As mentioned on the 1st, we’re holding a contest for the best Thanksgiving story. For complete rules, read through the “Thankful for the Holidays” post. To the winner goes a $50 gift card for The Fresh Market to help out with your holiday grocery shopping.
Before we hear from you, though, we thought we’d share some stories of our own…
Chad
While there have been a number of memorable Thanksgivings in my past - from the year we watched my brother march with our high school band in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to the times we tried out alternative turkey cooking methods (fried, smoked) - this year’s edition should be very special. It’ll be the first that Jenn and I spend as a married couple and the first that we host in our own house. We’ll have both of our families over and we’ll be the ones cooking the big dinner. There’ll be football, food and stories all around. It should be the perfect Thanksgiving.
Amanda
My biological family lives up north, making holidays spent together a somewhat difficult affair where either I travel to see them, they come here to visit me, or I stay behind and celebrate the holidays with someone other than my own flesh and blood. When it comes to Thanksgiving, I generally choose the latter, using turkey day as a time to celebrate with my “Florida family.”
Through my years in Orlando I’ve built an amazing group of friends that I can earnestly call “family” and there is nothing I could be more thankful for when we are all gathered around the table with cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashed potatoes in our mouths. I’ve had many great Thanksgivings spent with my Florida family, but the one that comes to mind immediately is one a few years ago that was so idyllic it could have passed for a Norman Rockwell painting.
Countless friends and a mixture of their assorted family members visiting from out of town mixed together to watch football, cook a giant meal, drink a few beers, enjoy some laughter and bountiful conversation… and after dinner we even played a stirring game of touch football (that, given the competitive nature of my friends, became a bit more aggressively tackle-like in appearance than most “touch” football games). The weather was that perfect Florida cool where you weren’t sweltering during the game but it was still warm enough outside to warrant a cool down in the swimming pool after the game was over… And enjoy a nice big slice of pumpkin pie.
Jennifer
I fully expect this year to be my favorite Thanksgiving yet. Not only am I celebrating Turkey Day in a new home as a new wife, but my grandmother is officially passing down her silver to me for this holiday gathering.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, my mother and I would always go to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving. We’d arrive around 10 a.m. and literally the first thing I’d see when we opened the door was a huge heart-shaped wooden case that contained my grandmother’s wedding silverware. Ever since I was little, I’ve always associated that silverware, only used for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, with great holiday times with my small but loving family.
This year, my grandmother will be passing that set to me. I can only dream that my future Thanksgivings and the family I’ll raise in years to come will be as strong as the one I was raised in, and our times just as happy.
Now it’s your turn…
Just leave your story as a comment on this post or on your own site with a link back. Two sentences or two paragraphs is all you need to write and entries close on the 13th so we can announce the winner on the 15th.
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9 Comments for “Our Thanksgiving Stories”
November 5th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
[…] you need to use one of the following methods … 1. Post your story as a comment on the article “Our Thanksgiving Stories” 2. Post a story on your own website with a link back to “Our Thanksgiving […]
November 8th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
[…] Holiday seasons are coming around. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just round the corner. Living Orlando is giving away a $50 gift card to The Fresh Market to help with your Thanksgiving dinner […]
November 10th, 2007 at 12:08 am
A couple of years ago I had a very memorable thanksgiving with my family at my ailing grandfather’s house. Afterwards, I joined Schatte at his mom & dad’s with a cooler full of beer as my “peace offering”. Good times for sure, but the thing I’m most thankful for is that my grandfather recovered fully.
November 11th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Thanksgiving has always been a time for family and friends. When we try to remember all the different Thanksgivings we have celebrated, we find that each year has brought us a new experience. When we were first married and had just moved to Florida, we spent the day with friends that had done the same thing, and as a result, had no family close to them. We have great memories of those days. As we think back, after the big move from California, we never celebrated Thanksgiving in any place other than Florida.
That is until last year.
We made a huge decision to try a new adventure and left what we had known as home for 35 years and moved to the north Georgia mountains. It is a special place that has all 4 seasons and gives us a sense of space and quiet. When we made the decision to move, we never really thought about holidays and how we would celebrate them. It just seemed we would always do the same thing, even though we were in a different place. As the time came closer, we realized that it was not going to be that easy. Our boys were wrapped up in their lives. But then our oldest son said he was coming and that he was picking up the youngest on his way. They would be in our little corner for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Being able to share our new adventure with them meant so much to us. We want them to always know that many adventures await all of us, we just have to have the courage. So on this Thanksgiving Day as we travel to our youngest son and new wife’s little corner of the world, where our oldest son and girlfriend will join us, we find that Thanksgiving will be different again, yet we will all be together.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
As a mother and grandmother, the first thing I think about before Thanksgiving is preparing the foods that are family favorites- I love to make everyone at least one of their favorite dishes. This way, when each person comes to the table, they realize that they are very special…and I have made a special dish with them in mind. I use some of the receipes, table settings and food items that have been family favorites for generations and in a way, it makes it seem we are closer to those in our past. On Thanksgiving day. my favorite thoughts are of the table laden with food and my whole family and their friends sitting around the table. But what I like best is when someone says’What are you most thankful for this year?” and then each person takes a turn sharing their gratitudes, and love for one another. This has been a tradition in my family for many years , one our family began in Pennsylvania and have continued here in Orlando.We often assume others know we love them and are so very thanksful of their presence in our lives….. but Thanksgiving is the day I look forward to saying ( and hopefully hearing) of thankfulness and love.
November 13th, 2007 at 9:59 am
[…] is your last chance to submit a story for our Thankful for the Holidays contest. The author of the winning story will receive a $50 gift […]
November 13th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
As a teen, I had a pet cat who had alot of characteristics of the comsic strip cat, Garfield. He loved to eat! As our family was around the table, enjoying the wonderful meal prepared by our mother, we heard a lttle noise coming from the kitchen…a rather scraping sound….then we heard a louder thud. We left the Thanksgiving table an ran into the kitchen to find the cat inside the turkey carcass! We sure were glad we had carved the turkey and had our helping before our own little’ Garfield’ got his left-overs! not a Thanksgiving goes by that someone doesn’t remind us of that Thanksgiving!
November 15th, 2007 at 10:59 am
[…] read the entries, read the comments on the “Our Thanksgiving Stories” […]
September 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
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