Thinking Ahead to the Holidays, Part 2 - Thanksgiving
I dearly love Thanksgiving, probably because I like cooking...and eating. Some of my favorite foods are traditional to the holiday, plus it's Autumn, plus it's a 4 day weekend. All of that, and no expectation that we buy a plethora of gifts? Pretty much perfect, in my opinion.
For a long time, I tried to re-create a big family style Thanksgiving, even when it was just the two or three of us. Now, we do something simpler, and in the long run, smarter, in our situation. I used to try and make every Thanksgiving dish that we like for that specific day. Now, I'm more likely to stretch those over the course of the week. So on Thanksgiving day, we might have turkey, stuffing, a side or two and pie - a nice meal. In a day or two, we might have some of the other traditional Thanksgiving sides - mashed potatoes and gravy or a sweet potato dish, or whatever other special food strikes our fancy. There really is no reason we have to eat every single one of them the same day. It would be different if we had 12 people here and everyone brought a covered dish, but it is just us, so this works well. I guess we've transitioned to a harvest celebration of sorts that spans more time.
One aspect of Thanksgiving that's important to our budget doesn't really have anything to do with the holiday we're celebrating - it's the turkey sales. Thanksgiving is the time of year when turkeys cost least, so we purchase as many as we can, for the year. We have a chest freezer, so that helps. If possible, I partially thaw the turkeys, part them out (I cut them up just like chickens) and wrap/freeze the pieces, because they are much more manageable for our family. Most years I cook the wings, legs and frame, dice the meat (light meat and dark meat, separately) and pressure can it. The light meat is really good for salads, a-la-king, rice dishes, etc. The dark meat is great for chili and casseroles too. Having some turkey ready to go is really handy for nights when a meal needs to go on the table quickly. I also pressure can turkey stock for use throughout the year.
Baking staples are generally discounted around Thanksgiving as well, so we watch for coupon/sale matches that make stocking up a good idea. It's the beginning of 'baking season', so it's often a good time to stock up on all purpose flour, sugar, chocolate chips, extracts for flavoring, etc. Good sales on these items often run through Christmas and return again at Easter, so I don't necessarily spend a large amount on a given staple all at once. I can space the purchases out over the course of the season.
Other than that, Thanksgiving is, for me, a quieter, more peaceful holiday to enjoy with my family. The food is good, the day is enjoyable, and if I play my cards right, I don't have to cook much for the next couple days! It's a wonderful chance to reflect on all the ways we're blessed and to show gratitude to God, friends and one another.
What does Thanksgiving mean to you? How does your family celebrate?
Next: Thinking Ahead to Christmas in General
Previous: Thinking Ahead to Halloween
For a long time, I tried to re-create a big family style Thanksgiving, even when it was just the two or three of us. Now, we do something simpler, and in the long run, smarter, in our situation. I used to try and make every Thanksgiving dish that we like for that specific day. Now, I'm more likely to stretch those over the course of the week. So on Thanksgiving day, we might have turkey, stuffing, a side or two and pie - a nice meal. In a day or two, we might have some of the other traditional Thanksgiving sides - mashed potatoes and gravy or a sweet potato dish, or whatever other special food strikes our fancy. There really is no reason we have to eat every single one of them the same day. It would be different if we had 12 people here and everyone brought a covered dish, but it is just us, so this works well. I guess we've transitioned to a harvest celebration of sorts that spans more time.
One aspect of Thanksgiving that's important to our budget doesn't really have anything to do with the holiday we're celebrating - it's the turkey sales. Thanksgiving is the time of year when turkeys cost least, so we purchase as many as we can, for the year. We have a chest freezer, so that helps. If possible, I partially thaw the turkeys, part them out (I cut them up just like chickens) and wrap/freeze the pieces, because they are much more manageable for our family. Most years I cook the wings, legs and frame, dice the meat (light meat and dark meat, separately) and pressure can it. The light meat is really good for salads, a-la-king, rice dishes, etc. The dark meat is great for chili and casseroles too. Having some turkey ready to go is really handy for nights when a meal needs to go on the table quickly. I also pressure can turkey stock for use throughout the year.
Baking staples are generally discounted around Thanksgiving as well, so we watch for coupon/sale matches that make stocking up a good idea. It's the beginning of 'baking season', so it's often a good time to stock up on all purpose flour, sugar, chocolate chips, extracts for flavoring, etc. Good sales on these items often run through Christmas and return again at Easter, so I don't necessarily spend a large amount on a given staple all at once. I can space the purchases out over the course of the season.
Other than that, Thanksgiving is, for me, a quieter, more peaceful holiday to enjoy with my family. The food is good, the day is enjoyable, and if I play my cards right, I don't have to cook much for the next couple days! It's a wonderful chance to reflect on all the ways we're blessed and to show gratitude to God, friends and one another.
What does Thanksgiving mean to you? How does your family celebrate?
Next: Thinking Ahead to Christmas in General
Previous: Thinking Ahead to Halloween
Comments
I will still cook masses of food because I have this insane goal every year to put whole Thanksgiving meals into the freezer for hubby and me. I won't do extras of dishes that will not freeze well. Typically I put turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and cranberry relish into small ziplocs and then package them up into meals in gallon ziplocs. Wow do these meals taste good for the next 3-4 months. I really like your idea of having the food spread out over a whole week!
I agree with you about it being a nice stress free holiday because of not having gifts. Besides the shopping, fifteen people opening gifts can take 2 hours. It is crazy! None of us need a thing but shopping for the grandchildren is so much fun.
I think that this year I will make it my goal to remember to be thankful all week. That may work better for me than just the one day when I am already so busy. We are so blessed!