A new Thanksgiving tradition
Our Thanksgiving dinner tradition usually consists of a simple, non-turkey related dinner. Chicken dinners complete with mashed potatoes and gravy can be found on our table on any given weeknight, so we often have tacos, or hot dogs or something else that can be thrown together in no time for our holidays. That way, I get the day off as well.
However, this year my oldest daughter’s boyfriend joined our table. A native of the state of California, he was unable to join his own family for dinner while the kids were on break from college. Coupled with the fact that I don’t know how many more holidays all my children will be around the table at the same time, and I decided to cook the full meal. (It was a nice change of pace, though my middle daughter was disappointed because she really looks forward to taco day.)
Then this weekend, we had another big meal, and our second Thanksgiving dinner was as non-traditional as it gets for us. Primarily because my three siblings, our spouses and our children have never all been together for a holiday meal before. So, for the first time, 22 of us came together at my parents’ house for a potluck supper.
We picked recipes from my mom’s recipe box – foods that we had as children – and each brought a few of them to share. Foods as varied as pierogie casserole, Polish lasagna and “Eggstremely” Good Dip landed on the counter as the families arrived.
Four tables and two dozen folding chairs stretched out in a long line in the great room. We said a blessing before we ate, thanking God for the opportunity to be together and lamenting that it took our parents’ deaths to make us realize that we should do it.
After a lingering meal, the kids went outside to play while the adults cleaned up the mess. (Deciding to use paper products was one of the best ideas we had.) When that was done, we set up for the Christmas craft we planned to make together. Hot glue guns, ribbon, Christmas cards and some of my mom’s old canning rings were used to make simple ornaments for the tree we had set up in the foyer.
Despite another round of cleanup, there was no removing all the glitter that came off some of the ribbon we used. We all sparkled our way through the remainder of the day.
Then we made fondant, a candy that our Great Aunt Mary used to make at the holidays. Simple in form, it must be cut and individually wrapped in wax paper to be properly stored. We doubled the recipe so there was enough to share, but since many hands make light work, it was a relatively quick process. And since we laughed and joked our way through it, it was quite enjoyable.
Like all good things, finally it had to end. We are kicking around gathering more frequently to share food and fellowship, but we’ll see what the new year brings. I’d be happy to be able to report this time next year that we gathered once or twice, but even if it is simply a new Thanksgiving tradition, I’m glad we’ve begun it.
Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.