Where's the turkey lovin'?

10 Things I Loved About This Thanksgiving

1. That holy trifecta of turkey, stuffing, and gravy. I pity those families that try to go "different" do brisket or hams. Hello? There is no Thanksgiving Cow or Thanksgiving Pig. It's Tom for a good reason.
   
2. My aunt J's weird cranberry, pecan, grape confection made with REAL whipped cream (like, with whipping cream and a hand mixer REAL whipped cream). This morning, I realized at the last minute that she wasn't coming today and almost cried because I could have made it myself.
   
3. Average Jane's cranberry sauce recipe. OMIGOD, this thing is heaven and SO easy (literally, all you do is dump the ingredients in a pan and watch them simmer). I have to keep myself from eating half of it before the meal.
   
4. The fact that my family rents a hall. When I was a kid, my grandma always hosted the holidays - she has 6 siblings so it was pretty crazy. Now that our family has grown exponentially, we can no longer all fit in one house. The solution is to rent a hall for Thanksgiving so that at least for one holiday, we are still all together.
   
5. The fact that my family does some sort of "entertainment" activity. Last year, it was a talent show. This year was a White Elephant Bingo. Fun was had by all.
   
6. Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is GIFTLESS. I love that we just get together, eat some good food and then head our separate ways. A holiday only about FOOD? I'm all over that.
   
7. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Every year, I swear I am going to watch it all and every year I only catch a glimpse or two. But I still love it.
   
8. The football games. I did not grow up in a Sports House. My dad LOATHES televised sports, so for me, I totally associate football games with holidays due to years of memories of watching all my great-uncles hightail it down to my grandma's family room to catch the games.
   
9. The pies. I generally lean towards the fruit pies, but have gained an appreciation for pumpkin pie in my adulthood.
   
10. Watching my kid have the TIME of his life. After a 30 minute warm-up period, he was going, going, G...O...N...E. He came to me once for a quick hug and a few bites, but then was quickly off again. I hardly saw him the entire time we were at the dinner.