Hello weekend! Before we get started enjoying the festivities, wanted to get these 10 questions about Thanksgiving off to you for this month’s 10 on the 10th post. Our November 10 on the 10th posts will go live a week from Tuesday. Hope you will join me!!
Earlier this month we ‘celebrated’ Columbus Day. There isn’t really much celebration to the holiday other than the mail doesn’t run, and PC gets a day off from work. Around here, Christopher Columbus is better known as Cristobal Colon. And he is not hailed as hero. I remember as a child learning the names of the explorer’s ships, the Nina, which was actually La Niña – pronounced neen-ya; the Pinta – which we pronounced pen-tuh but is really peen-tuh. And the Santa Maria, pretty straightforward.
The first Thanksgiving in reality was less about turkey and ham and more about venison and shellfish. And new friendships, alliances that would sadly, soon disintegrate. It was about giving gratitude. The pilgrims were accustomed to giving thanks before and after every meal. The Native Americans living in the area also gave thanks as a part of their daily routine. Because so few women survived the pilgrim’s first year in the new world, children and single men did much of the cooking. Hey, I like that idea!!
10 Questions About Thanksgiving
Please feel free to use any of the 10 on the 10th graphics for your post. Here are the 10 questions about Thanksgiving for this month.
First Five
- Will you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade? Football? Movies? Or maybe you keep the TV off all day, but play family football or board games. Would love to know what you do before Tom Turk is ready.
- Who does the cooking? Fix anything ahead of time? I think I have probably cooked every Thanksgiving but maybe a half-dozen since I became a wife and a mom.
- What time do you eat the big meal? Do you eat Thanksgiving for lunch or dinner or somewhere in between?
- Do you set a formal table or keep things more casual? Place cards? Children’s table? Is it just your family coming together for the feast? Or do you have extended family and friends around your table?
- Is the food placed on the table or served buffet style? I always apologize to my guests for my lack of formality. Do you pull out all the stops or keep things simple? Have you ever eaten out for Thanksgiving?
Second Five
- Ham or turkey? What’s for dessert? Who carves the meat? Does anyone make a wish on the wishbone?
- Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition? Do you say a blessing before you eat? Stay up late then head out for Black Friday shopping?
- Yay or nay to leftovers? Favorite leftover recipe? Maybe you enjoy leftovers for days to come or send them all home with the guests.
- What will everyone wear? Dress up or comfy? Will there be family photos taken?
- For what are you most thankful this year? In what ways are the things you are grateful for this year different from years past?
And here’s the graphic.
Please feel free to make the questions your own and take them in a different direction or expound on them in your own way.
Your Turn
Have you begun making holiday plans? Is planning even a worthwhile way for us to spend our time this year?? Seems like a colossal waste of time to try to plan anything here with things so up in the air with Covid. I am afraid to buy a turkey or a ham til the day before Thanksgiving!!
Enjoy a pleasant weekend. Be safe and stay healthy. Thank you for spending a few moments of your day here with me.
Hugs and kisses,
Erica/Erika
Nice to read about your month, Leslie. I was not aware few women survived the pilgrim’s first year. As you know, we had our Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. Everything is different this year. Still VERY thankful. You are right, difficult to plan. We were advised today, no company to our homes. Expected with all that is going on. Still grateful. You and your loved ones stay safe and healthy. xx
Leslie Roberts Clingan
We have been advised not to have company for Thanksgiving either. My sister and her husband are driving
from Houston, so we are breaking the rules. But they are coming from a place where Covid is not as bad
to a place where the cases are out of control. We feel sure they won’t be bringing the virus to us and just
pray we don’t give it to them.
Donna Connolly
We’ve celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada in early October.
Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving, Leslie!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Donna. We are hoping to have my sister visit, which is against all the restrictions but
we are soooo tired of being shut away from the rest of the world. Praying she will stay well.
kirstin troyer
Can’t wait to join in. It does seem weird, we are usually pretty small anyways for gatherings so we’ll probably keep it the same as usual.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Small gatherings suit me fine!!
Christie Hawkes
This is definitely a strange year, but I think our Thanksgiving celebration won’t be too different. Since we have a blended family, and now the children are all married, so there are in-laws to consider, we haven’t gotten all together for Thanksgiving for a number of years. We’ve had dinner with one or the other of the children most years. We’re planning to have dinner with one of our daughters and her family–assuming everyone is healthy. What will be different is not having Larry’s mom with us (she’s in an assisted living center) and not visiting my mother (who passed away just after Christmas last year).
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I know you will be missing the moms this year at your Thanksgiving table. Hope your MIL has something festive prepared at her assisted living center. Hope everyone can stay well so you can be with your daughter and family on the big day.
Liz Klebba
Looking forward to playing! (Although I still haven’t got the technology side of linking up figured out…) Our T-Day will be very different; I’m not expecting our normal 14 or so, it will most likely be just the three of us (Maybe 4?), with maybe another two stopping by for dessert if they can. I’ll buy a turkey, but won’t need to buy the extra breast I roast on Friday for leftovers! As for planning, it’ll likely be pretty loose. 2020 is certainly trying to break me of that control habit. I LOVE DD Eisenhower’s quote: Plans are useless, but planning is essential.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Eisenhower was a wise man!! 2020 has been hard for all of us who like to plan and be in control. I would like to think I will be over trying to control things when life returns to normal. But I bet I will be worse than ever.
Dara
I’m not sure…it’ll just be us, but I remember crowds in the supermarket in the past and that makes me nervous!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
We bought out T’giving stuff last week and didn’t have the usual crowds. Maybe everyone was home sick?
Bri
I’m excited about this post. Going to try and squeeze in time today to get mine done to join tomorrow. Thanks, Leslie!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yay!!