Tag: Thanksgiving

Is it your turn to host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner this year? Lucky You! I wish I could give you an "easy" button for your holiday meals, but the best I can do is to share some terrific tips that will help you get through the holidays smoothly!

Develop The Menu
The best way to get started with planning a big meal is to develop a menu. For inspiration, flip through magazines, cookbooks and ask friends for recipe ideas. Unless you’re a pro in the kitchen, don’t pick a bunch of new dishes with long lists of ingredients. It’s best to keep it simple.

The cranberry is a Native American fruit that grows on trailing vines like a strawberry and thrives in wetland areas called bogs. Cranberries are harvested in September and October. The most common technique for harvesting is known as a "wet" harvest, which involves flooding the bogs with water to float the fruit for easy collection. During the winter the frozen water insulates and protects the vines.

The North American cranberry has a distinguished history. Native Americans used cranberries as food, in ceremonies, and medicinally.

Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with family and friends, for sharing meals and good company; and of course a time for stress. Are your holiday festivities stressful? They aren't supposed to be. They are supposed to be relaxing, peaceful and fun. I'd like to share a few things I've learned about Thanksgiving and help you give your family a fun stress-free holiday.

My business partner, Sikky Rogers, always had a formal holiday gathering. She sets out her silver and finest china, prepared the turkey and all the trimmings and received her extended family all dressed in formal attire. This sounds great to me, especially if you are a guest. The problem was, her family wasn't really having all that much fun. They were stressed because mom was stressed. So Sikky sat down with her family and they came to an agreement that would satisfy Sikky's need to host them in the way that she wanted, but would reduce the work and stress level for all.

He says no… she says yes. She wants to go to her best friend’s for Thanksgiving dinner, he’s firm about going to his parents. She wants a change… he wants the same. Suddenly you’re not feeling thankful for anything at all. Sound familiar? So, how do you put the thankful back into Thanksgiving? How do you come to a middle ground with your partner, your family and yourself?

Thanksgiving can be anything but peaceful if holiday disagreements escalate into yearly battles. It’s easy to forget what you’re thankful for if the hassles of planning Thanksgiving begin to outweigh the meaning of this important occasion.