Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Bubba Thanksgiving with All the Trimmings!

As we celebrate November and all that we are thankful for, it was nice to have a day of fun and happiness amidst all of the craziness and wide range of emotions of the past few weeks. Don's dad was in Virginia for his sister's Civil Ceremony to her partner, Gwen and we decided to do an early Thanksgiving dinner before he headed back to Erie.

It worked well, because Gwen's family was in town for the wedding also - and they had flown in from France. Speaking very little English and having never experienced an American Thanksgiving (except for seeing it in movies or on French TV), it was a perfect way to share a part of Americana with our foreign visitors.

And share we did.......

What started as 12 at the dinner table, turned into 14 and then the night before it turned into 16....the more the merrier...place settings were rearranged and another table was added, and place cards were redistributed and we were ready!


The full cast of characters - "ThanksBubba 2012"

Before the big meal:




getting ready and all of the "fun before food"
Almost 24 pounds of bird

During:


Katie enjoyed the big "Turkey Leg"

Don's sister Chrissy and my brother-in-law Ev
Carleigh and Ev

Carleigh and Patty

Rosie, Gwen and Gwen's family - her mom and dad from France
Junior's spot at the table - getting a snack from his daddy

...and enjoying a nap on Don's lap by the end of the meal

Before:
After:




Dessert Time:
Pies by Patty
We ended the night with a big game of Wii

"ThanksBubba" was a huge success - so fun to bring family together and bring in another culture that had never experienced Thanksgiving before.