to be jealous that Americans get Thanksgiving AND Christmas?

[FeuDeRussie]

Thanksgiving sounds really good. Like Christmas, but no presents to worry about (AFAIK?), just FOOD!

Are there any Americans around who can tell me what Thanksgiving is like? Do you prefer it to Christmas?

[OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos]

Think what you like about the Royals, but jubilee weekend was fab!

As was Christmas in New York. We did the usual stuff you would do in NY tbh, as it was the first time either of us had been (I went with my ex). On Christmas Day we had dinner at the hotel, and went skating at Rockefeller and although neither of us are religious, we went to the service at St Patricks Cathedral. I think it was St Patricks anyway! Somewhere on or near Fifth Avenue. It was a long time ago and I have a crap memory! I LOVED the Christmas service, it was really interesting and was vey friendly and welcoming to people of all faiths, or even none at all. On all the other days it was no different to any other time in December, just really really cold. We did a lot of shopping as we told our families they wouldn't be getting presents until we got home.

[FeuDeRussie]

Thanks Outraged, it sounds great! Sorry for my slow reply, I went out straight from work.

[MissCellania]

Do people really put marshmallows in sweet potato? That sounds fabulous.

[PessaryPam]

Doesn't it mean having to eat turkey twice in the year rather then just once?

[theoldtrout01876]

Im starting my thanksgiving prep as we speak,just stopped for a wine break :o

I have my brine done ready for the turkey and have made my cranberry sauce,just letting it cool and thicken

we have no family here apart from the kids ( 20,18,16 and 7) so its no stress just like a sunday roast on a thursday

Im having buffalo prime rib for Christmas though :)

Thanksgiving just confuses me really,a Thursday off then back to work Friday ( though everyone else in my house has Friday off ). I always feel like its Monday on Friday :o

[OkayHazel]

I don't want to lose Bonfire night!

[FreudiansSlipper]

its all back to normal on boxng day which feels very strange i like having two days to eat like a piggy relax and spend time with my family

[bondigidum]

Oh I am so with you. I was asking DH if it would be acceptable for us to celebrate it even though neither of us know of any American relatives, he declined

I have no real experience of Thanksgiving, only what i've seen in movies (tbf most of my American knowledge is based on the movies naive I know) but it looks wonderful!! I would rather have that than Boxing day any day. Boxing day is shit. Its such a poor come down from the Christmas day hype. Oh and i'd happily trade Guy Fawkes for it!

Ahh.. I want to do Thanksgiving. I do like the America on the films. The American Christmas films fill my heart with such joy. I always wanted Christmas to be like that as a kid so it was always a major let down! Now I go all out for my DCs and try to emulate it as much as poss.. Sorry i'm off on a tangent

[squoosh]

A country without roast potatoes is a country without hope!

A colleague brought homemade pumpkin pie into work last week. It was truly the most vile thing I have ever tasted. Think a tart full of sweetened ear wax, only worse. And I had to finish the slice as the producer of this foul concoction was so proud of it and kept asking me if I liked it.

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

Thanksgiving is amazing and I'll tell you why: it's not religious, so everyone (who is so inclined, which has always been everyone I've known back home) celebrates. We don't have to dance around with "Happy Holidays" or whatever- we're all celebrating the same damn thing.

Which is, ofc, pie. :)

And I second Tee's suggestion re: whomever had that terrible-sounding Thanksgiving meal. You need new friends!

You can't generlise what goes into a T-day meal. In New England (where my mum's family is from) we tend to have turkey, stuffing, cranberries etc, but in the South you might have ham, collard greens, definitely gravy, etc.

If your family is of a particular ethnic background, then you'll probably have some different things mixed in with the more American things.

It also means there's none of this putting trees up in mid-November (yes a friend on FB has!) No tree up until after Thanksgiving! It's the law!

We aren't having our big dinner til the weekend as I just can't get into the spirit with DH having to work. I will make pumpkin pie tomorrow, though, and some of the spinach dip I suggested to someone else on MN earlier today. I need something special. :)

Happy day everyone!

[kickassangel]

I like having both. We din't get half terms at school so it's good to great a break, but we don't have to rush round seeing family. Turkey is pretty much the norm, so Christmas can be very different food wise.

No decorations up til after, but it is so mild here ATM that everyone is putting outdoor lights up rather than waiting til the ground freezes. Decorations come down quicker in a lot of places, but round here we wait til there's a warm patch, which can take til March in a bad winter.

[squoosh]

I love the end scene in Planes, Trains and Auntomobiles where Steve Martin invites John Candy to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Would bring a tear to a glass eye.

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

Where's your hand? Between two pillows...

[DalekInAFestiveJumper]

Thanksgiving is a really lovely holiday. I've got my turkey brining in the fridge, ready to go. Tomorrow morning I'll watch the parade and put dinner on. It will be a ridiculous feast, but that's the fun of it.

[kickassangel]

Apple crumble is in the oven

[freerangechickens]

Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday until I had my kids, and then Christmas reigns. There are some truly awful meals out there, but I make everything from scratch here. Today we made a spiced cranberry/pinot noir sauce, dinner rolls, sweet potato with a brown sugar pecan topping, orange spice pumpkin pie and corn chowder soup with cayenne. Tomorrow, DH is in charge of the turkey and deviled eggs, and I've got the garlic mashed potatoes, pancetta, pearl onion and green apple stuffing, and we'll be making tons and tons of gravy.

[KeatsiePie]

Thanksgiving can be this big family thing where you fly all the way back to your/your partner's hometown for a 4-day weekend (no one goes back to work on the Friday). Spending 2 out of the 4 days traveling can be tough, especially as workloads always seem heavy this time of year, but of course it's great to see family and it helps with the holiday split: often 1 spouse's family gets Thanksgiving and the other spouse's family gets Christmas.

Or it can be a chance to get together and have a big fancy meal with friends who have also chosen not to fly that year (sometimes called "Thanksgiving orphans dinner" or similar when the people involved are young b/c when you're in your 20s it can feel really weird not to go home for Thanksgiving).

Either way it is not usually as big a deal as Christmas. Of course this will vary for people depending on their practices (religious and otherwise) but there's far less decorating, advertising, etc., there's not a nonstop presence of it the way there is with Christmas music and lights everywhere and all that.

I think it's the source of more stress than Christmas as people often feel obligated to travel with kids to create family memories, etc., with less time off. On the other hand, no presents, just great food. There is a tradition that the Christmas tree and the lights on the house go up right after Thanksgiving, it's seen as kicking off the Christmas season. So in a way they do get lumped together -- it's the start of the holidays.

What is Boxing Day, anyway?

[CheerfulYank]

Where the actual hell have you been having your Thanksgivings, that there's no gravy! I've lived in America my entire life and never have I heard of such a thing.

We're celebrating Friday and having a roasted herbed turkey and rolls and cherry cobbler and pumpkin praline cake and garlic mashed potatoes with GRAVY FOR GOD'S SAKE and maple-ginger carrots and brussel sprouts with bacon and appetizers and wine except not me as I am pregnant and who knows what else.

I make ham at Christmas. Sometimes we have duck if it's been a good hunting year. :)

[CheerfulYank]

And Christmas is the entire month of December for me, not one day!

[TanteRose]

"a roasted herbed turkey and rolls and cherry cobbler and pumpkin praline cake and garlic mashed potatoes with GRAVY FOR GOD'S SAKE and maple-ginger carrots and brussel sprouts with bacon and appetizers and wine"



I'm getting on a plane and coming to yours, CY

[CombustionEngine]

Pumpkin pie is yummy! And cornbread is wonderful, absolutely the best thing to eat with chilli!

We're having pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie at Christmas rather than Christmas pudding, that's our mixed heritage house!

[Tee2072]

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

[BigBirdisSaved]

Yeah, DH gets only two weeks holiday for the year. He also gets 9 other days (e.g. Christmas, Good Friday)

Oh and whomever said Christmas displays weren't up, not true, we've had trees in stores for at least a month and plenty of houses have Christmas things up. DS and I were calling it Happy Chrisgiving today because we saw a lot of lights and plastic candy canes up.

However, my friend and I sat on the beach today (about 20oC and sunny clear skies) and got a little sunburned (oops) while the kids played in the waves and dug a big sandy hole, so sixes and two threes.

[BigBirdisSaved]

Plenty of Americans have ham for T'giving. No, it doesn't usually have gravy on it. I'm a little puzzled at the idea, what gravy do you make with ham...??

Every American household I've been to has had gravy for T'giving if they have turkey. I was feeling lazy so I bought ready made gravy which I'll doctor up.

Soft rolls warm from the oven are fab, I've got the butter flake parbaked ones for tomorrow. Yum. Candied Yams (sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter and often (but not for us) marshmallows) are like dessert with your main course. We are having squash too to use up the last of my fall decor.

I like mash, but the family tend to shout me down so I suspect we are having roast pots tomorrow.

Pumpkin pie is yuck, but pecan rocks. We are having apple and blackberry tomorrow (non traditional but I have blackberries and fancy them in a pie) with good vanilla icecream (much better than your average UK icecream)

[BigBirdisSaved]

How can you not love a holiday that is celebrated with much pie?!?