I have experienced (but have not necessarily hosted) Thanksgiving dinners that have ranged from a Martha Stewart affair to something out of The Beverly Hillbillies. Thanksgiving doesn't seem to carry the same weight here in Canada as it does in the States - it’s pretty safe to say that we tend to reserve our real disasters for Christmas. Yup, we've had some doozies.
I like to divide Thanksgiving into two columns:
- Turkey or microwave lasagna
- Simmered cranberries in orange sauce or that squishy red log that comes out of a can with a thwup sound
- Warm, steamy pumpkin muffins made from scratch or that frozen pie you slide into the oven and ends up charred on the edges
- Green bean casserole or… er, sorry, I don't have a B column for that one. As a Canadian, I don't understand bean casserole. I think it belongs in both columns.
- A time to embrace your family or a time to watch them while they have a full blown smack down fight about past wrongs
- Whipped cream or edible oil product
- Checking out the corn maze or trying to find a parking spot at the mall on Black Friday
- Ralph Lauren or ugly Christmas sweaters
- Macy's Parade or traffic jams getting to Mom's house
- Cabernet or Bud Light
- The sweet scent of good cooking or Uncle Edgar's post-meal farts
Which is your Thanksgiving? I sincerely hope that even with all its disasters, my American friends have a happy, healthy and stress-free weekend.
3 comments:
Getting all dressed up, going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner in the basement because it's the only place in the house that is big enough to hold everyone.
Aunts in aprons, uncles loading up on beer, kids hiding under the table, and the dog begging, and bugging everyone.
Later everyone agreeing that it was a good time because nobody got mad and left, or got too drunk, and the home team won the football game.
Sounds like a great Thanksgiving. I remember my first American Thanksgiving, visiting my brother who had married a girl from Buffalo. Her whole extended family was in the basement with its 6 tables and 3 stoves, and they all yelled, "How's it going, eh?" to their new Canadian relatives.
I'm a veteran of both kinds, including putting out a fire at the in-laws house long ago. You categorized the food and drink possibilities very well. :)
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