Nope, I'm not in the same mindset. But if I were, I'd find a place where I could order a halfway decent turkey dinner and stretch it out for a couple hours, seated at a bar, making small talk with those around me who are similarly light on plans for whatever reasons.

In fact, right about now that sounds pretty relaxing to me, compared to the gymnastics I'll be going through tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving, whatever you do!

My family did it once and we didn't enjoy Thanksgiving that year.

We went out once with the family and I would have enjoyed it a lot except the food wasn't quite as good as I expected. I think if the food had been better I would have been perfectly happy with it. My nephew and his wife's family go out every year and they love it. I did miss having leftovers though. So if you go out have a wonderful dinner and enjoy yourself!
Joann

We've done it often and loved it!! I am always surprised at the number of families - multi generations - that go out to celebrate and give Thanks! For some reason, I do not want to go out to dinner with just DH and myself. In the past we have always had my son, any wayward kid from college not able to be home for whatever reason, coworkers with no families local.

It is just DH & I this year - it is a bit sad, but we wanted our only son to find Ms Right and T'giving dinner 6 hours away with her family is part of that. (Our fingers are crossed she is Ms Right). I am making Ellie Krieger's "Turkey Roulade with Apple-Cider Gravy" as our main course. It is special, and just the right size, and not too difficult. It is only the 2nd time not together for this holiday, but I know we can get thru it! It is bothering my son more than it is bothering us :).

Cheer up Gina!

Here is a link that might be useful: Turkey Roulade

Sorry you are feeling melancholy Gina.
Thanksgiving is just another day for me. Except I get a four day weekend. I used to sit around watching Lifetime movies feeling sorry for myself. Don't even do that anymore. LOL
Maybe volunteer at a senior center or shelter for a couple of hours and treat yourselves to dinner out and be thankful that you can afford a meal.

I've done it a couple of times and it was great. Both times it was a very nice buffet out of town. Usually nice hotels will have over-the-top buffets, and you will feel pampered and like you've gone to Thanksgiving heaven! See if any of your friends or neighbors want to go. I hope you feel well enough to go.

Yes, do cheer up Gina! DH and I are going it alone, by choice, this year. Too much going on and not feeling like visiting friends so we declined a couple invitations (dicey!) and decided to have our first just me-and-you Thanksgiving in 20 years. I'm going to crock pot some spiced cider for a festive smell, and we're going to put up the Christmas tree and lights on Friday and watch the Half Blood Prince on DVD.

I was planning to originally, and Kevin and I have done it before, but I found a turkey breast at Trader Joe's and decided to barbeque that, even though the temps will only be around 63ð with a bit of wind. I have a sheltered part of the yard where I can move the barbeque to stay out of the cold wind, but we will probably eat inside. If it's not windy, we can eat outside, but I don't like for food to get cold.

One year we went to The Warehouse Restaurant in Marina Del Rey, and we liked that a lot. We were thinking about going to The Buggy Whip, which is walking distance from our house (but we would drive anyway). We went there for my birthday this year, and it never seems to get crowded.

One of the main reasons I like to cook, even if only for two, is so that I can have dressing, but I started making that at other times of the year, and so it's not really necessary. Last year we got a last minute invitation from my friend Paul, who directed the movie I was in, and it was fun to see him. He lives in the Hollywood Hills (not far from Universal), and so it's a bit of a trek to get there, but he's very fun to be around.

Whatever I do this year will be very low key, but I do intend to make a couple of apple pies.

Lars

I would love to go out and I told dh yesterday if it's ever just the two of us, I want to go to a fancy hotel buffet for Thanksgiving. I don't see it happening though. But I do like seeing extended family at holidays, somewhat!

We're in Florida and golfing today and we will be eating the turkey dinner that our friends' golf club is offering.

I roasted a 22 pounder in early october for our Canadian thanksgiving so my traditional side is satisfied.

My family moved a lot and the most memorable was moving from Puerto Rico to Wisconsin, arriving Thanksgiving day. Going from 75F to 10F with a foot of snow was stressful, the little ones were cranky from the long flight, and our furniture had not arrived so the apartment we'd rented unseen was totally empty, and, of course, all the grocery stores were closed. We trekked out into the snow with no idea where we were going and found a delightful Chinese restaurant brightly lit up. There were other families there and it was like being at a huge party. We pushed tables together and shared our food family-style. The owners heard of our plight and boxed up cartons of extra food, tea and juice to take home with us at no charge. It was wonderful. We lived there less than a year and went to that little restaurant every week. The owners got back 10-fold for their generosity. We figured we could never top that joyous occasion so have never gone out on T-day again lest we spoil our warm memories.

Now that we are n NC, one of my DH's daughters hosts the T-day feasts and all 28 of his family pot-luck. It is a good family get-together but I do make Pecking duck on the Sunday after for just us and DD only because we love the leftover sandwiches.

Nancy

My MIL is in an assisted care facility 2 hours away. In the past, my BIL has brought her here and she's stayed the night but her health has not been good at all and our bedrooms are all upstairs, stairs she was barely able to handle (with assistance) when her health was much better. 4 hours in a car in one day would just be too much for her, and she really isn't able to stay in a hotel alone, so we are driving to her and all going out for dinner. I'm not crazy about the idea, but the point is to make sure she enjoys herself, who knows how many more Thanksgivings she'll have?

So, I bought a turkey anyway and am going to cook it some time this weekend with all the trimmings because neither my husband nor I want to go without all the yummy leftovers!

When I first started in the restaurant biz, I was amazed at how many people went out for Thanksgiving. Such a thing was never even thought of in my family. But, I learned that there are many reasons for it. I love to cook a big, special meal, but for many it is a horrid chore that they dread.

We used to get families come in who had recently lost a beloved family member and wanted to do something different so the empty chair wouldn't be as dreadfully noticeable.

Sometimes people cannot travel to the family home for whatever reason and can't see cooking a huge meal just for themselves. Some people don't have family or are estranged from them.

Many restaurants do very good Thanksgiving meals, Gina, so I hope you feel better and enjoy.

My husband and I are alone so I'm fixing our favorite meal which is grilled Rib Eyes and baked potatoes! YUM!

I have gone out to eat before and it wasn't bad. As long as you are with the ones you love, that's really what matters. As long as I'm with my husband, it wouldn't matter if we were eating grilled cheese and chunky soup it would be great!

Gina, I hope you are feeling better. Being sick is probably a big part of how you are feeling. We have gone out to eat a few times and it was kind of nice. The only downfall is no leftovers, but not having that big mess to clean up is really nice. Heck, some years me and DW would skip the entire thing and go to the movies and get pizza. I can have turkey any day of the year!

Why don't you call a relative or friend you haven't heard from in a while and surprise them with a phone call. Might cheer you up! Whatever you do hope it's a good day.

Duane

For the past two years, we have had most holiday dinners out. It's just the three of us and MIL is going to be 90 in March. Neither one of us is much into going all out and cooking all day. MIL eats like a bird, so even a small turkey with all the trimmings leaves us with a lot of leftovers. There is a Marriot nearby that does a great job on their holiday buffets and we have been going there for every holiday. Yesterday, we switched up and went to a restaurant (Atria's) that had a set menu. The meal was GREAT! I was very impressed. Sherried Crab Bisque for starters, an excellent salad with field greens, pecans, granny smith apples, dried cranberries and goat cheese w/ balsamic vinaigrette, turkey, sage dressing, smashed redskins , green beans amandine and sweet potato casserole with a choice of pumpkin or Dutch apple pie for dessert. $24.99 for the meal, which I found reasonable, but was not thrilled about paying $7.00 for a glass of wine. The turkey was very moist and flavorful, sides were also very good and we had enough turkey leftover for sandwiches. We went early, so it was not crowded or rushed at all.

Never ever been to a restaurant or hotel on Thanksgiving day.
almost always had the biggest mob I could gather, or been part of a large mob.
The one Thanksgiving I wasn't with family was the year my Grandson had the second big deal knee surgery and got out of the hospital Thanksgiving day...so travel or company was out of the question. I was invited to dinner at some friends who had also been "stood up" by their family and invited people without family near by, and that was lovely! lace and linen...all adults and no kids, mushrooms in the stuffing and no one said "Eww! that has mushrooms in it"..LOL!
Then on Friday, my son and his family drove in from Chicago and on Saturday we cooked a turkey stuffing pies rolls and drove the 45 miles to my daughter's where she had set the table and made mashed potatoes and some veggies.
Gina I am sure that if you weren't feeling icky you would invite some "loners" in and wouldn't feel so bad. Hope your day was better than expected.
Linda C

We've had Thanksgiving dinner at the Normandy in Denver. They served wild turkey, wild rice stuffing/dressing, and what all else I don't remember. It was a delicious meal. Our kids were young & they had a blast getting all duded-up with each of the girls wearing a piece of Mom's jewelry. Because it was something different for T-Day all 3 kids remember that year as special. We went out 'cause I was recovering from surgery & unable to cook. My MIL couldn't cook & my SIL wouldn't cook. We hosted & I prepared all holiday meals throughout the year. So it really was different for our kids.

Now, our family is scattered & it's been just the 2 of us the past 3 years. The first year, 2008, we volunteered at our local food bank & served dinner to the needy. That was a great experience. It was our intention to continue & make that our new tradition. The past 2 years, I've been bedridden. DH has chosen to stay home & prepare us a feast. Even though I would have been fine with it I think he didn't want to leave me alone on the holiday.

We're still adjusting to both not having family near & the deterioration in my health. Like you, Gina, our family will be here for a few days at Christmas. Life has cycles & we have to adapt.

I hope you're feeling better physically & that Thanksgiving with your DH was good.

/tricia

Thank you everyone for all your healing wishes and warm stories! I definitely have the flu and really wasn't up to anything but sleeping on the couch yesterday! Mike and I watched the parades and football as I sipped thera-flu and ate crackers! I talked to my boys, mom and sister and realized how lucky I really am to have such a wonderful (although distant)family. I also had time to plan our Christmas party for all of our friends and neighbors who have no family in the area on Christmas Day! It's a blast each year and the house is full of love and laughter, good food and friends! So that is what I am concentrating on!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter where they were or what they had to eat!
Love to all,
Gina
P.S. Nancy, where in NC are you?