Average Jane Is Ready for Thanksgiving

This is actually the kids' table from last Christmas, but it seemed like a good illustration for this post.

Last Thanksgiving I put together a PDF of recipes that you could use to make a complete Thanksgiving dinner from appetizers to dessert. Click here to download it.

This year I'll be making dinner at my house for seven people. For years, the electrical system in our house wasn't up for anything that involved turning on more than two stove burners at a time. Now that we've fixed that problem, I'm all set to turn out multiple Thanksgiving dishes at once.

There is one little problem: I don't have a dining room. The photo above was taken at my sister's house. I'm planning on bringing up the long plastic utility table in my basement (I'll clear off all the laundry baskets) and surrounding it with every folding chair in the house. I foresee a trip to Marshall's or Tuesday Morning in my immediate future so at least I can get a decent-looking tablecloth.

Naturally, I'll be shutting all the cats in the basement for the duration of the event. They can't be trusted not to stroll around on the table in front of the guests. People who don't have menageries aren't always very understanding about that sort of thing.

So that's my plan for next Thursday. What are you doing?

Comments

[Donna W]

I'll have daughter's family (5), son's two kids (2), possibly ex DIL (1) and Cliff's oldest sister (1). Later on his youngest sis and her husband will be here to eat some leftovers. Plus me and Cliff. Not such a big crowd. Oh, and I've never had a dining room in my life. We usually serve the food buffet style.

[cagey]

We rent a HALL. No joke. For Thanksgiving, we rent a hall in Springhill and ALL the generations get together. For Christmas, we scatter a bit.

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving AND Christmas were hosted at my grandma's house, but that was only the first 3 generations. Now that we have all pro-created, we cannot all fit into one house!

[--V]

I'll be taking a bus to my parents' house this year. Next year, however, Thanksgiving will be at my place for the first! time! ever! Ack. I've already started looking at recipes to see if I can figure out what I'll be cooking next year.

[Kismet]

I love that picture. I am hoping those HUGE plates are chargers and not plates? :)

My daughter is hosting this year but I am doing most of the cooking since she doesn't cook (don't ask). There will be abt 15-20 of us, depending on what time different family members get off work. Yeah, we're dedicated like that.

Good luck to you. I forwarded that cheese ball recipe to my sis.

~K!