We have a very special feature today and tomorrow. Girlfriends Coffee Hour leaders and members have shared some of their Thanksgiving traditions for us! So, enjoy this special two-part feature. Do you have a special tradition for Thanksgiving? Leave a comment and tell us about it! We would love to hear what it is! If not, maybe the stories shared below will spark some ideas for new traditions in your home!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day!
Jennifer
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Michelle – One of the things I look forward to every Thanksgiving is my grandfather’s stuffing. He made it every year until he passed away, then my mom started making it, and when she passed away I started making it. Sooo yummy!
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Amy – I hadn’t thought much about any traditions until my husband and I got together 10 yrs ago. Our first holiday together brought a bit fussing between us because we both enjoyed cooking and kept pushing each other out of the way LOL
So we’ve since learned that he does the stuffings (one cooked inside turkey, one cooked in another pan), and the turkey. I do the side dishes & desserts. He grew up with egg noodles AND mashed potatoes (served together with gravy), while I would have just potatoes. So I’ve made sure to keep that combination going for him.
Another fun tradition that my mom started was a movie with the grandkids. After the big dinner, she will take the kids to an afternoon movie while my husband and I put away the left overs, read the paper, and relax after a busy morning of cooking. It’s been a great activity for the kids & grandma over the years.
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Tonya – The family tradition that we have started since my divorce my sister and my oldest son cooking the turkey together every year. The rest of us cook the other side dishes together and the ham. We sit down together as a family, when dinner is ready and before we eat, we go around the table saying what we are THANKFUL for and then we pray and eat. After we all eat and clear the table and we have let our food digest, we begin putting the Christmas tree up together 🙂
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Shauna – my thanksgiving holiday tradition is making my dad’s recipe for turkey gravy. Even when I was single I would make a turkey just so I could make the gravy. Felt like he was there, even though both my parents have been gone for many years now. It’s not thanksgiving without the gravy!!
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Beverly – Here are some of our traditions over the years
1. Everyone gets the opportunity to speak what they have been the most thankful for since last Thanksgiving
2. Put our Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving evening
3. After thanksgiving dinner, all the girls look at all the ads and plan our Black Friday shopping spree…meet very early about 4:00 a.m. Fri for some grits, eggs and coffee then Stand in line for the freebies at the early bird stores…
4. This year we are going to do something new we are going to have a gingerbread house building contest. Every one in the family must participate from youngest to oldest, we will draw names for teams and there will be a prize for the winners…
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Anne – I give each person a blank card to write what they are Thankful for and we put them in a basket & read them. Them we save them in our Thanksgiving box.
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Jennifer M. – Every year one of my aunts (5) or uncles (2) on my mom’s side of the family (yep, that’s 8 kids!) volunteers to host the Thanksgiving dinner (someone else does the Christmas dinner). About 30 family members gather to eat and watch football! This year we will be at my mom’s house. This year is also very special because, Thanksgiving day is also my nephew’s first birthday! We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday on Saturday!
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Christi – This recipe that I share with you today has been passed down in my family for several generations! It is a recipe my family makes every year for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Why we don’t think to make it at other times throughout the year, I have no clue! There is really no reason why it couldn’t be served with other meals throughout the year! It is that good!!
The first I tasted this recipe was when I was a little girl. My “Memay” was born in 1913 in Beaver County, Oklahoma. She was my paternal grandmother. She and my grandfather had three children. My father was the middle child. I love listening to all the stories he tells us about his childhood. Life was so different back then! We really have no idea how good we have it today!
Memay was a school teacher for many years, and then after my grandfather passed away, she put herself through beauty school and became a hair stylist. Her beauty shop was located in a back room of her home. She remarried six years after my grandfather passed away, and became a step-mom to three more children. She lived the rest of her years as a homemaker.
I loved my Memay very much! She was sure one special lady!
This recipe that I share with you today was her dish that she made with every holiday meal! I guess that’s why I always thought it was cooked for just the holidays!! LOL
Since I’ve passed this recipe onto my own daughters, and to friends, I would love to share it with you, as well! I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family does, and it will soon become a holiday for you, too!
Memay’s Potato Sausage Dressing
8 large red potatoes, cubed and boiled
1 lb sage flavored sausage, browned & drained
1 green pepper, thinly diced
2 stalks of celery, thinly diced
½ small yellow onion, diced
3 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup of milk
¼ cup butter
Salt/pepper to taste
- Dice green pepper, celery, onion into very small pieces; add to sausage and brown together with sausage.
- Boil potatoes until done; drain. Add in butter and milk. Blend w/ hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Add browned sausage, green pepper, celery, onion, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, and mix well.
- Bake in pre-heated 350-degree oven uncovered for 30 minutes.
I hope you will give this recipe a try, and then let me know what you and your loved ones thought of it! Until then, may the good Lord bless you and your loved ones during the holiday season!
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nice! it is such a blessing to hear about some of the ways your families enjoy Thanksgiving Day! (thanks, jennifer, for putting this together!) already looking forward to tomorrow's selections! <3
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Coleen!! <3
Jennifer this was AWESOME!!!
What a great post! Thanks, Jennifer, and thanks, ladies, for the ideas. Christi, I am going to try that recipe with some Butterball Turkey Sausage (link style) because I have to eat low-fat. I will probably throw some low-fat shredded cheese on top, too,… just because! I know it will be awesome!
Thank you so much Jennifer for putting this all together! Thankful for YOU!
I loved reading everyone's traditions 🙂