To give your Thanksgiving a kick start, here are more than just a couple of ways to celebrate a gathering of family, friends and in-laws. From the American Thanksgiving, Republican Thanksgiving, Democrat Thanksgiving, Black FridayThanksgiving, Christmas Thanksgiving to the old Bring-Your-Own Thanksgiving, if one theme doesn’t grab you at least some of the added ideas will. So pull up a chair and consider sprucing up that last minute Thanksgiving holiday.
American Thanksgiving. The golden brown turkey, buttered rolls, thick cranberry sauce, green and black olives, creamy potatoes, candied yams, thick brown gravy, variety of beans, corn, carrots and celery mix, a salad, cheese on sausage slices, crackers, cinnamon sticks and apple-cherry-pumpkin pies all mark a great American Thanksgiving feast. Nutcrackers next to a bowl of nuts are nice additions.
Butterball that turkey! Butter tricks of the trade include taking a butter knife, inserting the knife into the turkey just one inch in depth, taking the other hand which holds a spoon and scooping less than 1/4 teaspoon of butter and dropping it inside of the opening created when you press the inserted knife slightly downward. Once the butter has been inserted release the knife slowly. The slit will somewhat close.
Tip: Use the butterball turkey trick on chicken.
The last minute American Thanksgiving feast does not have to rely only on turkey alone. There’s ham, chicken, beef, sausage, deli meat, fish, and even potpies. Desserts can include jello or ice cream, cup cakes or pies. Sprinkles of orange and brown can apply. A great American treat would be the cookie. Pull out the cookie dough and allow the kids to create their own cookie shapes before baking them on Thanksgiving night.
And don’t forget that American football game playing in the background.
Tip: Scrambled eggs? Bad Thanksgiving dinner idea. Red, white and blue balloons? Tacky.
Republican or Democrat Thanksgiving. A bit eccentric or fanatical but we’re always thankful for something, including our political passion. A Republican Thanksgiving table could include cherries, apple halves (with skin), red peppers, red sprinkles, red table cloth, red plates, red cups, red utensils, red napkins, red, red, red. The Democrat Thanksgiving goes with blueberries, blue food coloring, blue cocktails and anything blue, blue, blue. Political debate anyone?
Black Friday Thanksgiving. Your family and friends can do anything! Even shopping for those excellent early bird deals long before Black Friday begins. A fast feast is required. The eat-and-run experience can consist of cold cuts, take out or any easy-to-prepare food. Have plenty of coupons ready for your guests to use. Print the coupons from the internet, cut them from circulars or have circulars at hand with Thanksgiving Day deals. Map out the shopping plan and make traveling fun by gathering together in two, or three, vehicles. This theme may not be for everyone.
Tip: ‘Tri-mageddon juice’ found in cooked turkeys will lead to sleep shopping.
Christmas at Thanksgiving. This theme is great if there will be a lot of children attending. Use the Christmas theme to go with a moment of gift giving and turkey story time (in place of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas). Create a table just for kids with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree they must decorate with Thanksgiving related ornaments. Ornaments could be crafted by the kids or already provided. This theme is also great for adults too.
For adults, Christmas at Thanksgiving gifts could be the ugliest or most tacky of ornaments for under $5. For kids, Christmas at Thanksgiving should include homemade gifts. But how to know who to get a gift for? Guests keep the wrapped gifts they arrived with in front of them at the table. Place the names of each guest into a bag (kids separate from adults) and have each person pull out a name. The person pulling gets to receive the gift in front of the name pulled out. Back to more Christmas at Thanksgiving ideas.
Christmas at Thanksgiving should go with a full Christmas layout. As if it were Christmas eve.
Tip: Dress the patio with white twinkling lights.
Bring-Your-Own Thanksgiving. Outline a Thanksgiving meal in general. Such as in a bread, a vegetable, a fruit, a dessert, etc. A guest can decide what specific item they will contribute. The host should be in charge of the main dish, plates, cups and utensils. Everyone can contribute something creating the very essence of Thanksgiving since the first days of gathering.
Tip: Nothing to be thankful for? ‘New York Sandy suffering’, Google. Thankful yet?
It is never easy pulling together a last minute anything. But with a little imagination, a little bit of effort, a little patience and a lot of Thanksgiving spirit, you could at least be thankful for one thing – that Thanksgiving only comes once a year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
