Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday

Actually, it's the eve of my favorite holiday - Black Friday!  Every year, starting the day before Thanksgiving, I begin the preparations:  House cleaned, clothes packed, manicure, pedicure, extra lines worked.  Then Thanksgiving day, the family comes to my house (my parents, 3 siblings and their families plus me and hubs and 3 kids).  We have an early Thanksgiving dinner - 2 p.m. 

By 5 p.m., the guys are all watching football, the kids are playing video games, and we women begin staking out our big day.  We have the sales papers all over the table, the Sharpie's poised and ready to mark our intended targets.  Usually around 6 or 7 p.m., my company packs it in and calls it a day.  My hubs then heads to Wal-Mart (yes on Thanksgiving day) to buy his stock of groceries/snacks for the weekend.  While he's out, I soak in the tub for a good hour.  Then I call my girlfriend, with whom I'll be spending the weekend, and we go over the final plans just 1 last time.  I print out our agenda on the computer and then try to get myself to bed early, usually by 10 p.m.

At 3:00 a.m. Black Friday, the alarm goes off.  I'm out of that bed like a rocket and into the shower.  By 4:00 a.m., I'm at my best friend's house.  We throw her suitcases in the back and head off to our local Wal-Mart for the first finds of the day.  We usually have our stuff checked out and back in the car by 6:15 a.m.  Then we head off to our yearly shopping extravaganza.  We spend the weekend in Lancaster, PA where there's crafting, outlets, and mall shopping.  Our hotel has a hot tub and an indoor pool.  We catch all the great buys at the dept stores in Lancaster and then spend the rest of Friday crafting.  We have a nice dinner and then head back to the hot tub.

Saturday's more of the same, mostly outlets and the mall.  We usually meet up with the rest of our crew -- about 10 of us, all ladies, no kids.  We have dinner and go over all the best buys we got.  Come Sunday, we sleep in a little late and then check out of the hotel.  Not much opens early on Sunday, not even the mall, in Lancaster (home of the Amish).  We finish up our day at the mall and then head over to the Olive Garden for a farewell dinner.  We usually end up making it home by 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. Sunday night.

Okay - now you've got me all excited.  I can hardly wait.  As for my hubs and 3 kids, they usually buddy up and have sleepovers.  Saturday is a definite movie day.  They almost always have a must-see Christmas movie out Thanksgiving weekend.  Sunday, they pretty much lay around and wait for me.  My hubs usually gets the indoor Christmas decorations out for me to get started on.  We usually put the outdoor ones up the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I SOOOOOO CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!  It is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year, my second fav being Christmas Eve (I love the anticipation of what's to come).  Thanksgiving is only 107 days away!!!!

• I know it's still a ways off but what do you do? - Deer Widow
  • I've had some of my best mountain-bike adventures - all by myself on T-giving day.
  • Why not drive down to your parents on - Wednesday and have some family time.(NM)
  • I understand it is different in every family - mtmomof2
  • Mine informs me of these sorts of things all the time (sm) - Anything-you-can-hunt Widow
  • This is what I used to do (sm) - An Iowan
  • Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - shopaholic
    • I AM SO JEALOUS!!!! nm - day late, dollar short
  • Wow! I am actually shocked! - tm
    • Exactly what I was thinking....Thanksgiving - with family should come first IMO.....nm
    • or think of some elders or - sm

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Now that the holidays are just around the corner we'll be seeing more and more holiday movies.  I'm not into the holidays, but I do like holiday movies.  What are some of your favorites.  I like:

1.  Home for the Holidays (starring Holly Hunter) - very funny.

2.  Bed of Roses (with Christian Slater) - very Romantic.

3.  All the cartoon/animation kids shows like Dr. Seusse's Grinch that Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Rednose Rheindeer (DH loves to imitate the abdominal snow man - and we walk around singing we are Santa's elves while we make movements with our arms like the the animated characters - it's a hoot and we always end up laughing).  :-)

4.  Homecoming - Christmas story with the Waltons.

Do not stress about your house. Celebreate your family and friends.

Last year I looked around our table and wondered how many would be back. It looks like everyone might be.

Our mother is quite ill and no improvement expected (except heaven). One sister-in-law has pancreatic cancer. One brother has prostate cancer  and the hormones caused an MI. Another brother just had AAA sugery. This list goes on.

Last year I did not expect everyone to be alive in November of 2008 so I just choose to be grateful we will be together again.

Abraham Lincoln's successors as president followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving. But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with this tradition. November had five Thursdays that year, and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving rather than the fifth one. In 1940, in which November had four Thursdays, he declared the third one as Thanksgiving. Although many popular histories state otherwise, he made clear that his plan was to establish it on the next-to-last Thursday in the month instead of the last one. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. Increasing profits and spending during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would help bring the country out of the Depression. At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate.

It may have been a very hard year for my family but I have a LOT to be thankful for -- including this wonderful group of colleagues!

At turkey time last year, Monique White was unemployed, living in a cramped motel room and pining for the Thanksgivings of her childhood, when dozens of people would gather for a holiday feast.

Today a receptionist at a dentist's office, she has a townhouse in Littleton, Colo. And, thanks to an Internet posting, a list of Thanksgiving dinner guests — strangers all — who will help her eat nine turkeys, four hams, 16 boxes of stuffing and a dozen or so pies.

How did this happen?

White, 36, was feeling a bit lonesome a week ago; her two sons were planning to spend the holiday with their father. And though her longtime partner, Doug White, would be there for her on Thanksgiving, she longed to be surrounded by many more people.

So she posted invitations on Craigslist, the Internet classifieds site. In part, one read:

"Maybe you are someone who is new in town and doesn't have anywhere to go. Maybe you are a small family that wouldn't be able to afford Thanksgiving dinner otherwise. Maybe you are just looking to change up your normal Thanksgiving tradition. ... We have room at our table this year."

She figured four folks, maybe five would answer. But then the replies poured in: People laid off from work. People with no family. People ashamed to bring their children to a Thanksgiving dinner at a soup kitchen.

"I thought: There's was no way I can judge who is worthy of sitting at my table. I have to invite them all," White says.

In all, 32 people are expected for dinner.

When White's boss heard what she was doing, he offered to pay for the food. Then a local hotel offered to provide tables and chairs. Then a professional magician said he would like to perform for the kids.

Certainly a far cry from Thanksgiving 2007, White says. "Last year it was just us two. It was horrible."

Doug White has been busy baking turkeys, putting one in the oven as soon as another comes out.

"People need to stop being so worried about me, me, me, my bills, my life," he says. "You stop worrying, and look what happens?"

This was brought up on another board and I wanted to know who was working. If you are, is it because you are "forced" to work on those days? If you are, please name the company so I can make sure I don't apply to that company. Why do people think that just because we work FROM HOME that we are obligated, more so than in house employees, to work on major holidays. I understand we are in healthcare and I know some will want to work while others don't want to. I say that if I CHOOSE not to work on those days then that shows I am prioritizing my life with family coming before my job. I'm sorry if that "hurts anyones feelings" but that is the truth and I don't think any company should ever, ever, ever push you or make you work on those 2 major holidays. You deserve them off - and if you WANT to work on those days then go for it. More power to you.

and if you should be in an accident or have a death in the family or have an emergency any other time during the year you have my word that I would cover your shift and take care of turn around times for you any other time, but don't make me work on a major holiday because I am not your slave.

I need help with some ideas for turkey day treats that start with N for my kindergartener's class.  I can only think of the following:

nuts

nectarine

noodles

I hope you all have something to be thankful for!!! 

what works to keep you in budget if you have one?   My husband and teenager went WAY over budget last year for Christmas so this year I've told them that it's cash only for their purchases and no internet shopping (that got them in trouble last year buying too much stuff because they didn't bother to track how much they were spending).

We've got $1300 budgeted for this Christmas.  That includes $150 each kid for Santa gifts (2 kids), $100 each for my husband and myself to get each other something, each of us gets $100 total to get gifts for each other (i.e. kids get $100 to buy gifts for each other as well as we parents), $50 each allotted for our 3 parents, $25/each alotted for each of our siblings  (small gifts always given - agreed amongst siblings years ago) and $50 to get gifts for the kids teachers and bus drivers.  It sure adds up, doesn't it? 

The night after Thanksgiving, we order a large pizza for dinner, watch Christmas Vacation and Polar Express, and then drink hot chocolate while the kids decorate the Christmas tree and the cats act like kittens again.  What does everyone else do?

Of course, there are zillions of commercials now with Christmas coming up.  I just had to tell you my favorite and see if you have one. This would be fun.  This week, there have been tons of diamond commercials on TV, Zales, etc.  There is one where the family comes down the stairs and somebody is sneaking a look in a present (it should be one of the kids).  All they show is the mom and a close up of her face being caught! Then they say something about diamonds etc.  I usually don't pay attention to commercials but I love that! She looks like a real mom, and I felt like that was what I would do, getting caught at sneaking a look. (Of course it would not be diamonds, but I'd still get caught even if it was a blender LOL).