Thanksgiving

Hi kinky people ?. I've been a wee bit quiet but this week is American Thanksgiving. And you know my curiosity is real.

In Canada we had thanksgiving last month. We do a dinner and get together but nothing huge (usually a turkey). Do any other countries celebrate Thanksgiving? When?

I'm curious about your traditions and how you spend the holiday. It looks like a huge deal in the US and I love the holidays. What are your favorite foods? Do you do any fun activities?
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My family and I do a potluck. Everyone brings something. I am making mac and cheese, haluski, green bean casserole, and deserts. It's the one day of the year where you come together and share your thanks

I'm a huge fan of true history.
years ago, Radio show host Rush Limbaugh would broadcast his pre-recorded story of the First Thanksgiving that took place between the pilgrims and the indians. I will be listening to Clay and Buck on the radio to see if they repeat that pre-recorded story. Probably the most interesting and finely detailed American history story I've ever heard narrated by a great radio host.
Don't have a family. Will probably just grill a couple pieces of deli-sliced turkey and make a sandwich out of it.

I keep it low key. My parents, brother, and older sister stop by for the week and leave the following week.. Better going on the less heavily-traveled days. We'll do the traditional meal, hang out a bit, watch whatever NFL games are on and go to bed real early. I often turn in by 8PM do some reading and drift off to sleep.

Good old "Keep It Simple" shit.
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We sleep in the next day. Never really got into that Black Friday horseshit. I am not fond of crowds all chasing after the three or four gadgets on deep discount. Nothing wrong with it, it's just that the hassle doesn't dunk my donut.

I'm with you! My relatives seem like they're from a different tribe than me both socially and politically. My baby sister (an atheist) holds family Thanksgiving dinner every year and expects some relatives and friends to show up. I haven't been for the last few years. She's on the outs with two of her brothers so they never came and she doesn't want them. I don't even know what their feud is, and don't care.
I can just eat my simple meal at home and do without all their drama, but somebody needs to set them all straight. Brotherly love and all that, ya know.
I'm totally with you about the black Friday thing too. I'm big on saving a buck, but those discounts aren't enough to get me out into that madness. I was forced into it ONE time years ago having something to do with office equipment and I will never do it again.
NFL....forget that. I turned it off years ago when Colin Kapernick exploded about some political BS. I'm sittin there like, what are ya talking about man? This is supposed to be a freekin football game. People come here to get away from politics. I never watched another game again. Same thing with the covid lockdowns. Every store that posted mandatory mask sign never got my business again after that. Boycotting is soooo much fun....not. But I'm done!

All of my immediate family moved to the southeast USA and my parents are dead. So I'll go to either Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel tomorrow and get a Turkey Dinner and eat it Thursday. I'll say Happy Thanksgiving to family and friends via Facebook. Our church has a service on Wednesday night but I can't go because I'm sick with a sinus infection that I got last weekend being around crowds on two separate days. I'm sad about that because once a year we get the whole congregation from both our campuses together for Thanksgiving and I get to see friends who are usually at the satellite campus, while I'm at the main one. I've been binge watching episodes of When Calls the Heart lately so I'll continue doing that Thursday.

Indeed there are eateries open on Thanksgiving that put out a good spread (... with the shortage of workers forcing many restaurants around here to curtail hours or service I'm surprised they can get enough staff to come in but apparently some do. )

As for the NFL I'll always like it. I didn't let that Kaepernick noise affect me. I ignored it much like I ignore the far-overblown Swiftie hype surrounding Kansas City games. (we'll see how long that crap lasts. She's slumming it, running around and pretending to be hooked on a big, dumb jock-strap)

I am glad she is on tour and not at the games now because from what I heard, albeit probably exaggerated by talking heads, they showed her in the stands practically efter every play.

Puh-Leeze..

I can only guess but she probably sings well and can afford to keep herself looking ten years younger than she really is (Celebs all do) -- it's the hype that caused me to avoid Kansas City games until she went on tour. I'd rather go to the dentist than put up with that shit.

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My parents are still around. Up a bit in years but healthy. My family dynamic is such that we get along great if we see each other twice a year. Thanksgiving and then Christmas-to-New Years week. Same for my brother. He's a pain in the ass.

My older sister is straight laced and stuffy but fortunately she keeps to herself so that works.

oh yeah that mask bit. I try not to say much, only speak for myself. I avoided locations where they required the things except if I really had to see a doctor. As I live pretty much by myself with my roomie away far more than here because of her work-- so keeping to my daily routines unchanged-- I never caught that virus.

Anyway I'm glad you have the holiday set up the way you like it.

oh and Black Friday-- as I said they have had "black friday" going on for what seems like months so they will have "black friday" sales throughout December. Once the crowds settle down to a reasonable volume I do like to walk around in the mall and into various stores of interest. Sometimes I'll pick something up, sometimes not. Depends on a variety of factors. Price, practicality, necessity, which phase the moon is in, which way the wind blows, whether I wake up with half my nose plugged or not.. Shit like that.

Most of the time it is the Holiday ambiance and I'll always take a look where they park Santa for the season

(they stick an easter bunny in the same spot in the Spring)

-- and contemplate what it must have been like decades ago when a kid sat in the dude's lap and was treated to a whiff of booze-breath and/or the line being held up often because he 'Had to "go feed the reindeer".

That charming image was trashed early in my life when a rotten little boy in my class (every school has one) informed me that "feed the reindeer" really meant he went to go hang a leak.

Luckily for me, I don't base my holiday on some dead radio host, who the world is better off without.

Instead, I gather with my family and do a traditional roast Turkey, which I am going to brine today, mashed potatoes, oyster stuffing with homemade ciabatta and equally homemade cornbread, green bean casserole.

It is a lot of cooking but I do enjoy doing for the family. I may have a feeder fetish

Thanksgiving is kind of a big deal. To me there are three basic sorts of Turkey Day; the expat version, the in-US family version, and the low-key version.

When outside the US, it’s one of those times when expats get together and act like one big American family. And yes, we have lassos to rope people who inappropriately insert the letter ‘u’ into words into joining in on the fun. We used to have these huge parties where the house was stuffed to the gills. The format there is usually potluck, one or more dishes required, with the host generally providing the turkey. Turkey could be hard to come by in some parts, so it’s extra special.

When you live in the actual USA, it’s much more of a family thing and less…communal. You tend to be related by blood or marriage to everyone who’s invited; the family gathers and the women all chip in and cook together and the men are banished. Banished! I know! What is this, 1312? If you’re fast you can nip in and grab whatever you can get before the spoons descend and you get chased out. ;P I think they did less cooking than gabbing but eventually the food is ready and the men and kids are summoned and the feasting begins.

*smiles wistfully*
When she was healthy, s would spend pretty much the whole prior week prepping & cooking. She felt that I was being entirely unreasonable when I started instituting quantity caps on dishes. I was shocked by how much work she felt was involved in Doing The Holidays Right, and that she thought it was normal to carry the entire load herself. I vaguely remember her being Very Unhappy with me when I restricted her to something like fifteen sides, a couple of named proteins and about eight desserts in addition to what everyone else came up with. Girl, I would like to actually enjoy the week and spend time together rather than have you turn into a colossal stress-monster who has no time for anything that’s not food-related. IIRC the next year she only got to make twenty things, and somehow, very mysteriously, the number of permissible items kept dropping. I know! Completely Unreasonable Master Man.

The last few years Thanksgiving has been low-key; the house is much bigger but the attendees are far fewer. I think there are only…one to three flights involved and I’m the one doing the cooking, so ya gets what ya gets and ya says ‘Thank You.’ I’m serving turkey or ham if you’re feeling dangerous, several types of store-bought cranberry sauce, yams or sweet potatoes, probably green beans and maaaaybe one or two other dishes because I have a meatless individual coming this year, and that’s it. There will be massive quantities of the foods on offer available, but my other responsibilities don’t stop just because it’s a holiday. We’ll catch up and play games and have leisurely conversations and enjoy the time together before everyone scatters to the four winds again.

TopekaDom wrote:
"Luckily for me, I don't base my holiday on some dead radio host, who the world is better off without."

As sick as I am, I have to say that this comment was TOTALLY inappropriate. Stop criticizing others comments when they don't align with your thinking.

I think we need some serious Dom training here! Now where did I put my electric paddle?