At our town’s Santa Parade the day after Thanksgiving:
And Chickadee got to see Santa again this year at the tree lighting…that whole Santa thing is pretty fun now that all of the children are old enough for us not to have to avoid it!
We’ve had another fun three-day Thanksgiving celebration!
It started, as always, on Wednesday, with the making of the pies:
We sadly didn’t have any company this year, so it really felt like a very laid-back holiday. We watched the Macy’s Parade and played parade bingo and then took in the dog show while I puttered about, getting things ready…I set the table extra early this year, so that was a task done long before dinner:
I found some time for Animal Crossing…I always like to hang out with Roald on a holiday!
And then time for dinner! I think this was one of the better turkeys I’ve ever made, and all of our regular side dishes were delicious, too:
We watched Holiday Inn while we cleaned up and I boiled the turkey carcass for turkey soup. And then we had pie! My choice of cranberry-rhubarb was just as tart and delicious as I hoped it would be!
Today began just as yesterday ended…with more pie for breakfast!
Chickadee and I went to the town Santa Parade, which is always a fun time:
When we got home, we had our traditional turkey sandwiches for lunch:
And I had lunch dessert, which I think should be a regular thing!
For dinner I made our day-after-Thanksgiving turkey soup:
And then Moose, Chickadee, and I went to the town tree lighting:
We also visited the Christkindlmarkt:
And checked out the gingerbread displays:
The storefronts were looking good, too!
Back home we had one more round of pie:
And now I’m exhausted, but the fun is just beginning, because Advent starts on Sunday!
Yesterday Chickadee and I took the MetroLink into downtown St. Louis to attend the Thanks-For-Giving Parade for the very first time!
It was a beautiful November day, and we had a good time. There were only two big balloons, and this Ameren lightning bug was adorable!
Of course there were area marching bands:
And can you even have a parade in the midwest without the Shriners in their funny little cars?
There were some clever floats, including a few that had confetti cannons:
And plenty of other groups representing various area organizations:
I was thrilled to see the giant Schnucks shopping cart:
And two local icons:
Of course the parade wrapped up with the big man himself:
I don’t know why it took me over 20 years to attend this parade…it might not be big like the Macy’s parade in New York City, but it was a lot of fun!
At the Shriner’s Parade:
It there’s one thing besides Art on the Square that Belleville does well, it’s parades…I’ve heard that we’re the “Paradingiest city in America!” We’ve attended many over the years, almost always to see Moose play in a marching band. This year, he decided he wanted to go to the Shriner’s parade and see what it was like to watch it, so even though he wasn’t required to be there, we went Friday night, and as always, it was a good time!
The Day After Thanksgiving continues to be a big deal in our house, and Chickadee may be the one who enjoys it the most! Even though Moose wasn’t marching in the town Santa parade this year, she still wanted to go…we had a lot of fun!
And she, Moose, and I went to the town square after dinner to check out the Christkindlmarkt, the gingerbread houses (Chickadee’s favorite was one inspired by Taylor Swift), and see the tree lighting. We also ran into Santa while we were there!
It’s such a great way to kick off the holiday season!
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone far too quickly!
Our annual celebration started with Pie Day(s). Like I did last year, I split the work of the pie baking up over two days…we made 10 pies plus the cranberries and stuffing.
I love that our table looks a little bit different every year!
I wasn’t sure how much time I’d have later, so I checked in with Franklin to see how his dinner preparations were coming along:
Bunny wasn’t able to join us until Thanksgiving Day, and had to leave again this morning already, so we did things a little different. We ended up watching the Macy’s Parade twice on Thanksgiving Day (only one game of Parade Bingo, though), along with the dog show and a few of our favorite Thanksgiving shows (Mad About You‘s “Giblets for Murray,” Gilmore Girls‘ “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving,” The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s “Talking Turkey,” Scrubs’ “My Day Off,” A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and M*A*S*H‘s “The Yalu Brick Road.”).
We had our traditional dinner…turkey and gravy, stuffing and mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and green beans with almonds, cranberries, and rolls:
It’s always a pretty plate!
And so many pies to choose from!
I went with pecan, Nutella, and pumpkin:
I had enough time to pop back into Animal Crossing to help Franklin procure the final ingredients for dinner on the island:
This morning started with pie for breakfast…this time, Nutella and Biscoff cookie butter:
Chickadee and I went to the town Santa parade:
I love a turkey sandwich on rye the day after Thanksgiving!
For lunch dessert, I tried the caramel apple pie:
The Lego Winter Village set was built over the course of two days…I have mixed feelings about this year’s model (I really wish it was just a post office, not Santa’s post office), but I do think the mail sorting system is really cool, and I love the hot air ballon. We got a bonus set of a delivery truck, and it’s really cool, too!
Dinner was turkey soup (of course):
And then Moose, Chickadee, and I went to the town tree lighting:
We also enjoyed checking out the gingerbread house contest…here are some of my favorites:
And one more piece of pie for dessert!
We get to have another leftovers dinner tomorrow (and more pie of course!), but that pretty much wraps up this year’s Markel Family Thanksgiving…on to Advent and Christmas!
Waiting for the last parade of Moose’s high school marching band career to begin:
The Day After Thanksgiving is a big deal in our house…almost as fun as Thanksgiving itself! Chickadee was very excited to go see Moose march in the town Santa Parade for the final time and collect candy while we were there:
And she and I went back downtown for the town tree lighting after dinner, which is always a lot of fun!
“And that’s how Milly and Mr. Macy started a new holiday tradition. It looked a little like the old country, and a little like America, and a little like something entirely new.”
That quote from Milly and the Macy’s Parade describes pretty well how I felt about Thanksgiving this year. Our holiday was a little different, because this is the first time we’ve had a child away from home who returned to us for the holiday celebration. It was kind of familiar and kind of new, and still lots of fun!
One thing that was different this year was that instead of having “Pie Day” on Wednesday, I started my annual pie baking on Tuesday…I made three pies that day (two s’mores, another new thing because I’ve never made two of the same pie before, and a chocolate hazelnut) plus the cranberries. I got to work on baking early so that I wouldn’t have to be in the kitchen as much once Bunny returned home on Wednesday. The other six pies (plus the stuffing) were made that day, and Bunny even had time to make the caramel apple like she usually does!
Thursday was pretty normal…we watched the Macy’s Parade (Bunny and Ladybug tied at parade bingo) and the National Dog Show and some of our favorite Thanksgiving shows that we didn’t have time for on Wednesday. Chickadee took care of folding the napkins while I set our tables:
And dinner was even ready a little earlier than I expected, which is much better than it being done later! We had a fairly standard meal…turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, green beans with almonds, cranberries, and rolls. I also made roast fennel for the first time, and it was delicious!
Another change this year involved our Lego Winter Village set. Usually, we build it the day after Thanksgiving, but Bunny had to leave pretty early that day, so we built it after dinner. I love that it looks like it was lifted right from the Alps, and it has so many lovely details…the fireplace is especially cool!
Here’s a look at the previously-mentioned pies. The pineapple pie was the only new addition this year, and it was a good one…I will definitely be making it again!
In the evening, we also played “Chandler’s Dumb States Game” for the first time. I was the undisputed champion…all 50 states in four minutes, and my children are still wondering how I did it! Of course I also had to check in with Franklin and my Animal Crossing neighbors before the day was over:
The day after Thanksgiving started with one of my very favorite traditions…pie for breakfast!
We went to see Moose march in the town Santa Parade for the last time…Bunny was able to stay long enough to see the band, which was nice. After all these years, I can’t believe he won’t be marching in it again!
Of course we had turkey sandwiches for lunch:
And more pie for lunch dessert:
Dinner was another favorite…turkey soup:
After dinner, Chickadee and I went to the town tree lighting, which is always a nice event.
We walked through Christkindlmarkt:
And checked out the gingerbread houses on display on Main Street. There are some very creative and beautiful pieces done by some very talented artists!
Back home, we had even more pie:
Last night, we had one more leftovers meal…Thanksgiving casserole (one of the few casseroles I actually like!):
And one final round of pie for dessert:
So, our celebration was a lot the same, but a little bit different. But we were together for the holiday, and that was the most important thing of all!