Happy Thanksgiving 2022
Thanksgiving is about gratitude with a big turkey feast shared with family, friends and for 2022, the World Cup.
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks for the blessing of a good harvest. It is a day of feasting and good merriment with family and friends over the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. That said, I feel like we have celebrated the ‘harvest’ season for some time now.
Harvest Festival
In mid-October, Lady Yeya’s school invited parents to the Harvest Festival celebration at a local church. Harvest Festival? What is that? To be honest, I was not aware that British school children celebrated the ‘harvest festival’ as part of their curriculum. Just like American Thanksgiving, the Harvest Festival is a time to give thanks for the blessings of a good harvest. There was also a canned food drive to support the local food bank for families in need.
The church service itself was lovely with speeches by the Junior Head Teacher, sermons from the Pastor, and singing from various year groups. The Reception classes sang “Big Red Combine Harvester” which was the cutest thing ever! “Chug, chug, chug, chug, chugging away.”
Happy Thanksgiving 2022
Fast forward six weeks later, it was time for us to celebrate American Thanksgiving and say thanks for our health, friends – new and old, and family near and far. This year, Kenz and I invited my mom friend and her family to join us for turkey and pumpkin-pecan pie. My mom friend, who lives down the street, and I met during maternity leave, bonding over the joys (and pain) of early motherhood with prosecco in hand. Whilst I hosted many playdates with the kiddos, Kenz and I never hosted my friend and her family for a sit-down meal.
This year we roasted a traditional turkey in the oven rather than using the Big Green Egg. I prefer to smother my turkey with a generous lather of herb-infused butter wrapped with bacon. Sounds extravagant, but totally necessary to prevent the breast from drying out. Then there were about half a dozen traditional sides to go with the turkey – stuffing, mashed potato, green beans, brussels sprouts, and roasted root veggies. In addition to NFL football, this year’s Thanksgiving also came with a side of World Cup football (read: soccer). For desserts, it was all about pumpkin-pecan pie which I made two: one for Thanksgiving lunch and the other for dessert at a ladies night.
Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. I am most grateful for my family, near and far and dearest of friends. I am also thankful for the lady gang of mum friends to keep me humble and sane. From my little family to yours, happy thanksgiving.
