Here is the clue and rafflecopter for the Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt for those of you who are doing it. Kathi is grateful for Snow. Simply enter the word snow into the rafflecopter in the appropriate space.
Here is the link to the rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/df645d05156/?
Now onto the Blog.
My family is big on tradition. We have traditions for every holiday, every season, every everything. I will admit that as my children and nieces and nephews have aged, and their children have increased in number, some of the whole family traditions have fallen by the wayside. My parents have 4 children, 4 children in-laws, 11 grandchildren, 7 grandchildren in-laws, and 22 great grandchildren. That’s a lot of people to gather together in one place at one time. Still we try and sometimes succeed.
Most Thanksgivings when my children were younger either my parents, my sisters, or my husband and I, would host a huge dinner for everyone that could make it. Some Thanksgivings we had close to 40 family members for dinner. It was always a good time with lots of love and lots of laughter. There were times, such as the year my grandson Xavier passed, that there was an overlying sadness to the event, but even in these less than perfect years we all tried to embrace that which we did have and were grateful for.
Another Thanksgiving Tradition was for the entire family to climb into our 4 wheel drive vehicles and head into the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree. We usually did this on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We’d pack a lunch, usually chili dogs and hot cocoa, and trudge through the forest in small groups searching for the tree that would usher in the Christmas season. Some years we had nice weather, other years it rained or snowed, but it was always a memorable event.
I am going to give away a Paperback or Kindle copy of The Cat of Christmas Past and a Cat of Christmas Past Tote to a random winner. I am actually going to be flying on the day this blog publishes so I may not be able to respond to every comment, but I will take some time on Saturday morning to read every comment and select a winner.
To be entered to win comment below with a Thanksgiving tradition or memory.
Random Thoughts and Meaningless Musings 
Thank you for your wonderful giveaways. Looking for a real christmas tree sounds like a great tradition. I bet it was a lot of fun.
As a child we always went looking at Christmas lights on Christmas eve
Watching the Kansas City Plaza Christmas lighting ceremony on Thanksgiving night.
Like you, we always try and get together but with family scattered it’s hard..this year I will be able to get together with family as we travel to Tennessee.we will,put up the tree and decorate my mom’s house..kids and hubby are going to the Tenn vandy football game and if will get to spend my birthday with my mom..a perfect day
As a child it just wasn’t Thanksgiving without watching the parades on the television. I can remember the first time getting to watch it in color. I was awe struck. The good smells coming from the kitchen, stays in my mind as well, my Mother was an awesome southern cook. I still make her sweet potato every year for Thanksgiving. We put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. I make a chili supper and it is lists of fun. My kitties love the tree and sleep under it for the duration it is up.Safe travels Kathi!
When I was growing up, my mother’s family always ate Thanksgiving and Christmas at my grandmother’s. I have wonderful memories of those times. My grandparents, my mom and her brothers and sisters, their spouses, and all my cousins. There were 12 cousins, and my grandmother called us the Dirty Dozen.
When I was growing up, I would watch the Macy’s parade while my parents cooked. Then family would come for a noontime meal. We would eat our fill, then all go to my mom’s younger brothers house to eat again, my aunt made the best ham salad sandwiches EVER. Once we went back home we would put up the tree, always artificial, and then decorate it.
I’ve been going to my daughters for Thanksgiving for several years. She started the Turkey Trot race for her subdivision people and friends. We are out there on Thanksgiving morning 5:30 or 6 placing signs and then waiting for the race to start. I am a volunteer time keeper. So much fun!! We also go on Friday or Saturday to get their Christmas trees, one for the family and one for my grandson. The other grandparents usually join us for this also. Love the excitement of children at holidays. It’s always so much fun to see. Your family sounds awesome. Y’all do some of the neatest things.
I enjoy going to Michigan for Thanksgiving and spending time with family and friends and visiting with my sister. Also, watching the Thanksgiving Day parade on Thanksgiving morning.
As a child we had a large family gathering with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins (dinner followed by board games and jigsaw puzzles). Now, we have a quiet dinner at home with our daughters (our son isn’t available to join us and our Granddaughter is with her Mother’s family). We try to get away with Gianna the weekend before to celebrate her birthday and our daughters. So, we are at the “Zoo Hotel” in the Dells and will be celebrating this evening. During the days we share our Gianna time between the indoor water park, the indoor amusement park and their creative activities area. For added fun Dashiocon is here this weekend so Gianna and her Aunties will be dressing in costume and joining that fun. Trying to make memories, take lots of photos to share with our son and for a few days leave the worries and concerns behind. We’ve learned to be thankful for everything. Every day and every breath are a gift that we can not take for granted. Hug your loved one tightly, tell them how much you love them as today is precious.
family reunion at Thanksgiving
I lived on Whidbey Island growing up and more often than not it was stormy on Thanksgiving. We would have frequent power outages. On more than one occasion, we had to finish cooking the turkey on a barbecue and using our grandparents 5th wheel to finish cooking the side dishes. Crazy, but fun.
As a child we had big family dinners, but now that it’s just my husband and I and our daughter, we go out to eat and have a lovely afternoon. I especially enjoy it because I am the rare person that doesn’t like turkey.
Growing up we always exchanged gifts on Christmas eve and then Santa brought the presents on Christmas day. As we grew older the presents on Christmas were from Mom and Dad, but we still exchanged some on Christmas eve, just because we always did it that way. Thanks for the chance to win.
After the meal has been eaten and all of the dishes cleaned and put away, the family sits down at the table and we begin addressing the Christmas cards to family and friends. Of course, that often leads my dad to share memories of events with those family members or friends.
I love Thanksgiving. I love the food, the family, the friends. I love it all
As a child in a foster home that was so abusive we would cook the meal in the kitchen and all the girls would help, Then we would gather in the family room and we would eat together 25 people that was their 3 adult children then 22 of us foster children and for that moment for me I always put behind me what was going on and what was done to me . It was also the 1st Thanksgiving I had as I was in the that foster home at 9 and never celebrated Thanksgiving before so this was my first and also it was my crash course in cooking. I am thankful that I learned so much and went from 9 to cooking for the full family at 10 until I left there at 16 to my grandmas. Thankful that i learned how to cook at that time!
As a child, Thanksgiving (and Christmas) was a family gathering of my extended family members (aunts, uncles, and cousins) because the they were spread out across the country. Everyone would bring food to help feed the horde. It was a great way to catch up (and as a child trying to figure out who everyone was and how they were related). Also we had the wish bone tradition (two people put and whoever has the biggest piece get to make a wish).
Thank you for the giveaway!
myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com
When I was young, we would go to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Always a fun time!
I was a Navy brat and never had a Thanksgiving or Christmas with Daddy. The Navy wives would gather and have a big dinner together. I was an only and my mother an orphan with my Daddy’s family back East so we had a different type of family , all women who supported each other so their husbands didn’t have to worry so much as they fought WWll. Still Thanksgiving was a blessing.
Ruth you are the winner. Congrats!
I think my favorite Thanksgiving memory is making hard sauce to go over the mince pie. Our mother and we girls would gather the ingredients and prepare the sauce while talking about this, that and everything else! Then the warm hard sauce over the mince pie, along with the fresh whipped cream we made while the sauce settled.
I miss those days. No one in the family does this any more.
I love traditions, whether we are together in a small or large group. Each year on Thanksgiving after we get the turkey and stuffing in the oven, someone will come in because of the delicious smell. We will all take a little break and have a little saucer of stuffing, just a preview of the delicious dinner to come.
Thanks for the great giveaway and for sharing your traditions.
I loved learning about your family and your traditions. One of our traditions as children was to decorate the house for Christmas on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
As an only child we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving with Turkey and all the fixings so I treasure getting together with as many of my children, their significant others, and grandchildren to enjoy a huge feast.
Our tradition has always been to share our meal with Mom and Dad until we moved away. Since then we have become the Mom and Dad in the equation and we love having our family on Thanksgiving.
As a kid we usually had dinner at my oldest sister’s place, we usually had a rousing game of stealing the skin from the turkey, I remember being chased around the table once, LOL. Now days we don’t usually celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving, one daughter works, hubby works and my other daughter and I have to get up super early the next day, so trying to get a meal ready and eaten doesnt’ work well so now we celebrate on Sat. or Sun. when we can be together to eat.
I really enjoyed your post, Kathi! You have lovely traditions! We always watched Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and oohed and ahhed over the gigantic, intricate floats! Thank you for another grand contest and I hope that you and your family have a wonderfu Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving at my brother’s house. I miss his Sally Lunn bread (and him, most of all) and my sister-in-law’s green bean bundles
We had all the standards, too.
A Thanksgiving tradition is to watch the Macy Day Parade. I’ve had this tradition since I was a child and now share it with my children.
I would am thankful for snow, too! I wish we had some. But there will be little kids around this next week so maybe it is fine that we don’t have snow for them to track in. Our Thanksgiving tradition is going to church and singing those special Thanksgiving hymns. Then on to the feast. Happy Thanksgiving!
We have always had a family meal on Thanksgiving and then the large extended family all get together for a dessert feast. Since many of us love chocolate we have lots of chocolate desserts and pumpkin pies of course. It is always so nice to spend the time with family on the holiday.
A memorable Thanksgiving was when I was 39 weeks pregnant and cooked the entire Thanksgiving meal for my family and my best friend’s family. I was slow moving, but able to pull it off!
I am a nurse and usually work on Thanksgiving. I am so fortunate to have a husband who cooks the Thanksgiving dinner which we share with our six cats and one dachshund. Our family is spread out faraway, so it is my husband and I and of course our furry companions on the holiday.
Every year my mother would have 30 people over for Thanksgiving dinner. She would slave away in the kitchen from the early morning hours. By the time she actually got to sit down, her food was cold and most of the family were clustered in groups. One or two would offer to help with the clean up, but she rarely got a chance to actually visit with her visitors.
One year I came home for Thanksgiving and watched her set things out for baking rotation. The turkey came out and the next thing went in. As the guests started to arrive, I shooed my mother out of the kitchen to be the hostess and rolled up my sleeves, silently berating myself for not doing this for her as a teenager.
My mom had a terrific visit with her siblings. When she came into the kitchen and gave me a thank you hug, she apologized for my having been ‘stuck’ in the kitchen all day. I told her that it was my pleasure. It was my way of thanking her for the millions of little (and big) things she did just because.
Our tradition is to start putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner!
we use to always go to gramma’s for thanksgiving.. loved her oyster stuffing & oyster corn..