Happy Thanksgiving 2023!

Last year’s Thanksgiving table

It’s Thanksgiving week already! I’ve been thinking about the holiday for the past couple of weeks but it’s always a surprise when it is suddenly almost here. Despite my surprise that the week has arrived, I don’t feel too unprepared. As I say, I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks.

We are hosting again this year but it will be different than last year. Last year was the first year we didn’t have mom and my brother’s family did their own thing, so we had several friends over and it was really fun. This year it’s all family. My brother’s family, minus my nephew stationed in Alaska and plus his mother in law, will be there. Also two of my cousins from Sebastopol and our granddaughter Rose and her parents.

I decided to ask everyone either what they wanted to bring or what they had to have to make it Thanksgiving for them. So my cousin is doing some appetizers that will reflect her mom, my Aunt Pat. I’ve asked my daughter in law if she and Rose can do the table decorations; Vanesa is an amazing artist and Rose is up and coming, even at four, so I am hoping this will be fun for them. Vanesa is also making the dressing. My sister in law is making Brussels sprouts and a fruit salad, her mom a Caesar salad. My brother is going to smoke the turkey in his Traeger and he also volunteered to make a cherry pie. I’m planning to do the mashed potatoes, a few yams, the giblet gravy and a cranberry jelly mold. I’ll probably do regular cranberry sauce as well just because I like cranberries a lot. I will also do a pumpkin pie and possibly some rolls.

I have mentioned previously that I love to set a nice table and this year will be no different. It will be fun to have the participation of others as well. I don’t normally do paper napkins, but I picked up some pretty ones at an estate sale earlier this year that I’ve been waiting to use. I think they will be a fun spot of color. I also like to assign seating so that people have to talk to people they don’t always talk to. So my challenge this year is to find some kind of fun way of setting the name cards up.

I’m heading to Ukiah Tuesday to pick up the turkey and the other groceries. There’s also shopping for extra items to have for the rest of the meals besides Thanksgiving. I’m sure the stores will be busy with other shoppers. I wonder how many of you readers I’ll meet along the way?

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving whatever you are doing this year!