What are you doing for Thanksgiving? - Page 2

[rustydaisies]

i think so im going to cook and sperate the turkey and freeze it, make gravy freeze, the stuffing im going to leave raw and freeze, pies will be raw and frozen, cranberry sauce may be jarred, green beans casserole will be assembled and frozen, sweet potatoes will just be baked in skins on day of then mashed with butter maple syrup cinnamon and vanilla almond milk, mashed potatoes will be frozen.... cant think of anthing else

[Sasha's Mama]

Am I the only one who is getting hungry reading this thread?! I'm about to go out and buy stuff to make Thanksgiving dinner this week 

[Jennifer B]

I hadn't even thought about Thanksgiving until I saw this thread!  Not that it matters much - we will do what we have done for the last four years or so - Cracker Barrel.  For most of my adult life I hosted Thanksgiving for my family since I had the biggest house.  Well, several years ago my brother bought a bigger home, still much smaller than mine but new and so he wanted to have Thanksgiving there.  We reluctantly agreed.  And we were miserable ALL DAY!  The next year we decided there was no way were going to repeat that experience.  I offered to host, they declined saying they wanted to host again, and we agreed to disagree.  I basically said, we are going to go to Cracker Barrel and would love for you to join us but we totally understand if you want to do something different.  And so now we go to Cracker Barrel with our moms (did I mention that my mom was also miserable at my brother's?)  And since we feel guilty that the server is working on Thanksgiving, we always leave a HUGE tip.  We get a good meal, it's cheaper than if I made everything at home (seriously, they have great deals on Thanksgiving dinner), and our waitress gets extra cash in her pocket to help on Black Friday.  Win-Win.

For those that still want to cook something, The 30 Day Gourmet (30daygourmet.com) offers a Holiday Freezer e-book for just a few bucks.  It details how to cook ahead, freeze, and serve your entire holiday meal.  I have several of their e-books and their cooking manual and like their recipes very much. 

Another option is ordering a fully prepared meal from a local restaurant or grocery store.  There are multiple establishments in my area that offer these for a good price.

[jbk21]

Maybe I just love these stories, but what was miserable about being at your brothers??  We hate spending holidays with our families and carve out AT LEAST the first half of the day to ourselves.  Now we don't have to worry about it because we live across the country but I'd love to hear the story.  Haha!  Especially since your mom was miserable too! 

Originally Posted by Jennifer B 

I hadn't even thought about Thanksgiving until I saw this thread!  Not that it matters much - we will do what we have done for the last four years or so - Cracker Barrel.  For most of my adult life I hosted Thanksgiving for my family since I had the biggest house.  Well, several years ago my brother bought a bigger home, still much smaller than mine but new and so he wanted to have Thanksgiving there.  We reluctantly agreed.  And we were miserable ALL DAY!  The next year we decided there was no way were going to repeat that experience.  I offered to host, they declined saying they wanted to host again, and we agreed to disagree.  I basically said, we are going to go to Cracker Barrel and would love for you to join us but we totally understand if you want to do something different.  And so now we go to Cracker Barrel with our moms (did I mention that my mom was also miserable at my brother's?)  And since we feel guilty that the server is working on Thanksgiving, we always leave a HUGE tip.  We get a good meal, it's cheaper than if I made everything at home (seriously, they have great deals on Thanksgiving dinner), and our waitress gets extra cash in her pocket to help on Black Friday.  Win-Win.

For those that still want to cook something, The 30 Day Gourmet (30daygourmet.com) offers a Holiday Freezer e-book for just a few bucks.  It details how to cook ahead, freeze, and serve your entire holiday meal.  I have several of their e-books and their cooking manual and like their recipes very much. 

Another option is ordering a fully prepared meal from a local restaurant or grocery store.  There are multiple establishments in my area that offer these for a good price.

[Chena4]

I am always hungry! LOL

[Jennifer B]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Maybe I just love these stories, but what was miserable about being at your brothers??  We hate spending holidays with our families and carve out AT LEAST the first half of the day to ourselves.  Now we don't have to worry about it because we live across the country but I'd love to hear the story.  Haha!  Especially since your mom was miserable too! 

Oh so many things.  :)  I love my SIL, but we don't have the same ideas about entertaining.  No dessert - my husband's favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.  Someone else was supposed to bring it and just decided not to.  This someone else was a stranger to us, but we were asked to provide his transportation and it was a lengthy drive - awkward to have a stranger in the car with our kids.   Food wasn't planned well so some things were ready long before others and got cold.  It lasted WAY too long and we felt obliged to stay.  More than anything, we just didn't feel comfortable there.  I feel a little bad that we don't do holidays together, especially when we live so close, but we have really come to enjoy our laid-back, no clean-up required Thanksgiving at Cracker Barrel.  The only thing missing is leftovers, but I make oven-roasted turkey several times throughout the year when it's not so stressful and there are no expectations. 
 

[jbk21]

No dessert would be a deal-breaker for me, but providing a ride for a stranger?  No thanks.  It may be selfish but my holidays are for rest and celebration, not to entertain strangers.  
 

Originally Posted by Jennifer B 

Oh so many things.  :)  I love my SIL, but we don't have the same ideas about entertaining.  No dessert - my husband's favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.  Someone else was supposed to bring it and just decided not to.  This someone else was a stranger to us, but we were asked to provide his transportation and it was a lengthy drive - awkward to have a stranger in the car with our kids.   Food wasn't planned well so some things were ready long before others and got cold.  It lasted WAY too long and we felt obliged to stay.  More than anything, we just didn't feel comfortable there.  I feel a little bad that we don't do holidays together, especially when we live so close, but we have really come to enjoy our laid-back, no clean-up required Thanksgiving at Cracker Barrel.  The only thing missing is leftovers, but I make oven-roasted turkey several times throughout the year when it's not so stressful and there are no expectations. 
 

[karmamamaa]

I'm due on the 27th and we've been going to my best friends family's house since I was four, and they do kind of a big semi-catered party event....it gets a little wild actually hehe.

So, if I'm early again then I'm going to go and enjoy myself!

And if its not time yet, then I'm going to go and enjoy myself!

Hosting would drive me nuts! I am semi-planning a Christmas party at this time and I'm already wondering if its the best idea....the little one will probably be a few weeks and I would have plenty of family there as well as friends but I just don't if I'm going to feel that same way about it after she arrives.