Thanksgiving Feast

We had initially planned to have our Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, but the day came and we were too tired from the festivities the day before. Saturday we finally cooked and cooked and decorated all day. In the end we were really glad that we still did a full blown dinner. Thankfully Randall is a fabulous cook and a great help to me in the kitchen. We divied up the recipes and went to town. In the end we had turkey of course, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, home -made spiced cranberry sauce, and sweet potato casserole that really was like dessert with all the butter, brown sugar and pecans. We also had sparkling cider in our goblets which always makes things feel a little more fun and festive. All the kids got to drink out of a goblet this year, and they thought that was really cool. They kids especially loved the sweet potatoes and ate it like candy, probably because that's essentially what it was. We also had rolls but I set those aside to keep for sandwiches that we ate last night for dinner. The kids kept commenting on how this was the best meal they had ever eaten.

I was pretty low key like I said I am trying to be. Normally I would have a really nice centerpiece and have everyone dressed nicely for dinner. This year I exercised in the morning and showered but didn't even do my hair and make-up. Kate came to dinner in her pajama shirt and undies. I had the kids help me set the table and even had them help me fold the napkins to add to the table. It was a lot of fun and I was glad that they participated. Ethan even peeled all the potatoes. I was still very nice but low key and low stress. A win win for everyone.

We also put up our Christmas decorations this year. Last year I bought a little Christmas tree after Christmas for the kids. This year I let them decorate it all by themselves with all of our random ornaments. In years past I'm not a big fan of the "random" trees but this year truthfully I think I like their tree better than my nicely planned and plotted tree. I originally thought I would let them decorate "their" tree and then I would rearrange slightly. After they did it though I found that I liked it just they way they had done it. Bare in some spots and lots grouped together near the bottom. I even found myself totally in love this year for the first time with the little ornaments that the kids have made in school and brought home. I guess I'm growing up or something crazy like that.


Our Thanksgiving table with our Christmas decor :) See the cure napkins the kids helped fold?

Jane reading up on the Christmas story.
Chef Randall

The rest of the fam looking good...
The "kids" tree.