[okiemom]

I think we are going to be doing a non traditional thanksgiving meal this year of hamburgers. it will be while we are on a vacation spot on a lake( not in my own kitchen or home) with 5+ others visiting/eating.

Seems weird to not cook some kind of turkey or roast. What else can I do to make it more holiday with out killing me? weather will be 50f and we will be grilling outside. would love to have a fire so we can sit outside f the wind is not too strong.

Mom always had a big fancy dinner so it will be weird to not do that now that she is gone but, I think she would have like the lake. Maybe breaking with tradition can be a good thing. Different tradition with my boys.

Don't know about Christmas maybe we will go back to the lake and find an exotic location to cook our meal. My girlfriends mom does this and they have a year to prepare a meal from a far off place. Everyone brings a dish from that local. they have "been to" Spain, Mexico, a few other I can't remember and this year it is France.

 

[ajaxlucy]

Hamburgers, green bean casserole and 6 kinds of pie?

We're having a more or less tradtional turkey dinner, except there will be vegetarian and gluten-free dishes.

 

[LauraD]

We usually do a traditional Thanksgiving, but come Christmas it's shrimp curry!

 

[Packedready]

We are having lobster.

 

[snowlady]

Traditional this year but last year we were in the airport after a week in NYC and had Five Guys burgers. They were the best! We will always remember that Thanksgiving meal.

 

[greatlakesmom]

My kids hate the traditional holiday fare and barely eat anything when they have it. That in mind, were having baked chicken and rice this year. MIL isn't thrilled about that and is bringing a ham and green bean casserole, which the kids won't eat. We rarely have traditional food at Christmas - that's usually home made pizza.

 

[henryriverfarms]

We are having sardines, buttermilk, and moonpies for desert







Actually, I love turkey...so we are having turkey.

 

[Wolf mom]

When I was married, Thanksgiving was always a big deal at our house - we'd invite whomever we knew had no place else to go and ask them to bring a friend - Huge gatherings - interesting people & conversations around the table afterwards.

Then came the divorce -

What to do for the children for the first Thanksgiving without their Dad? I cooked the whole meal the day before - packed it up & we went fishing in Sedona - Where it snowed! That's now a family story...

This year - think of me chowing down fast food, driving across country with my 2 dogs and parrot. My thanksgiving will be thinking of all the things I really am thankful for!

 

[unregistered358967]

For many years the kids and I did a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. We had jelly beans, toast, pretzel sticks and popcorn. They loved it.

What I never told them was that first Thanksgiving I was in a depression that first year because of their father's and my separation. It was all I could manage to make in my brain fog.

We now do the traditional turkey, though they still fondly remember our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving dinners, and that's exactly what I was trying to accomplish...

 

[Queen Bee]

We always have the traditional turkey, ham, veggies, desserts. Everyone and anyone is invited. We invite the children's in laws , friends, aunts uncles , cousins and others who may not have any place to go! The kids used to invite all their college friends who were too far away or couldn't afford to go home.. We have had up to 41 people and our house is tiny.. but we manage. Christmas we have our children and grands .. we have steak, shrimp and oysters...and it is Christmas eve so everyone is home for Santa ..

 

[Trixie]

Who knows what we will have.

The family couldn't make it, so who knows.

If we lived in a town that had a nice restaurant that served Thanksgiving dinner, I would go out. I used to hear about older people going out to eat on a holiday and it seemed sad - but we've done it a couple of times, and I understood why they would.

 

[acabin42]

DH and I are ordering up pizza. Actually, we will have cold pizza, because I'm getting it the day before so I don't have to leave the house on Thanksgiving.

 

[Belfrybat]

I live alone, so doing a traditional dinner makes no sense. I'll probably have a steak with baked potato and salad. Haven't decided on dessert, but probably something pumpkin in honour of the season.

 

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we gave up sugar and grains a while back, and although we have a little cheat once in a while we havent had gelato since our birthdays so instead of traditional, i am having gelato and a grilled cheese sandwich and then i will try to stick with our no sugar no grains the rest of the day. i think i will have the same for christmas.

mrs gcpete

 

[Roadking]

Traditional here. Family is not near, so just the four of us. Suits us well.

Matt

 

[Seeker]

We do whatever we feel like. Duck this year, I think it was seafood last year.

 

[OnlyMe]

We have an easy non-traditional meal - lasagna usually but sometimes seafood & I'll whip up a dessert. We dine nightly in the dining room but for holidays I light the candles on the table.

 

[beaglebiz]

Our Thanksgiving is traditional with an ethnic twist. We have kielbasa and pierogi of course, mil brings Lebanese and Italian treats (usually stuffed grape leaves and lasagne). Makes for a delicious and diverse dinner!

 

[Laura Zone 5]

This is the first Thanksgiving post-divorce. God willing, this will be the last Thanksgiving, in this house......

I was thinking of doing a Low Country Boil....
Praying that next year, I will be in Florida, and the kids and I can start NEW traditions.

 

[Cygnet]

We're having cornish game hens, sweet potatoes and carrots from the garden, probably a few of the usual sides. Nothing huge -- it's just three people. (Me, and my folks.)

Funny thing is, we have a turkey thawing in the fridge. Local grocery store is now running a special where you buy $100 worth of food, you get a free turkey. And they're having lots of loss leaders. (My dad scored seven large london broils for $2.99 a pound -- marked 33% off, so $1.99 a pound!)

We've been taking advantage of loss leaders, clearance sales on meats, and the free turkeys, and filling the freezer. The turkey will be made into ground and cubed meat, and maybe a few cutlets for grilling.