To start things off, my family would put up the Christmas tree a few days before Thanksgiving to be decorated on Thanksgiving. They would get a turkey to cook and have it frozen until a day or two before. At Elementary School we would have our usual celebrations of a mock Thanksgiving dinner, themed lunch, and a showing of Thanksgiving specials in some classes. Crafts were paper turkeys and little hats. 

Thanksgiving vacation, to me as a kid, was more of an excuse to sleep in and stay up late. The house was very busy with preparations for more family members to come on Thanksgiving. I used to help with some of the cooking at times. The TV would be playing in the background with the sounds of ads for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I would play with my friends outside - usually tag football if the ground was not wet. If it was, I just stayed home and watched TV. 

When Thanksgiving day occurred the house was as busy as the day before, though with cleaning instead of cooking and minus the turkey and other stuff. I would be downstairs in my PJs watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, which I have bitter sweet memories of. Yes, it's a nice time killer, though I'm not a fan of the musical bits at the beginning. But I do enjoy the music stars and balloons, when they are actually on. There were times when they used past tapes if the weather wasn't good. It's a nice way to lead into Christmas and winter. After that, it was just cartoon specials and movies.

Through out the day, family would come and the house would get more crowded. A couple of them would arrive with a significant other to introduce to the rest. Soon, the food would be ready; the turkey done as well as whatever the others had prepared (pies, casseroles, drinks and other things). Yes, I remember the kiddie table growing up. It wasn't too bad, though I was more happy to sit at the adult table. The smell of the food was brilliant. The sights and sounds as well.

         After dinner, things slowly came to a close. Often it would be well into the night before family began leaving. I normally passed out not too long after everyone left. 

That concludes my walk down memory lane for Thanksgiving this year. Hope you all enjoyed it and have a happy Thanksgiving. Two holidays down one to go. Join me next month as I conclude with a list for Christmas. So until then, Live life and Live Nostalgic.