WHAT HAVE I DONE TO GET THINGS READY FOR THANKSGIVING...sometimes there seems to be too much to do before a HOLIDAY COMES. When I thought about what I was truly thankful for...then I began to relax about not everything being done that I wanted to get done before company came.
On our way back HOME from being gone 5 days, I knew I wouldn't have all the time in the world to get ready for company. Energy and time are a premium. Making out a grocery list ahead of time before quickly shopping at Sams, Aldi and Hy-Vee, I was able to quickly shop for meals and what else needed to be done.
Turkeys and Hams were purchased a week before Thanksgiving and I knew I needed EGGNOG and French Fried Onion Rings before the rush started. Meats in the freezer. After we shopped and drove HOME, I grouped the groceries and baking dishes together onto the Dining room table. Refrigerated stuff put away. A long foldable table was set up in the Kitchen where the Grands will sit. Chairs were an issue, so Hubby telephoned the Hardware Store to see if they had card tables and chairs for sell. No, but they rent chairs at an incredible rate for a week. Done.
He hot rodded to the store to rent some chairs. I placed a tablecloth onto the fold up table and transferred the meal items to the table in the Kitchen. As I cook/bake during our Thanksgiving day meal, the table will clear off and be used for the Grandchildren to eat meals at. Grown ups will be in the Dining room.
I will use what I call Grandma's sideboard to house the sweets. Drinks, plates, etc. will be set up in the Kitchen for that feast we will actually have the day after THANKSGIVING on Friday. Paper plates and napkins from HOBBY LOBBY were purchased months ago.
I figured that I didn't want to spend so much time in the Kitchen washing dishes. Pitching these will free up time to visit. Cooking has been trimmed back to a simpler menu.
Going for easy instead of gourmet fancy. The food will be tasty and filling. That's a plus. We will not starve. I hope to take some family pictures after the meal. The clean-up can wait. Pictures are more important before the family leaves.
Plenty of snack foods.
After the dust settles, I will empty the fridge, clean it and rearrange the left overs and everything else. I hope my vacuum isn't broken so I can vacuum the floors throughout the house. Bathrooms cleaned and refreshed again. Bed sheets laundered and dried. Beds made up. Then I will rest before painting the Dining room. I hope this room actually gets painted. This has been on the back burner for half a year or more. Can I laugh now or cry?
As December enters the picture, all of my Christmas decorating will be simple. Very simple. I will continue to downsize and figure out what I need to do to get there. Lord, please help me.
I started jotting down info about the year we have had. Christmas letter in the works. I saw some beautiful Christmas cards at Sams while I shopped for Thanksgiving groceries. I think I will return and purchase them next week. I'd like to have some news ones.
Wreaths on the front doors are already in place. Maybe I'll add some bows to spruce them up a bit. A Christmas letter in the works. New Christmas cards being thought about. Our Christmas tree will go up this coming week. A fireplace mantle hung. Garland on the stair rail. A Nativity Scene placed in the entry way. Christmas music in the background. Christmas gifts will be simplified by not shopping this year, but by giving money instead. We will more than likely stay HOME this year and count our BLESSINGS.
4 comments:
Wow! Your prepping thoughts sound like mine. Thinking through it all helped me get it done. I struggle to slow things down and keep it simple but I am getting better each year.
Hi Sandy. Nice to hear from you. This year was challenging as I wasn't home much in November and didn't have a slow paced prep time. So much was crammed into a day. Survived, but am tired. Next adventure is Christmas!
Blessings,
d
Deanna,
Over decades ago my parents began giving each of their children a walnut with a twenty dollar bill folded up inside. She and Dad would carefully crack the walnuts, pick out the nutmeats to use in baking, fold up the bill, stick it in and with a yarn loop out the top, they would glue the walnut back together. They would write each of our names on one and hang them on the tree. We always looked forward to them. Mother died over ten years ago, three years after Dad died. The last year Mother was living, she gave away over thirty walnuts - children, spouses of children, grandchildren and their spouses, and some great grandchildren. I have kept the last six walnuts they prepared. I now do the same thing. I have upped the amount I put in the walnuts, and can even get two bills in a walnut.
There are many stories about the walnuts. My nephew was in high school, and took his walnut into a big box electronic store to buy a CD. The clerk ringing up the purchase was young and Michael whacked the walnut down on the counter and took the twenty dollar bill out. The young clerk's mouth fell open and asked, "Where did you get that?" Michael, calmly said, "Well, don't they say money grown on trees?"
Another year, as a "joke" my niece who was about 12, received a walnut which still had the nut meat inside, no money? When she cracked it open, she very politely said, "Thank you Grandmother and Grandpa for the nut." Of course, they produced a twenty dollar bill for her, but her words of gratitude covered her disappointment.
This year for my two young adult grandchildren, I purchased two bags of walnuts. The bags were a cellophane type bag, and I could pulled the sealed end apart. I took out one walnut, cracked it and put the bills in, glued it closed, and put it back in the bag. It was indistinguishable from the other nuts. Then using rubber cement, I sealed the bags shut. I purchased nut crackers and my husband fashioned nut meat pickers out of cut off skewers. I put everything in a gift bag, along with a note about the scavenger hunt they would need to go on to find their gift. Because we would not see them this Thanksgiving, I gave the gift bags to my son, their father, to deliver to them. He said they really got a chuckle out of the new twist. I would much rather give money as I have no idea what to purchase my grown sons or their spouses or my grandchildren. I would rather that they purchase something they would like to have.
I hope you can take a little time to rest before Christmas. This has certainly been a difficult year for you.
Dear Unknown, I love what you have shared with me. This is lovely and absolutely inspiring. Thank you for sharing this. I believe I will surprise the kids with money placed inside walnuts for Christmas. It has been a very trying month on one hand and wonderful on the other. I appreciate your visit and hope you'll come again. If you don't want to be called by your real name then a Nic-name would do. What shall I call you?
~d
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