We relived some of my best memories this Thanksging. My son-in-law has been the Park Ranger at Ft. Christmas for close to 30 years. He has always had to work on Thanksgiving Day. So we started years ago to have our Thanksgiving at the Park. At the beginning it was almost like a Pilgrim Thanksgiving. No warm food, but it was always good anyway. Now we have a Pavilion with fans,running water and electricity. So we cook at home and warm it when we get there. We stopped doing that about 5 years ago. This Thanksgiving we had our traditional Thanksgiving at the Park. It was a beautiful day, lots of family and some new friends. I am hoping that we can spend next Thanksgiving there.

I have memories of traditional Thanksgivings. My Mom and a cousin (My GodMother) alternated making/hosting Thanksgiving Dinner in their homes. Very traditional, whole turkeys, dressing,lots of vegetables and desserts. My GodMother used to serve shrimp cocktails as an appetizer course.Neither one had enough silverware, so they combined sets for this holiday. I grew up, moved away, married. My MIL took over as the matriarch of her family. She made the meal for Aunt and Uncle,their son, MIL's three children and spouses. Later grandchildren. She had two tables for a while-one for the Grands, one for the adults. MIL served appetizers, then two dinners- first Italian pasta, then turkery with all those vegetables. I miss all the relatives who are now gone. The only one still living is my own Mother, who's now 87 and too frail to host Thanksgiving. My sister always invites Mom.DH and I spend it together, sometimes with our 2 daughters. This year we were four.

Mine are of my childhood Thanksgivings...Mom, Dad and all my brothers. Mom used her good china, everything so pretty and wonderful smells and food coming from the kitchen. Both my parents have been gone for many years. I have her china now, but it's packed up in storage. I will be passing it down to a niece of mine as I do not have children of my own. I do want to use it one last time before I pass it on, and invite my brothers for a holiday meal.

yeah, we were little kids when we went to the
space needle. It probably got too expensive when we
all got older. We were in elementary school for sure!

One i remember, I had made a big turkey and a baked ham. We had about 15 people over. While I was getting other things ready for the table, I put my two sons on to carving the bird and ham. They must have been doing some tasting as they carved because, I was passing through the kitchen I over heard one say to the other......I don't know about you, but I'm full.

I remember wonderful Thanksgiving dinners when I was a child. We lived downstate from my father's and my mother's families. Therefore, we were often just us six, but sometimes my father's unmarried older sister would visit for Thanksgiving or my mother's unmarried sister and their mother. Mom was a wonderful cook, as were her sister and mother, and the crackling skin on the turkey was my favorite part.

Mother died when I was twelve, and the most frequently recalled Thanksgiving memory was the effort we three girls put into our first Thanksgiving meal we prepared for our brother and father. I had learned how to fix a turkey and the stuffing by watching mother, my older sister knew how to bake the pies, and my younger sister had learned how to prepare another dish that the other two had not. Surprisingly, the dinner turned out delicious, surprising all of us. There was a big void at our table that year with Mother gone, but we all made an effort to carry on the traditions she had established, including my brother's efforts to mull the cider.

I miss my grandparents doing the dinner on the ranch. He always went to Lockwood Valley (CA) to pick out a double breasted one--big around 30+ pounds. Than after it was cleaned (can't remember if he did it or had it done, he would stuff it Wed night, put it in a wood stove, banked the fire and it would cook all night until noon the next day. All the aunts brought their special dish and oh how I love my Aunt Peg's candied yams. Fresh cranberry sauce et and homemade pies. About 25 people and my grandma always ate at the kids table. My uncle had to leave to go back home for the homecoming football game. We just ate the rest of the day. Now I wonder why we never got sick from the food sitting out. Took food home. Then when Grandparents couldn't do it I took over sure was fun and really enjoyed. Now I enjoy DD and GD doing it. Much easier.

A funny Thanksgiving memory.....years ago I had invited lots of family to come over to the beach (where I lived) for a Thanksgiving celebration/family reunion on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
My little brother came two days early......unexpectedly.
I was in the kitchen polishing silverware with toothpaste because I had forgotten to buy silver polish,
John walks in and said:
"Well, Sis, if I knew you couldn't afford to buy silver polish, I would have picked up some on the way over."
Doesn't sound as funny as it was in person....guess you would have to know my little brother. (But be glad you don't.)

As the only child of an only child, I remember my DM hosting friends at Thanksgiving. One year the friends included someone's DD, about six, who had created 'placecard holders' out of *baking potatoes*. I'm sure my DM was inwardly rolling her eyes, but she helped the girl put these ugly brown 'things' on the lace tablecloth with the good silver, china and crystal.

It began to snow that afternoon. By the time we had dinner, a blizzard was announced. We suddenly had six 'houseguests' for the night. (Just what you want after preparing and serving a full Thanksgiving dinner!)