I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! It was so wonderful to take time off from the blog and get ready for the holidays that I think I just might have to do that the week of Christmas too! I am having a hard time getting back in the swing of things now that I have had that time off though. I did a lot of crafting, cooking, and tackling some of our holiday shopping & chores. It was definitely not a vacation, but it was really nice to get to spend more quality time in the evenings with my family.
Our Thanksgiving feast this year was really special because I got to have both sides of our family together for the big dinner. Pictured above were the beautiful crafts that my children created at school that adorned the kid’s table this year. I have to say, with beauty like that, who needs to splurge for fancy centerpieces!
We started the day off with the annual Thanksgiving Day parade. The kids really seemed to love the parade this year and the Rockettes were a huge hit with Emily. Next year I am hoping to incorporate this Thanksgiving Parade Bingo into our annual traditions!
This year I was in charge of the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin cornbread, the cheese ball, and the punch. I tried to make as much as I could ahead of time, but left the turkey, cornbread, and gravy for last. This year, I opted for two turkey breasts instead of the whole turkey since no one is really a big fan of the dark meat. I had thirteen pounds of turkey breast and only had enough for a sandwich leftover. Now I am craving leftover turkey sandwiches so I am thinking I am going to make another one just for us to enjoy now that the festivities are over.
These turkeys did turn out great, but I will admit that I am still learning about turkey roasting. I watched a lot of Martha Stewart Thanksgiving episodes before I made these birds! I will share the recipe with you next year for another idea for your Thanksgiving recipes.
More importantly though, I got to spend time with my family!
My brother & sister.
My husband’s side of the family (mom, dad, sister-in-law, & us)
My mom & dad.
My grandma & mom.
My grandma-in-law, sister-in-law, & my mother-in-law.
My sister’s family (my nephews, sister, & brother-in-law)
My little family.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday too that was spent with those you love! We are excited to share more ideas for the holiday season and ways to enjoy simple celebrations on a budget! I will be dusting off lots of our older entries and sharing more on our Facebook page as we prepare for the holidays!