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Obviously, people should eat what they enjoy on Thanksgiving, and there are no Thanksgiving police I know of who are going to fine you if you don't like turkey. However, I make a big deal of having only New World foods on my table at Thanksgiving. I've done that ever since a friend of mine (college prof of anthropology) mentioned to me once that, in a traditional Thanksgiving feast, everything on the table comes from the Americas. So tomorrow I'll be having turkey with homemade cornbread stuffing; white and sweet potatoes; green bean casserole (yes, they do come from the Americas, apparently; I had to check on that one), homemade cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Usually I buy a Mrs. Smith's frozen pie, but this year, for the first time, I'm making the pumpkin pie from scratch. I have a little pie pumpkin I've been saving back for it.

So when we have Thanksgiving, we are giving thanks not only for our personal blessings, but for our country and for the bounty of this hemisphere, which I think may be what the day was originally intended to do.

Speaking of which, I have to go and get started on the cooking now! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Yes indeed, happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

Eh...I guess for me it's tradition to have turkey. Although I knew a guy that would go deer hunting on thanksgiving, and that was part of his tradition.
I suppose you could have venison, lobster, and other birds but we've always had turkey on thanksgiving, and as long as I'm alive, that's what I will have on Thanksgiving.
The side dishes to me don't matter so much as long as Turkey is served.
Lobster could be a side dish, I wouldn't mind that so much.
If someday I'm really poor and can't afford a full fledged turkey, I'll settle for turkey lunch meat. At least it's turkey in some shape way or form.
Maybe I'm just weird. I'm not even a stickler for other traditions. Well, traditionally we have Ham on Easter. Which is kind of why on Christmas I'd like to have something else, but we usually have Turkey or Ham.
On Halloween well...I think Pizza is our traditional Meal for Halloween XP

happy late thanksgiving everyone mine was FULL of great food and family!!

Last year because I had to work thanksgiving, we ended up having thanksgiving dinner early because of my hectic schedule.

I'm kind of laughing as I read this old post. Perhaps to each their own, but I'm sticking with my turkey.

On the actual day of thanksgiving we ended up going to Apple Bees after I got out of work and I got myself some chicken tenders. But I still had the "traditional" meal and we got a nice little boneless turkey since it's just the two of us.

This year I don't really want to shop or go out on thanksgiving though. It really isn't fair that anyone should have to work on the holidays. I can understand if you're a hospital worker and having to take care of the sick, but that's the only exception I can think of. People should be home with their families. Because I personally had to work though I didn't really feel up to putting together a big dinner.

I know this post is a little old, but since Thanksgiving is coming up now that Halloween's over, I thought I'd bring a little bit of light to it and discuss traditional thanksgiving dinners. For me it's Turkey, but maybe other people have different traditions. As pumpkin man said, some people have different kinds of meat for Thanksgiving, and that's OK. Everyone is different. Perhaps the important thing isn't what's served, but the fact that it's being observed and that we are thankful for what we have.

Wow, I guess I changed a lot since I used to post as DemonSlayerMau. lol.

By the way, I like the way you think Murf. Although I rather have the Turkey stuffing by stove top myself. Good stuff.

Looking back on that old post of mine above, I am amazed that I made a pumpkin pie from scratch! I don't even remember doing that, LOL. Maybe it failed and I ended up with Mrs Smith's anyway.

lol well Mrs. Smith's is a good brand, or Sara Lee. I think I just bought a fresh ready made one last year.

Not sure I am going to attempt to make a homemade one. Maybe out of a can someday, I don't know about using the real pumpkin. The Frozen pies are usually pretty good though. Maybe one day if I ever feel ambitious enough. I don't know.

Back when I lived in the Shenandoah Valley, I used to buy those half-bushels of apples that they would sell by the roadside (Winesaps I think), and I would make apple pies. When cranberries came on the market at the grocery store, I would combine the apples with the cranberries in my pies. They were really good!

Cranberry apple pie sounds delicious! I looked at a post on social media where my stepdad made an impressive looking apple pie from scratch too.
We're sticking with pumpkin today for dessert, but I love apple too.

Looking back on this post now (and I realize I'm reviving an old one here, haha!) I think the main thing is getting together with loved ones and being thankful. Sure, the traditional meal is nice, but I think the important thing is being thankful and not so much what's on the table, but being thankful for who's sitting with you at the table and for the things you have, the memories you share, and for the blessings of life. I've learned that life is just so precious that we should enjoy each moment of it.

So whatever you plan to have at the table, be it traditional turkey, ham, roast beef, or whichever, I just hope it's a blessed one.

By the way, I forgot about your homemade pie, Murf. That's not something I've attempted to do, but maybe if I was more successful with pie pumpkins in the garden I would. I'm just sticking with store bought right now, it's easier and work is exhausting. I want to relax on my days off and keep things simple.

I guess the older we get, the more our perspectives in life change. I was definitely in a different place back then, and I most certainly won't be the "Thanksgiving police" myself. I just let people do them. Some people just like ham better, and that's ok.

I hope your meal is delicious and your Thanksgiving blessed!

Thank you, Murf and yours as well!
I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to those mashed potatoes my boyfriend makes.

I'm making mashed potatoes in the Instapot right now. My turkey won't come off til about 4:30. Everything else is ready. We've had a gorgeous day here, and my kids and I took a nice walk along the Greenway (riverside trail that runs through our town) earlier this afternoon.

We did turkey here today and ham at my brother's tomorrow.

That sounds yummy!