Thanksgiving Recap

Hello and Happy Monday! How was your Thanksgiving? I love nothing more than a five day weekend! Five whole days off allows for rest, prep, celebrating, and decorating!

Now, here are the details of our Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving:

Tuesday:

The kids kicked off Thanksgiving a couple days early with a Friendsgiving lunch at their pod. They had Chick-Fil-a nuggets, fries, fruit and ginger ale. Great crew, beautiful tablescape, and so much for which to be thankful.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, I didn’t even get out of my pajamas until I worked out before dinner. It was pretty dreary out, so I spent most of the day watching tv, reading my book, and then prepping for Thanksgiving.

I saw this graphic on Instagram, and Wednesday was food prep day! My 5w6 Enneagram number rings true with alone time and making my favorite dish(es).

Travis joked that he was concerned that neither myself nor my sister-in-law felt confident cooking the turkey. Thankfully, we had a friend who offered to fry our turkey for us. Travis usually get a turkey from work as a gift, but he continued to leave it at work, in the freezer, so this was my panicked attempt to get it thawed before drop off for frying.

Thankfully, a few hours in cold water in the cooler did the trick. No sure what my neighbors thought of me, but the turkey was ready for frying!

Travis asked who was making the stuffing, and didn’t like my answer of, “no one,” so I made my first ever stuffing. I followed the directions and added in sausage, and it turned out so good.

Hadley made the pumpkin pie. She did a great job following directions and mixing ingredients. I was in charge of taking it in and out of the oven, but otherwise, she can definitely take credit for this deliciousness!

Thanksgiving Day:

Thursday, was of course, Thanksgiving. We didn’t eat until late afternoon, so we spent most of the morning lounging around before I prepared my last Thanksgiving dish and then we headed to my brother’s house for dinner.

Me, as a mom this week:

I was able to watch most of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade while lounging in my pajamas and sipping my coffee which is always a fave. We were so excited to see the Rockettes at the end…but they didn’t do their famous kicks! Then, of course, Santa brought up the rear to end the parade.

Travis, his brother, and the kids had their own Turkey Trot running about three miles later in the morning.

Then, it was time to take the “I’m thankful for these two turkeys” pic 😉

Family and cousin photos to send to family.

While ordering cups for the kids’ birthday party favors, I also ordered some Thanksgiving cups from (@cupsoncochran). The kids used the “this cup belongs to” while the adults enjoyed a cocktail in the “flocktails” cups. My brother made a delicious mixed drink of apple cider, pumpkin vodka, soda water and a cinnamon stick. I’m honestly not one for mixed drinks, but this one was so good!

My sister-in-law outdid herself with the tablescape. The dining room looked beautiful.

She ordered the template for the name card off Etsy, personalized it for each person, and had them printed at FedEx. Cookies from a local small business were a sweet finishing touch.

Making so many things ahead of time, really paid off. I baked most of the items at her house, and everything timed out nicely. We had too much food for eight people (four of which are kids), but my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the leftovers.

Trav’s side of the family typically has ham and turkey where my side of the family sticks with turkey. On the years we go to Trav’s side, Hadley enjoys the ham. On the years we are at my family’s feast, she always asks where the ham is. 😂I picked her up a small ham from Kroger and baked it before going to my brother’s house.

Also, she was concerned about who would make the gravy since it wasn’t on my list to make …because both my brother and I don’t like it. So, she made it! I bought the turkey gravy in a jar, and we doctored it up with chicken broth, butter, and bit of flour per the recommendation of a couple of friends. She was pleased with the gravy and the ham, and I continued on my quest for mom of the year. 😂

After dinner, we enjoyed the pumpkin pie, and then Zoomed with some of my KC family. My dad’s side of the family typically plays a game or two after our Thanksgiving (and Christmas Eve) meal. While on Zoom, we even ended up playing Scattegories which was so fun.

While it wasn’t our typical Thanksgiving situation, I’d say we definitely made the most of it!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday:

Friday, we were sooo productive…probably more productive than my family cared to be, but we crossed quite a few things off our list. After I saw the upcoming (frigid!) forecast, we decided to take advantage of Black Friday sales and purchase new winter coats for the kids. Afterwards, I made a pit stop at Bath and Body Works for holiday candles and hand soaps before we headed to Target to shop for the Angel Tree. Light traffic and hardly any lines made for quick trips to these places.

We went home for lunch, and then the kids got dressed up and let me take their pic for our Christmas card. Then, we went and picked out our Christmas tree.

On Saturday, I decorated the house for the holidays, Hadley went to a friend’s house, and Hayden and Travis went golfing. Sunday, entailed the usual with getting groceries and prepping for the week…and watching the KC Chiefs play!

See what I mean? Five days off and I was able to relax, read, cook, decorate, and more!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well. Have a good week!