Talane’s Blog of the Week, November 20, 2006

Time to Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the turkey and mashed potatoes, and I love being with my family. Since moving to England, things have changed. It is an American holiday and not celebrated in the UK. As my relatives all live in the U.S. it is much more difficult to celebrate the day with them. Undaunted, I decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner for our new friends here.

During dinner, I ask everyone to share one thing they are particularly thankful for in their lives between the turkey course and the pumpkin pie. It is very moving. Then we play charades in teams, which is hysterically funny. In moving overseas, Thanksgiving has evolved from a family feast followed by football, to a late night dinner party for adults only with lots of drinking and silly games. Everyone looks forward to it each year and vies for an invitation. In fact, one couple just declined a black tie invitation so that they could attend. In three years it has grown from a party of 12 to 21!

I have learned a few things: 1) Pumpkin pie is a peculiarly American dessert. The first year I forced everyone to at least try a tiny sliver, but I’ve given that up. We do just one pumpkin pie for me to eat at breakfast — excellent with coffee — and serve apple pie, ginger cake and chocolate cake instead. 2) I’ve changed the date to Friday or Saturday night because no one over here has Thanksgiving Thursday off. 3) The English do not like to mix savory foods with sweet foods. The first year I made a frozen cranberry ice cream-like dish (a strange, but yummy family tradition) and served it with the main course. No one would touch it so I had to serve it with dessert.

Modifying the holiday has made it better than ever. Although I always loved Thanksgiving, it is even more fun now. If you aren’t happy with your holidays, tweak them until you are.

Regardless of where you are and whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, take a few minutes to jot down everything in your life you are grateful for. And of course, remember, life is short, eat as much as you can!

Warmest,
Talane