Today is the day I start the preparation for this menu for Thursday. Most of this is traditional for us and all requests from the children. When we have our oldest and his family with us we will also do a Field Roast meat substitute and a few more vegan dishes. We do a very large spread and eat on it for days. We roast about a 20+ pound turkey and do lots of other recipes with the leftovers over the weekend after Thanksgiving.

In recent years we have served an early meal at noon at our church and celebrate with our congregation that wants to attend. We all bring a few dishes and share a meal together. We encourage them to invite friends and family that are not members of our church or military members with no family here. We always have plenty to share and lots of leftovers to send home with people. It is always so exciting to me to see how other families celebrate and what foods they make for their celebration. We have members from all over the world… Korean, Guatemalan, Puerto Rican, Philippine, African, German, Northern US, Southern US, Southwestern US, Mexican, etc… everyone celebrates in their own way. We each bring a few of our favorite items with us to share with each other. It is an incredible feast! Then we eat a more intimate family meal later on Thursday night or Friday.

We often get out the Christmas music to start after our meal and we will watch our first Christmas movie of the season that night or Friday. When I was a girl my father’s company that he worked for would provide Dallas Cowboy tickets for the annual Thanksgiving Game in Dallas for families. We went a few years and ate in the club above the stadium. What a treat that was! Now, we just watch the game on television…. well, I usually read a book while that is happening unless the game gets exciting. LOL

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Do you have a large spread with a houseful of people or a small intimate gathering? Do you gather with neighbors or a church group? These days it is possible to find restaurants open… do you go out to eat or stay in? Who does most of the cooking for your meal? Do you share the work? Do you have any other traditions? Drop a comment below and share, please!