Thanksgiving Traditions

My bloggy buddy Tara is having a giveaway on her blog! You can win a deck of Family Gathering Chat Cards from Cherish Bound by blogging about your Thanksgiving traditions and linking back to Tara. Sounds fun!

I talked a bit about my Thanksgiving traditions already, but I will sum them up again for ya. (in more detail)

I love to host/cook Thanksgiving dinner. Even if we do not have company over for dinner, I will still go all out just for our immediate family! I usually bake my pies the night before. A long time ago, I would wake up so so early to start preparing food, but thanks to Reynolds cooking bags, I no longer need to do that! (they cut your turkey cooking time in half and make the bird even more juicy!) I do start preparing around 9 am, the time Zach starts to watch the Macy's Day Parade. Personally, I like to dress up for Thanksgiving. I do wear stretchy comfy pants so I can stuff my face, but I wear a nice elastic pant with a pretty blouse. (I hate the word blouse)

I do not require the rest of my family to dress up. I don't think... hmmmm, do I? Photos say something different. Maybe I do ask that everyone else dresses up. Any hoo... while dinner is cooking, I prepare the table. I love a beautiful Thanksgiving table!! I ALWAYS take pictures of my table when it is set, when the food is placed, after people have taken their seats, and so on.

Oh - I usually only ask for my husband to help me take the turkey out of the oven, other than that, I don't want any help. I want to be the one who prepares the huge meal all by myself. When we sit down to eat, we hold hands and give thanks to our Heavenly Father.

Once dinner is finished, we all help to clear the table and put the dishes in the sink for later. It is relax time! Time for football and naps! After naps, time for pie. And even later still while watching tv, we will get out the left overs and eat AGAIN! And that is our Thanksgiving tradition.

*This year we are going to Nana's:)