Make Something to be Thankful For.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THANKSGIVING? Do you have any creative Thanksgiving plans? Are you cooking? Crafting? Eating? Drinking? What kind of things will you be making? It better be memories! Memories are great stuff, people. And what better way to make something you’ll always remember than to be creative with the ones you love!

MY PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING

COOKING FOOD. Lots of it. I will be doing all the cooking, this year. All of it! My wife has work that day, so I will be in charge of creating the feast. We will be having an intimate gathering. Just me, my wife, and our three kids. Small, yes, but it will be a Thanksgiving to remember. We have a huge list of what we’d like to make. We’ll see if that idea pans out (see what I did there?) but one main thing will be having chicken instead of turkey. I know it’s tradition, but we’re creating our own! And that tradition is baked chicken.

As for the rest of the feast, we want to make: mashed potatoes and gravy, hot wings, glazed ham, pumpkin pie, strawberry cheesecake, sparkling cider, hot chocolate with marshmallows, spinach salad, mac salad, potato salad, crispy sourdough bread with butter, and we cannot forget some Filipino goodness, like bibingka and champorado!

I know, it doesn’t sound like your usual Thanksgiving fare, but this is what we’d like to make. Every year that I can remember, we have spent every holiday with my parents, and the rest of our relatives. It’s been a tradition. But like I said, this year is going to be different. We’ll be spending this holiday on our own, for the first time. And we’ll be doing things our way. Thus, this will be the menu, and perhaps be the menu for many years to come. I like it!

POSTING SOME DRAWINGS. I have some autumn-themed artwork planned for the holidays. Like, one or two pieces in mind? I haven’t even sketched them out yet, but I’d either like to draw Rel Rel in front of a turkey or perhaps sitting with some pumpkins? I don’t know. I guess it’ll flesh itself out once I decide to put it down on paper.

CREATIVE THANKSGIVING IDEAS

CARVE A PUMPKIN. I know this is a Halloween thing, but why not try it out for Thanksgiving? But with carvings of turkeys, leaves, or other fall-related things? And try to carve different colored pumpkins. That way, they match the autumn leaves! Green. Yellow. Red. White. Blue! Any colors that you can find. Make it magical!

HAND TURKEYS. This is something that I’d like to do with my kids. Colored construction paper. Hand paint. Googly eyes. Pipe cleaners. The works! It sounds like a fun idea, and I’m sure the babies will have a blast putting it all together. And making a mess. But it will definitely be something to remember!

COOK SOMETHING YOU’VE NEVER COOKED BEFORE. Now, this could either be food that you’ve never made for Thanksgiving, specifically, or go out on a limb and add something new to your cooking repertoire! Use your imagination. Try to think of color. Fall colors!

DECORATE COOKIES. See where I’m going with this? Yeah, autumn-themed! You dig? Pumpkins, falling leaves, turkeys (baked or live), cornucopias, maybe even potatoes, corn, whatever the fug maize is, pies, cranberries, green beans, carving knives, and dinner role shaped cookies!

MIX THANKSGIVING THEMED DRINKS! Is that even a thing? I know we never really did that, in our house. But it sounds tasty! If you’re an adult, mix some crazy adult drinks. And if not, or you’re like me and not into the heavy stuff, mix something a bit more festive, and delicious! A cranberry inspired drink, mayhaps? Or something fizzy, with ice cream, sherbet, red food coloring, marshmallows, and topped with some kind of whip cream? I don’t know. I don’t mix drinks! But this year, I just might!

Closing Thoughts

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER CREATIVE IDEAS? Let me know in the comments below! I might try to make some of these family traditions, that I hope to pass on and do for many years with my wife, and my 3 babies.