Thanksgiving Obsession

Several years ago (when we still traveled for holidays), the night before Thanksgiving, our flight to Utah was cancelled. After a few devastating hours of disappointment I decided I better make sure we had some kind of a Thanksgiving dinner the next day. I rushed to the grocery store and grabbed whatever I could find. It was just me and my husband but that wasn’t going to stop me. In my world, you eat turkey on Thanksgiving no matter what. I had so much fun preparing the meal and Kelly and I had such a pleasant weekend together that we decided to make it a tradition. It’s been 7 or 8 years now (I’ve lost count) and we look forward to our own Thanksgiving every year. I love to cook but it’s time consuming and my favorite foods aren’t exactly healthy. So, I save the big stuff for holidays and Thanksgiving is the biggest food event of my year. We love to share the meal with family or friends but even when it’s just the two of us, I still go all out. Ridiculous? Maybe, but the fun is worth it for me and we never have a hard time finding friends to come share leftovers with us. That has become a tradition in itself.

Here’s my menu for 2007:

Core Menu
Turkey
Gravy
Stuffing
Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry butter

Appetizers
Puff Pastry Brie Melts

Side Dishes
Green Bean Casserole
Baked Yams
Fettuccine Alfredo

Desserts
Pumpkin Pie
Coconut Cream Pie

Drinks
Hot Chocolate
Sparkling Cider

Figuring out how to prepare and serve a full Thanksgiving menu all by myself has been an exciting challenge. To that end, I’ve created a series of documents that help me plan and execute Thanksgiving each year. I can't upload the actual documents but I'll post the text of them here. They include my

Recipes
Shopping List
Thanksgiving Day Schedule

It’s everything needed to plan, shop for, prepare, and serve my 2007 Thanksgiving Menu. I’ve tested all the recipes multiple times and they are my very favorites. You could do three things with this info:

1) Use it to do exactly as I do for Thanksgiving. If you’ve never done Thanksgiving before I promise this will save you a lot of work and stress. You might want to eliminate a few dishes though your first time around.

2) Customize my plans to your menu and schedule.

3) Just read them and laugh at my obsession. You won’t be the first.

UPDATE: I can't figure out how to post the docs and they are all in tables so they don't post well on the blog. I'll keep working on this and find a way to post the info.

Gift Ideas

Thanks to http://www.organizedchristmas.com/, I'm halfway through my Christmas shopping. I am always on the lookout for unique and quality gift ideas and have accumulated a list of favorite stores and websites that I think everyone should know about. So here there are:

Red Envelope
This is a great place for high-quality, sophisticated, and unique gifts. I often get ideas from this site and then find or make a less expensive version. If you do purchase from them the packaging really makes a statement. I especially love the "Shop by recipient" feature of the website. They also have a catalog. Some friends and I recently figured out how to make our own $10 version of a $100 Famly Tree display that they sell. I'll post a picture of my tree as soon as it's complete.

The Land of Nod
I first found this store at the University Village Shopping Center in Seattle. They have a unique collection of old fashioned toys, books, furniture, and decor items that you don't see everyday. Again, you can get great ideas here and then find or make it for less.

Constructive Playthings
A friend just turned me on to this site. Toys for kids that actually require imagination and activity. I found some reasonably priced items and some over-priced ideas. My favorite section is "creativity" (from the left hand list on the home page). I want to get the Monet Art Activity Pack Item #: CHR-35L and the Masterpiece Board Books Item #: CHR-4L. I haven't ordered from them yet so I can't speak to quality.

Discount School Supply
I found this site while looking for art supplies. They have a broad and deep selection of anything and everything you might find in a classroom. And I think their prices are phenomenal. They offer free shipping on orders over $79. I once placed a large order that included lots of heavy items and didn't pay a cent in shipping. I was very happy with the quality too. Get a group of friends together and place one order to get the free shipping deal. Love their catalog too.

Dover Publications
Fantastic collection of classic books for all ages and interests. My favorites are the Dover Thrift titles that sell for as little as $1 each. We often give "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens instead of candy and cookies to friends and acquaintances at Christmas time. Thanks for the idea Alyson and Steve! I also love their art activity books and coloring books for kids. And to avoid shipping, ask your favorite bookstore to special order any title you want. They'll call you when it comes in and you go to the store and pay for it there.

Amazon.com
Did you know amazon sells more than books? My husband loves the electronics selection. This is where I go to actually purchase many of the ideas I get from other places. I almost always find the lowest price on books here. With free shipping on orders over $25 it’s a no-brainer. We are also big fans of the site’s wish list feature. We keep an amazon wish list for each member of our family. Anyone who knows our names can find our wish lists and it’s a fun place to dream. There are some pretty preposterous things on my husband’s wish list. Check mine out if you’re curious: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1WZQ3DI0GLD5N/

One of the best received gifts we found here was the annual Mathematics Calendar by Theoni Pappas. Every day on the calendar poses a math problem whose answer is the day’s date. It’s a unique but not too personal gift for the math geek in your life. I’m surrounded by engineers and finance guys so I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of this one.

Creative Custom Lettering
If you're remotely crafty and want to give an inexpensive, personal gift this site has some great ideas. They specialize in custom vinyl lettering that you can apply to nearly anything. Last year I made and gave a couple family name signs like this: http://www.creativecustomlettering.com/inc/iview/257?idx=16&p=3236.

Lillian Vernon
This site reminds me of Red Envelope, but a little more focused on items for the home. I often see items I like from this site listed in Real Simple magazine. Great ideas and they have great sales too.

So I've shared my list, will you share yours? What are the best gifts you've given or recieved and what are your sources? I'm always looking for good ideas...

UPDATE: A couple friends have emailed their ideas to me:

- homemade jam (made in the summer) for neighbor gifts
- http://www.mindwareonline.com/ they sell "brainy toys for kids of all ages." Looks great. I'm excited to explore this one
- http://www.rainbowresource.com/ this looks like a collection of educational stuff (books, workbooks, science kits, toys, games etc.) I was especially interested in their Holiday and Gift Section, then within that, the stocking stuffers.

Halloween

Isabel went through about 5 different costume ideas before finally settling on being an Angel. We were at the party store to look for a cat costume when we saw the angel costume. I asked Isabel what she thought about being an angel instead of a cat. She responded enthusiastically so I picked up the costume to check it out. It was only $10 which seemed reasonable - until I looked more closely. It didn't include wings, just a halo, and the dress was a flimsy, uninspired, piece of polyester. I noticed wing and halo sets nearby for $5. I said to Isabel, “Look at this angel dress. It’s not very pretty. Mommy can make you a more beautiful dress than this. What do you think?” She consented and we left the store with the wings and halo. I had a lot of fun making her robe. I had a general idea of what I thought it should look like in my head but I didn’t sketch anything out or make a pattern. I went through all of my white, gold, and silver fabrics and let that inspire me. I sort of felt like a designer, draping fabrics over her shoulders, tucking and pinning, and then sewing a little here a little there. It won’t win any awards but we were both quite pleased with the result. It helps that Isabel already looks like an angel. Forgive me for being a proud parent. Aunt Jill did her makeup and that was fun to watch. Trick or treating with our cousins, Luke and Mercedes, was a blast. Isabel and Luke really "got it" this year. Their excitement was catching. It feels like a second childhood for me.