This year I am choosing not to travel for Thanksgiving and this means I will not be able to see the family I usually do for the holiday. I know many people are in the same position whether by choice or necessity and that this Thanksgiving and the holidays beyond will be very different for most people. A positive approach to Thanksgiving this year is to see it as an opportunity to do things differently, to think outside of the box as it were.
I don’t know about you, but I have spent a lot of happy time this year communicating with my family via video conferencing and, well, Thanksgiving is just one more excuse to see them. We have already discussed this and made plans to coordinate our mealtimes. One fun way we are choosing to share our dinner even more closely is through exchanging and preparing the same recipes. Whether you have old family favorites or you want to check out the latest avant garde book on cooking turkey from your library, this is one more way to be close to your family even when you’re not necessarily next to one another.
I’m not a baker but I know plenty of people who are and this holiday season they are going to be giving our postal system a run for its money by preparing and sending delicious goodies to their families. Some tips I have heard are to wrap cookies individually in wax paper and to include a slice of bread inside the container to keep things fresh. Of course, make sure to pack everything nice and tight for a safe journey.
As we know, Thanksgiving is about so much more than just the food. That is why my family and I have also decided to participate in our own ‘book club’ this holiday season. We chose to read Lisa Unger’s “Confessions on the 7:45” which came out last month for our first pick. This is a thriller about two women who meet on a train and share their secrets and the subsequent disappearance of one of the women’s nannies. My family intends to have a post-dinner discussion about the book and then recommend new titles for our next “meeting.” Several of us already had this book in mind but if you are in need of some suggestions, the friendly faces behind the desk of your local library are ready and willing to help you choose. My bet is they already have a good idea of what you like.
My family is also looking forward to next year when we are planning to invent new holidays for the ones where we could not be together now. How does a second Thanksgiving sound to you? Personally, I welcome any excuse to eat stuffing and mashed potatoes or, my absolute favorite, green bean casserole. How about a redo on Halloween or anything else you might have missed? I say we have double the holidays next year, but any way you slice it, these are all things to look forward to. In the meantime, please have a wonderful and innovative Thanksgiving–however you choose to celebrate it!
