Like birthdays, Christmas, and New Year's, Thanksgiving is one of those annual events that that often inspires us to proclaim, "next time, things will be different." Even under the best circumstances, it can be a fraught with high expectations, delicate familial negotiations and gastronomic over-indulgence...
It's a day so filled with variables that even the best laid plans can run amok. (You certainly don't have to have a dysfunctional family to be blindsided by a dry and withered bird, an out-of-sorts last-minute guest or a surprise announcement at the dinner table.) Whether we're the host, or the guest, traveling far or staying near, it seems there's always something we'd like to change, if we could. Sometimes, we know full well going in what that 'something' is, and other times, it's hindsight that sets the wheels in motion, causing us to vow - never again!!
So, what's your Thanksgiving resolution? To eat less? Drink more?? Cook the turkey yourself? Never cook again? Or maybe, just maybe, to relax and revel in the imperfection of it all...?
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Recipe: Chopped Brown Rice Salad with Grapes and Pecans
This is a recurring "to do next year" resolution.....I keep forgetting to make the darned mulled wine. Every year!
To devote Thanksgiving to highlighting the ongoing atrocities committed against Native Americans and to hopefully end this faux holiday for good.
Oy vey.
be more giving .
To not be seduced by the allure of "new" recipes and stick with the stuff that I do well and know works. That think I have been doing for years is really good and people like it!
a couple of years ago I vowed to not have any more new years resolutions. so far it worked! best resolution ever. :)
Cook less. I made 6 dishes this year, about 1/2 of the menu. Need to work on my siblings to share more as I thought this was a celebration of our bounties.
My Thanksgiving resolutions: To consume less, and to start making sure that every purchase I make is ethical. I'm going to shop and buy local, buy used before new, buy organic from farmer's markets, and stop buying stuff I don't need or ever shopping for fun. As a web designer, I am going to work only for clients with ethical businesses that benefit society. I am thankful to Occupy Wall Street for making an ethical government and distribution of wealth an issue in public debate again. http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/11/occupy-as-an-experiment-in-grassroots-democracy
YEA! GretchenE...one person makes a difference and I'm trying to mindful now as well..my plan!
We can do it keeks! Happy Thanksgiving to all Occupiers!
Had an epic fight with my husband about which in-laws to see for how much time...I'd like to avoid fighting next year. :/
Definitely stick with the farmers' market veggies and drink less next year. My dad bought a balthazar of wine, and Lord, did I drink more than I needed to!
I think my resolution is to set my table with a bunch of different cute napkins the way they have in that picture! Adorable!
Our T'giving this year involved a last minute location change due to illness & bad travel weather. And everyone was flexible and I think it was the nicest one ever. So great not to have to travel!
Go to London instead of staying around. Love the idea of Thanksgiving; hate the food, the forced socialization, the football and really hate all of the talk about shopping on Black Friday.
I agree with Girl & Lamp. Thanksgiving is a very odd holiday. I did think a lot this year about what I was thankful for. No Black Friday for us!
Don't know if this holiday is faux or vrai, but I was taught it was established by the Union President after the Civil War as a sign of respect to the vanquished Confederacy as a reconciliatory gesture. The goal was to cast the national memory back to a time when there was no North or South. Someday I should look this up and see if there was any truth to this story "The General" told.
My brother's au gratin organic potatoes from his garden were a huge hit. Also his tri-colore carrots that were cooked with a little crunch left in 'em. Turkey was cooked in a smoker--wow.
Give Mom Grandmas stuffing recipe so that she doesn't make one from the newspaper, bring homemade bread and homemade pumpkin pie so we don't eat grocery store pie, and bring more wine. Also, bring allergy pills, buy extra eggs, come earlier the day before, and teach mom to make gravy instead of insulting hers she made from a packet.
@ Girl & Lamp: Happy Thankstaking! (as my friend calls it)
@ RMF325: my thoughts exactly.
my resolution: remember what a nightmare this is and STOP HOSTING IT.
m'elizabeth, google up origin of american thanksgiving and you'll find something like this. In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. There is also evidence for an earlier celebration on the continent by Spanish explorers in Texas at San Elizario in 1598, as well as thanksgiving feasts in the Virginia Colony. The initial thanksgiving observance at Virginia in 1619 was prompted by the colonists' leaders on the anniversary of the settlement. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.
To me, Thanksgiving is kind of a non-stress holiday. It involves no gifts, no huge expectations. We invite who we want, don't go where we want, be thankful for what we have, relax and have a good time. Try to keep the food simple but good, the guest list reasonable. Have a good toast with some decent wine. Enjoy!
Stick to immediate family only. Huge crowd was very nice but would have liked more one on one time with my kids and husband. Too busy hosting.
My holiday was wonderful....would not change a thing. It was nice nice to go home.
Find somewhere to volunteer.