Holiday Traditions

First of all, wishing everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I just love the warmth I feel inside during this particular holiday. It’s all about being grateful, spending time with your loved ones, and feasting on some delicious food. So, lets talk Holiday Traditions. What are some of your favorite Holiday Traditions?

Game Night!

Let’s be real, my favorite holiday tradition is eating all the delicious food! A very close second are the games that we play. I love game night anytime but during the holidays it’s a lot more fun because we just have a bigger crowd. My all time favorite game has to be Taboo. It’s easy to play, people get involved, and we just have a lot of fun. We usually have some type of sports playing in the background because it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the Puppy Bowl! JK, we usually have football on the TV and like many, we love watching the halftime show. Some years are definitely better than others for that but for the most part, we think the performers do a pretty damn good job up on stage. What are your favorite games to play?

Prep, Cook, Clean

One of the holiday traditions that has taken a back seat is actually the cooking part. We used to do all the cooking for Thanksgiving here at home like many families do. We spent the day before Thanksgiving prepping everything and making sure we were set for the big day. Most of Thanksgiving was spent cooking, baking, setting up, and mainly getting all the food for dinner made. If you’ve ever done the cooking for any holiday then you know just how much work really goes into this meal. Black Friday was usually spent in a food coma while trying to clean up the mess from the day before. 

A few years back I decided that Thanksgiving was not going to be spent in the kitchen. One of the great things about holidays is the time spent with your family and friends. Since I was spending most of my time in the kitchen I felt as though I missed a lot of those interactions. So, what did I do? I ordered a pre prepared Thanksgiving meal that year. It was probably the best decision I have ever made. I was able to spend so much more time actually enjoying the holiday rather than wanting to rip my hair out with everything that I had going on. I sat around the table and chatted with everyone, enjoyed myself, and wasn’t stressed out like I had been in the past years. I didn’t need to spend hours in the kitchen the day before and slept in the day of rather than getting up at 5 am to get things started. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! I’ve never looked back since and haven’t even considered making the Turkey at home once. 

Sides and Desserts

One thing that we do instead is focus on bringing some additional sides. The meal we purchase does come with it’s own sides but we like to add some of our own to the mix. We typically pick up a Honey Baked Ham as well and add that to our dinner table. Other items we like to have are a big salad…you know, for health! We also have some homemade Tamales, some casseroles, and of course a ton of desserts to choose from. I feel like desserts are just never ending between all of the fabulous pies, cookies, cakes, and other goodies. I’m not complaining but since I have a massive sweet tooth, this is definitely the part of Thanksgiving that I very much look forward to. 

So, tell me!! What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

One thing I always make for Thanksgiving is my homemade Cranberry Sauce. I much prefer it over the canned stuff and although I may be biased, I like it more than the sauce that comes with the meal we order. Plus, you can put it on turkey or use it as a dessert topper as well if you’ve got leftovers. I often put it on my yogurt instead of regular fruit!