It’s that time of year, and I know everyone is busy getting ready for hosting or traveling or kicking back, so I’ll keep this short.
What are some of your memories (or traditions) from around this time of year?
A few from long ago and far away:
- Participating in the town turkey trot. Always felt rejuvenating to run down the twisty roads amidst the spectacular east coast foliage.
- Watching Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at my grandmother’s house with my cousins. For some reason, it was on every year.
- Drawing on the family tablecloth. You were supposed to choose a single thing that represented your year. No pressure…
- Sitting at the kids’ table. The three youngest cousins held that honor for a long time. Can still remember how we longed to be at the big table for years. And what a surprise it was, when we actually got there, to discover that we kinda missed having our own little domain.
- The old projector showing silent films with our parents and grandparents captured forever in their youth, smiling and waving at the camera from lakes, ski slopes, camping sites. Beautiful and magical.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Chicks on the Case 
What beautiful memories. Thank you so much for sharing them. I have so many happy Thanksgiving memories. One of my favorites is spending Thanksgiving with my sister. We were at nearby colleges. We decided to spend Thanksgiving together rather than flying home. But we didn’t plan ahead. Thanksgiving, the only place open was a corner shop. We had cold cut sandwiches, chocolate milk and popcorn for dinner. Fun times!
LikeLiked by 3 people
How wonderful that you and your sister went to nearby colleges!! And it sounds like a great impromptu feast. 🙂
LikeLike
Hestia here.
Fondest thanksgiving memory? I was 16. My first making a thanksgiving dinner for me and daddy. Didn’t know what I was doing. We had one of those turkey loaves with all the sides, just for the two of us.
We were going to daddy’s boss’ house for dessert. They’d waited dinner for us! Daddy said shut up and eat.
Then we went to see his girlfriend. He had a plate of leftovers waiting for us. He said shut up and eat.
In 8 hours I had 3 thanksgiving meals.
Christmas? All the secrets growing up was my fondest memory.
My parents had a fancy dinner with their friends, and us kids weren’t allowed. What was the food we weren’t allowed to eat?
My mom got a box of chocolate covered cherries for Christmas every year. We weren’t allowed to touch them. What was so special about those chocolates?
We only got one Christmas present from Santa. How come my friends got so many and we only got one? What bad thing did I do to deserve only one a year?
We were not allowed to help with making the Christmas cookies except to decorate the sugar cookies with colored sugar.what was so dangerous about making those cookies that I couldn’t help?
No wonder I like mysteries!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Aw, Hestia. The danger was the mess, ha. I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen, either. (Maybe a good thing.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Appreciate how you so love mysteries, Hestia!
Three Thanksgiving meals? Ha! That was so my hubby, who would travel to friends’ houses to sample different dishes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my gosh, three in one day. Which one was the best?
And ooh did you ever get to ask those questions? I’m especially intrigued by the cherries…was the answer so she got to eat them? 🙂
LikeLike
What lovely memories. I do remember sitting at the kid’s table at my grandparents’ and being so proud the year I graduated to the adult table. Also watching old movies on both sides of the family.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yay! There is just something about that gap between kid and adult table, isn’t there?
And old movies…loved them. I can still remember watching one where someone who shall remain nameless appeared onscreen with a mustache that no one else ever remembered seeing. It was, let’s say, the subject of much conversation for the rest of the holiday.
LikeLike
I remembered my annual childhood Thanksgiving trips to NH so fondly that…I moved here! Football on the TV before dinner (back when the Pats were the Boston Patriots); filling the tiny candy baskets for the table with my cousin (we ate all the junior mints and M&Ms); my uncle’s toast with the Irish Blessing (he’s 94 now); banberries for breakfast and hitting the cineplex with my cousins to see the big new holiday movie. And the smell of pine in the car because I was stuffed next to the huge new wreath my mom bought to take home and decorate.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aww, love those! Can just imagine that wreath smell.
What is a banberry? Intrigued.
And omg, the candy! (Related: we were just talking over here about how we loved when our parents hosted bridge night because we got to have some of the little candies they put out on the tables…in our house, it was those melty mints that restaurants used to put out for diners…don’t know what they’re called. At my husband’s, it was chocolate.)
LikeLike
For several years, we went to Dallas for Thanksgiving because my brother was there going to seminary. We found a theater that did a great version of A Christmas Carol, so we went most years on Black Friday or that Saturday. We still talk about how much we enjoyed it.
LikeLiked by 3 people
That sounds wonderful!! And a perfect segue into Christmastime.
LikeLike
The kids’ table–yes! And how often certain adults would sneak over there during dinner because it was more fun than the “serious” talk at their table….
Outlining our hands to make into drawings of turkeys.
Collecting autumn leaves for the table decorations.
Singing “Over the river and through the woods” as we drove on the busy LA freeway from Santa Monica to Pasadena to visit our grandparents.
Thanks, Cynthia, for reminding me of all these marvelous things!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I remember those turkey hands!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hand turkeys! YES! (One of my favorite activities with my own kiddos.)
And I love the leaves. Awww.
So great–thanks, Leslie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
When we were growing up and working at the family restaurant, we were able to gather there. The star of the dinner show was the turkey stuffed with sticky rice. (To this day, my uncle still has at least two turkeys for Thanksgiving; he really loves turkey.) In undergrad, since I couldn’t go back home, I remember my friend throwing a wonderful feast my freshman year and inviting those stuck on campus to attend.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s fantastic–would love to go to a family restaurant! And friendsgivings are beautiful things too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
(Still wondering why Willie Wonka was on every year at Thanksgiving. It’s not very holidayesque, right?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t remember if Willie Wonka was on, but that is quite curious!
LikeLike
What wonderful memories! I will never forget our Italian Thanksgivings at my Nonna’s place in Astoria, where Uncle Henry and Zia Rose lived upstairs and we stuffed ourselves with homemade Italian food and ignored the turkey while my cousins had on both the TV and radio.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For a while, we had a tradition of watching a bad movie on Thanksgiving night when we lived in San Francisco. It culminated in us watching an absolutely terrrrrible Thanksgiving-themed horror movie, and after that, nobody asked “What are we going to watch?” anymore. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
For a while, we had a tradition of watching a bad movie on Thanksgiving night when we lived in San Francisco. It culminated in us watching an absolutely terrrrrible Thanksgiving-themed horror movie, and after that, nobody asked “What are we going to watch?” anymore. 😂
LikeLike