scrubbedexpat097

Who is having traditional Turkey with the extras? Who is rebelling?

As we are alone this year because of Covid and we didn't want to faff around with trying to go out grocery shopping for extras we rebelled!

Thanksgiving day snacking or lunch is sausage rolls and cheese and onion pasties. Followed by pots of tea and vanilla fruit cupcakes.

Thanksgiving dinner in our house is Toad- in- the -hole with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy and a dessert of chocolate flan with tangerines.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all from SM and M x

Pulaski

We're skipping turkey this year as the in-laws aren't coming, and going with cheese fondue. We have a favourite, but rather expensive fondue restaurant that we often go to for birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations, but obviously haven't been there in a while. So we have bought our own fondue set-up, including a table top induction pad (which is superior to the restaurant's set-up) and while we have done the "full fondue meal" several times, meaning cheese appetizer, meats-and-vegetables-cooked-in-stock main course, and chocolate dessert course, this time we are just having a larger cheese appetizer course. We'll probably have ice cream an raspberries for dessert.

SanDiegogirl

Going traditional and having the turkey - although we don't do the 'American sides". It's roast potatoes and parsnips, chestnut stuffing and steamed veggies..... just love the left overs and cold meats with baked spuds tomorrow........ Just hubby and I.....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone......

Shard

What's the deal with Thanksgiving and Xmas dinner in the US? Is it turkey at Thanksgiving and then turkey again at Xmas ... seems so close. I've heard that in the US Thanksgiving is often seen as a bigger holiday meal/celebration than Xmas.

lizzyq

Roast rack of pork for us with hoisin and orange glaze, just 2 people to feed as elder son is with his gf's family and younger one doesn't come back from uni in New Mexico until 4th December (thus missing the peak travel time), pommes dauphines, roast cauliflower and then key lime pie for dessert. All washed down with a nice Chateauneuf du Pape that I brought back from France a couple of years ago especially for our 25th wedding anniversary (last week) but we went out for that.

The whole turkey and trimmings deal will happen on 25th December when we will be feeding at least 4 of us.

scrubbedexpat097

Around here it is turkey at Thanksgiving and then Shrimp at Christmas for most but its because we are on the gulf coast.

We usually have Lamb or Pork for Christmas.....living near the coast with all the chemical plants i really don't want locally caught Shrimp!

Shard

Has it always been like that (shrimp) ?

scrubbedexpat097

Wher we live, yes. Not sure about everywhere else.

Pulaski

In Mrs P's neck of the woods, it's ham at Christmas. We usually have steak - a rib roast/ rack of ribs, which is effectively a stack of unseparated T-bones.
Yes, Thanksgiving is the "big meal" holiday in the US.

Nutmegger

It is, because the diversity of the population means that not everyone celebrates Christmas. Thanksgiving, being basically a harvest celebration, is universal.

scrubbedexpat091

Thanksgiving tends to be a bigger gathering for many, and turkey is most popular, with regional variations.

For Christmas it was always ham for us, usually one of those honey type hams from a specific place, can't remember the name. Christmas was a small scale for us morning just my parents and sister, open presents and such, then we would go to my great aunt's house nextdoor for dinner.

Did that for Christmas for the first 15 or so years of my life, then we really did nothing after that for Christmas as we got older my mom also stopped using vacation days to get Christmas off, the OT was good during the holidays and as teens we were old enough not to need a parent home all the time.

My step family does tamales for Christmas, that is fairly popular with the Mexican community in San Diego.

Canadian Thanksgiving tends to be more low key, I don't actually know anyone in Canada who does anything for it, or travels anywhere, but it's just a 3 day weekend with the holiday being on a Monday and it's in October.

Pulaski

Nice theory, but Thanksgiving predates diversity in America, historically going all the way back to a time when virtually all immigrants were devout Christians, so on that basis, Thanksgiving is more of a "harvest festival on steroids".

In practice I suspect that that many non-American immigrants (not descended from British or central and southern Europeans immigrants) shrug their shoulders at Thanksgiving. I visited some Mexican clients today (with my mask, and discussed business outside) and Thanksgiving is nothing but a day off work for them.

scrubbedexpat097

Definitely not the same here in South Texas. Thanksgiving is huge in the Mexican community and we have a very large Hispanic community!

Of course now it is commercialized with sales and Black Friday events starting earlier every year ( except maybe not this year???)

scrubbedexpat091

It's pretty big with the Mexican community in San Diego, with a Mexican twist usually, but Mexicans certainly to celebrate it, I know my step family does, my step mom goes all out most years, although I think this year she skipped a big dinner for obvious reason.

Shard

Yeah I remember Canadian Thanksgiving being a watered down version of the American one, but I always assumed that American Christmas was similar to Canadian and British Christmas - the main family meal of the year. It does sound like turkey is not such a mainstay of American Christmas.