Holiday Traditions: Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family in the broadest sense. I am thankful for Noah, and that he is healthy and happy; he makes me smile even when he wakes me up at 6:30am on a Sunday morning or when I come home exhausted from a long day at work; he allows me to see the world and myself through his eyes, which can be quite amazing; he lights up the room and brings so much joy to the people around him with his positive energy. I am thankful for Tony who is an amazing parent; I am thankful that he naturally assumed his role of the co-default parent; I am thankful that I can be 100 percent me around him, I don’t have to explain myself; I am thankful that we haven’t lost our sense of togetherness during this busy year; I am thankful we make a great team and always have each other’s backs. I am thankful for Skype and Facetime so Noah gets to see all of his aunts and uncles, cousins, grandmas and grandpas on the screen every once in a while. I am thankful for our Schwesterntreff Whatsapp group; I am thankful we share happy and joyful and even sad and frustrating moments with each other; sharing small every day details, pictures, and videos has brought the four of us closer together somehow. I am thankful for my friends, for those that have been around for a while and stick around even though we rarely ever find time to get together; and I’m thankful for my new friends, especially with Noah around I am thankful for my “German Mafia friends”. I am thankful for my job that forces me to push my own boundaries, to leave my comfort zone every once in a while. And I am thankful for traditions which somehow seem to become so important over the holidays; I am thankful that I can carry on some of the traditions I grew up with and that we get the chance to create our own traditions, ones that will hopefully be sweet childhood memories for Noah one day. So I thought why not create a small holiday traditions series on this blog. Some are typical German, some very American, some have been around for as long as I can remember, some are relatively new for me. But all are dear to me and have a special place in my heart.
 

As you have probably guessed from my intro, I’ll start out with the most American holiday tradition: Thanksgiving. History and controversy aside, there are so many aspects that make Thanksgiving special for me. At its core and the way we celebrate it, it’s all about friends and family, giving thanks, and of course delicious food and wine. I’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving with the same group of friends since 2009 when I moved here (the tradition had started a couple of years before that), and we’ve been rotating between three couples. Some things always stay the same: Tony is in charge of gravy, Sara makes sweet potato pie. Everyone gets together early in the day and cooks together while enjoying snacks and wine. The core group of people is always the same, sometimes with additions. Other things change: we try new side dishes and different decorations; and it has so far never been twice at the same house (at least since I joined the group). And I enjoy watching us all grow up a bit more every year. We've bought houses, had kids, threw out the old college-days plates and silverware and traded them in for things we actually like.
 

Carrie and Joel's beautifully decorated dining room

 Thanksgiving 2012 is maybe the most special to me. It was the year we hosted at our place. We had just bought our house earlier that year, built a big table with saw horses and particle board, and I sewed my own tablecloth because I couldn’t find a pretty one that was big enough. We finally had a reason to bring out our set of fancy wine glasses, plates, and silverware we had received as wedding presents. Tony had the smoker finally figured out, and we were excited to be hosting a fancy dinner. I had only one problem I didn’t know how to solve for: how would I be able to explain why I didn’t have a drink in my hand by noon like everyone else without spilling the beans that I was about six weeks pregnant? I managed for a while (with one exception) by drinking non-alcoholic beer out of a beer stein until it was time to toast to our dear friend Elizabeth who is no longer with us with port wine. Looking back, I was totally fine with not keeping it a secret even though it was early; these were wonderful news to share, after all. I just needed an excuse and the right moment to say something. So yeah, that was a pretty special Thanksgiving. Noah played an important role in making Thanksgiving memorable the following year as well – by projectile vomiting on about everyone there! 

The ladies Thanksgiving 2013

The ladies Thanksgiving 2014

This year was our most grown up Thanksgiving yet I think. The table was decorated beautifully, the turkey was the juiciest and flavorful yet, we each impressed with our Pinterest inspired dishes, and we even did some serious Scotch tasting. 

Like I said, it's all about the food. I'll let the pictures do the talking. And yes, everything tasted just as delicious as it looks.

Mama G's deviled eggs and Joel's famous pickles.

Salmon ball a la Elizabeth.

 

Sue's baked brie. The orange peel added the perfect touch.

 

Veggie and Cauliflower tart. Super easy recipe with a serious wow effect.

A fresh salad with berries

The bird.

Green Bean Casserole and Mashed Potatoes.

Everything was homemade, including the rolls.

Cranberry Sauce.

Stuffing. Made with Bagels. So good. Not too dry, not too moist.

Here we are, enjoying our delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks again Joel and Carrie for hosting this year. Life is good indeed.