Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays. Covid really threw a curve ball at us last year and it was the first time ever that we didn’t get to eat together with my whole family. We tried to make the best of it, but at the time, there were no vaccines and my parents couldn’t even come inside my house. So this year, we are back in full force and bringing back all of our favorite holiday traditions, plus some! Here are the thanksgiving traditions I’m most looking forward to this year.
The Famous Cheese Tray
Every Thanksgiving, for as long as I can remember, we create a gourmet cheese tray complete with an assortment of crackers, various fruits and jams, meats, nuts and anything else we can think of. Since we eat around 5pm on Thanksgiving day, we put this out at brunch time and as we’re prepping for the big meal, we munch and enjoy the spread. It’s perfect because it’s light enough to keep us hungry for dinner, but also filling so we don’t need to cook breakfast or lunch. It is so much fun.
Setting the Table
Since we started hosting at our house, I have really enjoyed setting the table, and getting the kids to help. And this year will be the first time in our new kitchen! I’m really excited to add to our table setting this year and enjoy seeing the everything come together—especially the photo op once all the food is served.
Friday Movie or a Show
We stopped going to Black Friday years ago, although that was one of my favorite traditions when my cousin Liz used to come home with us for Thanksgiving. My mom used to give us both $100 to spend at the mall on Black Friday. So much fun!
But since online shopping is so much easier now, and we want to avoid malls at all costs, we started our own Friday after Thanksgiving tradition. Usually there is some kind of movie premiere that weekend and in the past, we’ve gone to see some of my favorite movies like The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Frozen II.
And now that we are in Central Florida, when there are no movies we want to see, we’ve gone to fun dinner shows like Pirate’s Dinner Adventure and Medieval Times.
Watching Football
There is nothing better than having no where to go on Thanksgiving and plopping on the couch with the family—and with full tummies—to watch the football games. I just love the sound of football in the background and everyone gathered around together.
Wine or Beer Tasting
This was usually what kicked off our Thanksgiving holiday weekend. When Brett and I had to travel back home to West Palm Beach the night before, my parents would have a selection of unique beers that my brother helped pick for all of us to try. It got so serious that my parents got us all tasting sets so it was legit.
We are definitely continuing this tradition this year!
Family Adventures
Since it’s a longer weekend and we are all together as a family we love to add in some unique experiences into the holiday weekend. In the past, we have had a huge corn hole tournament with all of our friends. It was amazing, with a bracket and prizes! We’ll definitely need to return that to Winter Garden! This year we are banking on the weather being warm again and booked a Resort Pass to spend a day by the pool with the family.
Thanksgiving Traditions Make this Holiday Special
This is one of the many reasons why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. These traditions continue to make memories that I cherish each and every year. It’s about being together, about teamwork preparing the meal together, and gratitude when we are surrounded by the delicious bounty of food. Food and family, that is all you really need!
This is going to be the first Thanksgiving in 12 years without our Winston. We will be thinking of you, Buddy, and will leave you the turkey scraps just like always.
Yes!!!