Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving this year was extra special. Steve and I hosted my mom's side of the family at our house this year. TWENTY TWO people. Yes, I was in over my head. But, I must say, everything went off without a hitch and it was the most memorable Thanksgiving dinners ever. My mom arrived in town the Monday before Thanksgiving to help. We (she) bought all of the groceries, she helped me move ALL of our furniture for the carpet cleaner, we decorated the tables, and she was my main squeeze in the kitchen! By 2:00 on T-day, the house was packed with all of our family! 

The second my grandpa arrived, Steve was ready with an ice cold Keystone Light for him :)

 All of the grandkids

Fun with ladderball! 

 Super carver

Festive! 

My favorite part of our Thanksgiving celebration were the dinner games. This note was at the entryway table when everyone arrived. (Don't you love the beer can rim leftover??)

Then, I wrapped the slips of paper in foil, and put the foils into the rolls before baking. I baked the rolls and before dinner told everyone to grab a roll and open it up to find the foil. Once dinner got going, we took turns opening the slips of paper and reading aloud the "thankful" note. The person with that note had to guess who wrote it. This game was hilarious, sweet, and memorable. My favorite thank you's were "I'm thankful for the Green Door" - a joke played on my grandpa by my cousin. "I'm thankful for my mom who is looking down on us all today", a sweet message about my grandma Ladonna who I KNOW was there celebrating along with us, too. "I am thankful for waking up next to someone who smiles first thing every morning" - Steve's message about me! :) All of the thank you's were creative, lovely, and fun and I highly recommend this game!!! 

The next game was Turkey Word Blitz, where I got the idea from my friend Heather. Before Thursday, I wrote down Thanksgiving day themed words on pieces of paper and hid them under everyone's placemat. After we finished eating, I asked everyone to look under their plates to find their word, and one by one we went around the table describing or acting it out without saying the actual word. Some words were challenging and some were easy, but it was another good way to get a huge table all involved together. 

I am so thankful that everyone traveled from far away to be with us on Thanksgiving. I've always wanted to throw a huge dinner party, complete with fun decorations, good food, and lots of laughs and that's exactly what it was. I loved seeing my cousins and learning about what they're interested in (Justin Beiber!) I loved tap dancing with the little girls - putting on a show for everyone (complete with stage lights and a spot light, thanks, Steve!) and I loved being together in one place, talking about old times and dreaming about the future. 

It truly is a happy holiday season!