Turkey Traditions

Soon, I will be sharing my thankfulness with family members like many of you. This year we will have members from both my husband’s and my family gathering at the table. We usually have 20 or more people, bringing the noise and activity level up.

I love Thanksgiving and the joy of being together with family. I love it more than Christmas. For me, Thanksgiving maintains a preciousness free from much of the commercialism, expectations for gifting and harried schedules that black Friday brings upon on.

For years, I have been the “noodle maker” in the family, creating egg noodles from scratch and making a crock pot overflowing of a chicken dumpling noodle recipe. It is a 3 day process to make and hang the noodles up to dry. Various family members call weeks in advance to ask if I will be making the noodles in line with tradition. Their mouths start watering the moment they think about the dish. The family doesn’t know it, but one year I cheated. I bought cans of chicken and noodles because I did not want to let them down and I did not have time to make them. I seasoned up the canned goods with flour, more chicken and lots of spices. My family never knew. My kids and I smirked and holding back laughter every time someone commented on how good they were.

Every year we have had a gravy issue for as long as I can remember. Apparently none of my siblings or spouses learned how to effectively make good gravy. One year someone put powdered sugar in the gravy amidst the madness of too many cooks in the kitchen. Another year, the gravy was so lumpy we could do nothing but make fun of it. And then there was the year we got the gravy "just" right and my nephew dumped it all over the carpet while carrying to the table. Last year we just bought the gravy in a jar. Ahh, some things create a different kind of tradition to look forward to.

In preparation for the big day, the girls and I gather in the kitchen and whip up a bakery’s worth of products to serve for dessert. We make cherry and pumpkin pies, brownie and cake recipes and add in a few specialties like pumpkin rolls. We always have a table or two dedicated to desserts. We usually eat the desserts in “phase 2” of our turkey feast after we've made room for more.

Some families take naps, watch a movie or watch a game after their turkey meal. My siblings are pretty active adults and we often will head down to the basketball court near our home and engage aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews in a rowdy game. Or if the weather does not cooperate, we engage in lively board games full of lots of smack talk. This year, I am predicting a rock band tournament in the basement lounge. I can hear the squeals of “Roxanne” now.

My family is also goofy and growing up with five siblings, we learned to entertain ourselves with very little. So lots of silly play happens when we get together at Thanksgiving. Last year we made up a song and sang it rappin’ battle style to my mother. It was our very own version of “I’m getting nuttin’ for Christmas” full of lots of funny statements about our behavior as children. Verses included lines like, "I pushed Brian down the stairs, accidently cut his hair, dressed him up to be a girl, broke his collarbone with a twirl...Oh, I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas...." Of course all these things were mostly accidents! It was pure comedy as each kid one-upped the other.

Whatever your Thanksgiving traditions and plans hold, I hope that you will infuse the joy of thankfulness into everything you do.

Peace out,

Sandy