Our township is vacuuming leaves Thanksgiving week--but I want to be spiffing up the house at that point, not worrying about leaves. So this week's project is to get them ready early.