I’m giving thanks with a giveaway in time for turkey day!
I started blogging in 2010 as a way to create after I retired from retail and keep myself off the streets. :) I didn’t miss the daily grind of the inventory headaches or the 60+ hour work weeks, but I missed merchandising and creativity that came with it to tell a story, create a room or celebrate a season or holiday.
I realized the other day that my Happy Owl-oween post was number 1000! Whoooo knew I would still be blogging 5 years later and enjoying it?! Thank you for all your visits, comments, and shares and encouragement for the past 5 years!
In celebration of the milestone of my 1000th post, I sharing some dish and flatware love with a giveaway. The first giveaway is an Alexandria 16 Piece Dinnerware Set by Mikasa.
The 16 piece dinnerware set, service for four, includes (4) each: 11-1/4 inch dinner plate, 8-3/4 inch salad plate, 6 inch diameter x 3 inch high (26 ounce) soup cereal bowl and 14 ounce mug. Microwave and dishwasher safe.
Alexandria’s golden leaves bring a subtle touch of nature to the table, surrounded by a crackled border of espresso brown, adorning the rim of the dinnerware for a mosaic effect, ideal for a fall table.
You can join me at the table with metallics and Mikasa Alexandria Dinnerware, here.
The second giveaway is a Wallace 6-Piece Turkey Hostess Set. The turkey hostess set includes a salad serving spoon, a salad serving fork, a gravy ladle, a carving fork, a carving knife and a pie server, awaiting your Thanksgiving feast!
For a chance to enter and win one of these two giveaways, tell me your favorite food or tradition for Thanksgiving!
Subscribers/followers automatically get a second entry.
Subscribe by email or follow on Facebook and let me know by comment.
For a third entry, share this giveaway on Facebook and leave an additional comment telling me so.
Help yourself to Plymouth Popcorn, a sweet and salty treat, great for snacking and sure to satisfy hungry pilgrims, football fans, or tree-trimmers over Thanksgiving weekend!
This giveaway is open to those living in the continental U.S. and is sponsored by me and in no way endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook.
The winners will be chosen November 16th, in time for Thanksgiving!
320 comments for “Giving Thanks: Dinnerware and Turkey Hostess Serving Set Giveaway!”
Sandra
November 4, 2015 at 7:25 am
My favorite tradition with the extended family is our Thanksgiving grace. We each verbalize, through prayer, what we are grateful for. We are about 20 people and it brings tears to my eyes every year.
Love Thanksgiving with family and a wonderful shared meal. Everyone brings dishes that we all look forward to eating. My husband makes an old-fashion chocolate pie complete with beautiful meringue on top–a favorite for sure.
Everyone in my family looks forward to dishes that only appear at Thanksgiving: my stuffing recipe has become a family tradition – with a secret ingredient (water chestnuts!). Thank you for your inspiring blog – as a recent retiree, I find it very inspiring!
My families favorite tradition for Thanksgiving is just having a beautiful meal and giving thanks for being together. Each one tells what they are grateful for. Our favorite food is the star- the delicious turkey and dressing. For me it is the dressing and gravy. I could eat that and skip everything else. –This year will be the first year without my dog who just passed away. His sweet little face surely will be missed .
I looooove pecan pie! Home made of course and the holidays are the only time I splurge on it!!! I love your blog especially when it stars Chloe and Gracie. Congratulations!!
I love anything pumpkin! This will be the first year without my mom and plan to honor her delicious thanksgiving feasts by preparing some of her favorite recipes but add some new dishes too. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Since I just won your previous giveaway of the Halloween baking goodies, Mary, I will skip entering this one. Some lucky winners will enjoy the pretty dishes and the Thanksgiving serving set from your generosity of giving gifts. I do have to tell you, however, that my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is the pecan pie! I look forward to winners reveal on the 16th.
Congratulations on your 1000th post!!!!! You always inspire me.
love this time of year, the weather, the fall décor, making me forget what a bad year it was for me. love your blog and always want to see more of Chloe and Gracie.
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is going to my brother’s house for dinner. I have always called it my Hallmark Holiday, since it’s like warm family movie. My brother always has an open door policy. Everyone is welcome at his table.
Thank you for your wonderful blog. I’m a FB follower, and I also share your site with my friends.
Everyone comes home at Thanksgiving. The smells, the chatter, the laughter give our home a warm feeling. My mother’s cranberry salad recipe is always a requirement for this meal.
To start I want to tell you that Mikassas Alexandrea patern is my favorite pattern! Rich looking! And my favorite part of Thanksgiving is our family get together and making memories ! My favorite food is an old fashion bread stuffing. Just bread, celery, onions and lots of butter and sage. Oh my how that brings memories of growing up!cant forget the star of the occasion , the Turkey!
So generous of you to give away these dishes and the beautiful serving pieces.
I remember how terrified I was the first Thanksgiving after remarrying. Through marriage, I gained 4 almost-all-grown-up children and I was not used to cooking for so many people (plus they brought friends sometimes) – before that I had one daughter and sometimes a family of friends would come over, so at the most, I would have 8 people at the table. I am European and did not have any traditions for Thanksgiving and I did not want to fail. How things changed in 10 years…. Now 3 of the children are married and I have 6 beautiful grandchildren (the 7th one is celebrating in Heaven and he is in our hearts). This year we moved 400 miles away due to my job and we finally purchased a house last week. 3 of my children and their spouses and kids will come
FormThanksgiving from miles away!!!! I am hoping the fourth one will come, too. I am looking forward to a house full! And while I know it will be another stressful experience to cook in a new to me kitchen, it will be so great to have everybody. My daughter will go to college next year and I will miss her, but I do know she will come home for Thanksgiving! Nowadays, everybody’s favorite is the gravy and stuffing, along with the desserts. Each child and now, in-laws have their favorite dessert and I make them all each year. I guess this year, I will have to start asking the little ones for their favorites, as grandma would never want to disappoint. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
PS: hopefully this wasn’t too long and boring
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is having family and friends around..we have developed several new traditions over the past few years since several of our children have taken jobs as waitresses and are required to work on Thanksgiving. We now have our Thanksgiving dinner either before or right after Thanksgiving. That way everyone gets to sit down and enjoy the meal and I get to cook all of their favorites. BTW, an extra set of dishes or serving utensils would come in handy!! Just sayin..LOL!! I have enjoyed your blog and have gotten a lot of wonderful ideas for tablescapes, flowers, recipes & decor and I thank you very much..😍🦃🦃🦃
i found the best turkey recipe years ago in taste of home for juicy roast turkey and we look forward to that every year. Also best carrot cake, yum can’t wait for the holidays.
I have to say that since I found your blog it has become my favorite! Your photography is stunning! This will be my only chance to be a winner as I am not on Facebook. I have several dishes I make for holidays only and my favorite is a cheesy squash casserole. I am a hospital nurse and end up working lots of holidays but will have Thanksgiving off this year. Happy Holidays and thanks for the blog and giveaway!
I don’t live near any family or friends. I am so looking forward to having my mom come see me and my husband and sharing my sisters receipe of Sweet Potatoe Fluff. I love your blog especially love reading your putterings in the shed! You are very creative and talented!
I don’t know why, but Thanksgiving seems to be the one Holiday where everyone has that one special food item that must be included in the menu. From childhood my Thanksgiving morning has always started off with my mother’s Nutbread and a cup of tea. I would make dozens of mini loaves to hand out to all my daughter’s teacher’s the last day before break. For my husband it is his special homemade whole cranberry sauce that he enjoys making every year. For my daughter, it is the family recipe for traditional spoon corn bread that we’ve made since before she was born. I usually have to double it so she has enough to bring back to college with her! For myself, it is two things; making my mother’s recipe for pumpkin pie (which I will never be able to get my pie crust as light and flaky as hers. I do believe she was a kitchen wizard) and secondly – making everyone’s favorite item, hearing the “aaahhh’s” and seeing them sniff the air as the house fills with all those wonderful smells blending together to make it known that Thanksgiving has arrived. It is setting a beautiful table worthy of holding all that scrumptious food. And lastly, it is gathering those close to me around the table and being thankful for the bounty before us and being together for a few short hours before the madness of retail slinks in and steals everyone away (both my husband and daughter work in retail). Thank you for all your wonderful ideas and tablescapes!
Mary, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition is my mom’s recipe for stuffing. While I don’t typically host Thanksgiving for family, I did do it once while my mother was still alive. I most certainly made sure I got her recipe, and it was what I considered my best accomplishment that year at that dinner – serving it to my mom. :) Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Rita
I am a recent subscriber to your site and want to tell you, well, it’s just so darn easy! I now never miss a post and certainly enjoy each and every one of them. Thanks for sharing your time and talent with us.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a real foodie and I adore all the yumminess of Thanksgiving. But as I looked around my room here, it came to me that my favorite part of the season is the decorating. All the pumpkins and turkeys and the great smelling fall candles. It does get a little harder each year to drag it all out, but it’s worth it because you can start decorating as early as September and go right on till December 1st. And as I look around just now, the ORANGEness of it all just makes me Happy!
First of all, thank you for your wonderful blog – I look forward to it everyday! You have great taste and make me and my friends feel so excited about every season. Thank you again for your hard work! Thankgiving has always been special with family, but since both of my parents are deceased we try our best to keep up the tradition – cornbread dressing in my mother’s “ugly” nondescript clear pyrex dish is a must! I can’t say I have totally mastered the recipe of a little of this and a little of that, but I seem to get a little closer every year – it’s been four years now. But definitely the cornbread dressing is mine and our favorite dish! And leftovers never last through the night with everyone sneaking for more!
Corn bread dressing is what I look forward to .My Mom made the best and after trying to make her`s for years I think I have it down. We are in the bird stuffers. And would have it no other way.
My favorite is the dressing. It brings back so many beautiful memories of my Grandmother, as it’s the same way she made prepared it. Thank you for sharing your gardening shed with us. My husband and I had been in the talking stage of building one when I found your blog, which has been only recently. Your gardening shed is such an inspiration and we are now in the building process.
I grew up in a Polish neighborhood in Chicago and have wonderful memories of many holidays. When i married and moved away i missed some of the special foods. I started finding and cooking fresh Polish sausage in addition to my husbands family favorites. Now 39 years later his family loves it and it has become part of their tradition as well. Its the blending of families that makes the holidays special.
Thank you Mary for your wonderful posts. I am retiring soon and you are my inspiration!
Just being with family, once again, is truly a blessing. “Thanks”, Mary, for all of your “giving” of your wonderful talent and inspiration! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Oh Mary, another exquisite table so perfect for that Thanksgiving dinner or Fall party!….Hands down, my favorite Thanksgiving food/tradition is my mother’s pumpkin pie. At 90 years young, she still nails it!…and of course it goes hand in hand with being with my family, something that my late father treasured….He said that if he ever won the lotto, he would have a table that would seat every member of the family….and that would be a very large table!!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – watching the parades, the aroma of baking turkey with all the fixings, football games, and the anticipation of the holidays to come. Great friends and visiting all weekend. We often change up the dressing or dessert, but it is still Thanksgiving. Thank you for the chance to win such great prizes! I follow you on Bloglovin.
My favorite thanksgiving tradition is simply that of getting together with as many family members as we can. My favorite thanksgiving food has to be leftovers! There’s nothing better than a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce on it the day after Thanksgiving!
Congratulations on so many wonderful post I’m still waiting for your book to come out ! My favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry relish I think because I only have it once a year I am a follower
What a lovely and perfect Thanksgiving giveaway Mary, the turkey serving set is so cute! Congrats on your 1000 posts too, each one a work of art :) I started blogging for the very same reason, to push myself creatively in new directions after years of painting for stores~discovering your blog, and the joy it brings so many, was another important part of my blogging start. I am grateful and thankful everyday for the friends I have made through blogging and the daily inspiration it brings. As for Thanksgiving, my favorite dish is creamed onions with chopped peanuts, which sounds weird but it’s insanely delicious and goes back to childhood Thanksgivings. I am blessed to have so much family nearby that we can be together often, and I am sure they would appreciate a big bucket of your Plymouth Popcorn! As for tradition, we always have turkey and stuffing, always mess up the gravy, and always have a great time!
Jenna
I am a subscriber. Enjoy your blog so much. My favorite tradition at Thanksgiving has nothing to do with food. We live next door to my husband’s brother. Our grandchildren and theirs are ages 3 to 10. They are so excited to see each other, since they live far away. Our son-in-law rakes up piles of leaves and the children play in them for hours, until time for lunch. It’s just their laughter and delight that makes me so thankful.
I have to say my favorite at the table is the stuffing…Yum! It has pretty much been a tradition for me to be watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while I’m cooking.
I’ve been following your blog and Facebook for sometime. I also have a Bichon named Gracie and love seeing your girls!
Of course our family enjoys all the Thanksgiving dishes, especially the cornbread dressing. However, the most precious thing is simply the time we share together. Since the grand babies have come along we also have a craft or two they can enjoy and help occupy the time. Not sure who has more fun the littles or the mommies!
Love your sense of design. You inspire many to live a more lovely life through your blog.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and what I love best is the turkey with its gravy and stuffing….it’s a once a year treat & I look forward to the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven….knowing the gravy & pecan bread stuffing make it complete,
I love the decorating, preparing the food, and the leftovers! Our tradition has changed in the past 8 years, since we have begun spending 6 months in Florida, and 6 mo in Wi. Now, in Florida, we take turns hosting Thanksgiving with friends. This year I will have 16.
Since our mantra on Thanksgiving is, The more, the merrier”, I Ike to mix things up a bit so no one is sitting next to a member of their own family at the dinner table. I put everyone’s name in a bowl and starting with the matriarch, my 90 year old mother, we pick names to determine seating around the table. Hopefully this starts conversation with someone other than their spouse, child, sister, etc. and encourages new friendships to be made!
My favorite tradition is cooking for my entire family and friends, which can number 40+ and I do it all myself as a gift to my family. I’ve done this for many, many years and it brings me the greatest joy to know they look forward to coming to our house and enjoying a meal that was prepared with so much love for them. I fix everyone’s favorites and it makes me smile to see our home full of love and happiness. We get together almost every weekend, but they know this day is for us to give thanks for all we have and I love to show them how grateful I am for them.
Hi Mary,
This year I will start a new Thanksgiving Tradition with my Mom and Dad. I am in the process of finally moving into the house we have renovated (you know the one with the ‘garden shed’ that I will be talking to about later for ‘help’). Since my children cannot come home this year it will be my Mom and Dad, two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world, and Mom and I will be sharing the cooking. I am so excited.
I have been following you for quite some time now and love your blog and follow you on Facebook and Pinterest. I will be sharing this post shortly on Facebook.
I always look forward to all of your blogs. I learn so much from you and enjoy each one of them.
Thank you for these wonderful giveaways.
Patricia Potter (NC Coast)
My favorite food is my mom’s pumpkin pie. She started making them when she was seven and had the best recipe…even people who don’t like pumpkin pie, love this one. I am blessed to carry on that tradition – it keeps her close in heart even though she’s been gone almost 14 years.
Love the beautiful dishes and the serving pieces. Thank you for the chance to win.
Mary, love the Pier 1 napkins you’ve paired with the Mikasa….wonderful presentation!
My Thanksgiving tradition is volunteering on Turkey Day at our local Salvation Army shelter. Many deserving working poor get a great meal served by volunteer waiters.
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the gathering together of multi-generations of family. This year we lost a generation when my Dad passed away in October. I’m so thankful for all the years we shared Thanksgiving meals together. I have fond memories of my grandfather standing at the head of the table, carving knife in hand, saying “light meat or dark?” in his strong commanding voice, and my Dad impressing us kids by eating a whole turkey leg along with all the trimmings. It was at Thanksgiving that my son had his first taste of solid food; mashed potatoes. It was love at first bite. These precious memories join us at the table each year, as real as the guests gathered with us.
I so love your blog. It inspires me and is so beautiful. My favorite Thanksgiving food is the cornbread dressing. I can eat it cold from the refrigerator the next day. Being with family has to be my favorite part of the day. My mother always showed her love of family through her dinners. Keep up the wonderful blog.
First off, let me say I am thankful you have taken the time to create this blog. I am in awe and am inspired by your gorgeous and fun entertaining ideas. My personal favorite food part of Thanksgiving is my own everything but the kitchen sink stuffing recipe. Each year, I have to make more and more to meet my family’s insatiable appetite for it. Pretty soon it’s going to weigh as much as the turkey. My china is lenox and this year I will be decorating my home with a collection of chunky cable knit, burlap and white velvet pumpkins that I made. And maybe allowing a turkey or two to roost in between- with some acorns and pinecones. LOL I’m excited! The Mikasa dinnerware would make a lovely addition and the Turkey serving pieces would become treasured heirlooms. fun giveaway.Thank you!
Thanksgiving is my family’s favorite holiday! Love to gather everyone together to celebrate just being! Love reading your blog every day-So many good ideas that you share with your readers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is having our family all together, along with all the food of course! The sights, smells, and all the laughter during a time of true Thanksgiving are irreplaceable memories each and every year.
Happy Anniversary! I also follow you on face book as well. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is just being with family. This year I am excited to be celebrating at my son’s new home and meet some of his fiance’s family for the first time. My favorite dish has to be the stuffing – I don’t know why I only make it when we have turkey – it’s funny how that happens. If I win the serving set giveaway I will give it to my future daughter in law as a thank you for hosting this year! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving :-)
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Lots of good food (hard to choose a favorite) and family…perfect! Your posts are so beautiful and inspiring – you have truly found your calling.
First of all I am so grateful for your talents that you share. You truly have been blessed with a gift of turning everyday things into a work of art. My favorite food for Thanksgiving is “filling” which is what we call stuffing or dressing in my neck of the woods. Of course the entire menu is what makes it so special and brings back many memories of days past. I am an email subscriber and also share you on facebook.
Even though my twin sons are now 23 years old, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition is to display ceramic turkey plates and toilet tissue roll pilgrims and Indians that we made together when they were 7 years old, along with a Thanksgiving prayer card we made the same year in a religious education class I taught. We read the prayer and then say what we are thankful for. This year one of my sons will be with us via Skype as he is living and working in Los Angeles, 3,000 miles away. There are some chips in the plates and the pilgrims and Indians have faded, but they still represent the love we share and our thankfulness that we are family.
My favorite thing at Thanksgiving has always been cranberry sauce. I love trying new recipes for the holidays, last year it was loaded baked potato gnocchi….this year, who knows?
What a wonderful giveaway! Thank you very much. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, although I do miss my mother and father who are now in heaven. My favorite, favorite food at Thanksgiving is my mom’s recipe for oyster dressing with giblet gravy with a side of just good ol’ canned cranberry sauce. Always brings back memories of past Thanksgivings and although it makes me a bit meloncholy, I love to continue the tradition mama started years ago. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Thanksgiving has changed for me…. due to Alzheimer’s we had to put my Mom in a nursing home last year.
Thanksgiving traditions has always been about family, past and present… we make dishes that have been part of our table “forever” use serving peaces that belonged to generations past…. these are some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving.
Favorite food…. Mom’s stuffing.
I love all of your ideas…you are very talented and your tablescapes are my favorite.
Our favorite tradition is to go out on the lake for a boat ride after the meal. The weather predicts whether we wear t-shirts and shorts, like last year, or hats, coats and scarves. We take warm mulled spice wine for the adults and hot chocolate for the kiddos. We anchor out in the middle of the lake and all take turns saying what we are thankful for. It’s our last hoorah before we take the boat out of the water….so bittersweet but one of my most treasured memories to have this time to spend with my family.
My favorite food on Thanksgiving is the turkey. My son always bakes it for me and we all gather at my home to enjoy this special holiday. I have much to be thankful for and appreciate each and every day God gives me…..what a blessing it is to be with family. Hope you enjoy your holiday and I LOVE your blog!!!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is just my family being together. My children do not care for turkey and dressing so our menu varies…once it was lasagna and once seafood. Whatever my children request, we will have. I am a follower of your wonderful blog but I am hoping you will do a book someday. So glad you did retire so you could be an inspiration to so many.
My favorite Thanksgiving food is stuffing! Pumpkin pie runs a close second. I enjoy spending time with family and friends and eating til I am stuffed!! I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. Thanksgiving blessings to you and yours.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday of the year ’cause that’s when we play Turkey Bingo! The game is fashioned after traditional Bingo with the handmade cards and markers having Thanksgiving themes (turkeys, pilgrims, etc) All year long I collect small, silly prizes (the sillier the better!). All the prizes are ‘wrapped’ in fall-themed bags. Every round has a prize-winner and the prizes can be ‘stolen’ by other players until the rounds are over. That’s when everyone opens their prize bag. Turkey bingo is a after Thanksgiving dinner tradition started years ago when all the neices & nephews were young. They are all grown-up now but the first thing asked when we gather is ‘Are we going to play Turkey Bingo?’
My favorite Thanksgiving memory was the time we went around the table to share something we are thankful for. That year I announced there would be a new member in our family. My favorite tradition was getting up early as a child and helping prepare a special table and Thanksgiving dinner for our large extended family.
I absolutely love pumpkin pie. My mom made the best pumpkin pies and my daughter and I try to make them just like she did!!! Of course the best is being with friends and family, but the pumpkin pie is a close second:)
Thank you for this opportunity for us to share so many happy memories! I treasure Thanksgiving as a time for us to focus on what we have, and not what we don’t have, or think we want. Family time, the wonderful smells that permeate the house, bringing out the ‘special’ china, cooking all the favorite dishes. It is so hard to choose a favorite food, they all go together, but I guess it would be the sweet potato casserole with pecan topping for me!
By far you have the best blog out there. You have such talent and bring all of your followers joy and inspiration! I follow you on Facebook and email. My favorite Thanksgiving food is noodles. My family has been making this rustic homemade pasta for 5 generations and I now have my grandchildren that help make them.
As always, love my morning dose of “Home is where the boat is”! For four years we lived in Ilwaco, WA. Ilwaco is a sleepy little fishing town on the Coast and home to many cranberry farms. That’s where I learned to toss the canned cranberry sauce and instead make my own fresh whole cranberry sauce in my crockpot. So easy and so much more beautiful and tasty than canned. I would LOVE to win either the dishes or the serving set…they are both so beautiful!
I started hosting Thanksgiving back in my twenties when my boys were born, and I haven’t stopped doing it since. Sadly, the family has gotten smaller over the years, but I am still hosting and that is my favorite tradition.
Thanksgiving is the only holiday the hubby and I still cling to. All others have been taken by our daughters. I try to uphold certain traditions: having everyone including the children give voice to what they are thankful for, making Mother’s cornbread dressing, using the same dishes and dryer hose pumpkins year after year. I find myself hoping that some of what makes this day special will be continued by younger members of the family in years to come. I write this not because there is opportunity to win something but because it made me think about what makes Thanksgiving the one holiday the one I want to hold on to.
Thank you, Mary, for what always provides such inspiration.
My favorites: Turkey is #1, followed by my brother-in-law’ smashed potatoes and my Great Aunt’s homemade cranberry sauce.
Thanks for your great blog. Lots of your yummy recipes are featured at our house.
We like to provide a meal for a less fortunate family through our church. There is a quiet happiness in knowing as we sit down to our family meal that another family is also enjoying their Thanksgiving meal.
Sweet Potato casserole and someone re-telling the story of my very conservative mother breaking out with a turkey gobble that made the table break out in laughter – A moment to always remember about special Thanksgiving spent with my parents – miss them every day as I am sure many of you do.
I have a chalkboard runner that goes over the table cloth. Over the course of our family & framily Thanksgiving meal, we write what we are thankful for on the runner. Some funny…some touching…all heartfelt!
First, congratulations on 5 years and 1000 blogs! I wish I had been reading your blogs for 5 years but I just found you recently. I love the beautiful table settings you create. Now, as far as Thanksgiving food goes, my all-time favorite is turkey and dressing. It’s my favorite meal, year-round, but especially at Thanksgiving. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition, though, goes way deeper than food – it is getting together with my family. All my children will be home with me at Thanksgiving this year and I’m so very thankful for that. It wouldn’t matter if we ate peanut butter sandwiches, as long as we are together.
First of all let me say your Blog is amazing. I look forward to seeing your incredible designs for every season and occasion. My favorite food has to be my grandmother’s stuffing recipe and serving my grandmother’s gravy recipe in one of her old crystal gravy boats with the old silver ladle.
My family has a Thanksgiving tradition that has been upheld for almost 50 years. The eldest member of the family takes a turkey feather and tucks it, unseen, in to one of the napkins on the table. Has we all gather around and take our seats for our big feast; everyone places their napkin in their lap and the family member who gets the turkey feather gets the honor of saying Thanksgiving grace. From the oldest to the youngest; everyone looks forward to the tradition.
The dressing!! And chocolate pie!!
Since I spent 3 hrs yesterday shopping for a turkey serving platter and walked away empty handed…🙄…your platter would be awesome!!!!!
And thanks for sharing your creativity with us. Have used SO many of your ideas!!
As a new reader and subscriber, thank you again got the lovely table setting and (two chances at the) giveaway. I am so excited at the possibility of winning both the dinnerware and the hostess serving set. Strange as it may sound, at 60+ years old I have never roasted a turkey and that is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving! My husband took on the task of barbecuing the turkey, rain, snow or shine resulting in a moist and beautifully roasted bird. This allows me to focus on sides and desserts and setting a lovely table.
Congratulations on your 1000th post. I have gone back in the archives and am trying to read you from the beginning. What a treat to be able to spend a little time each evening with you.
Pumpkin Pie. We won’t be having a traditional Thanksgiving this year as we are in the process of moving into a new home, but I will have my pumpkin pie.
Our tradition is to be surrounded by family and I am so blessed that each family brings a dish to share. Most of the dishes are the same “traditional dish” that they bring each year. Everyone looks so forward to it and the one dish that has not changed besides the turkey is “Watergate salad” originally brought by my late mother-in-law.
Gobble Gobble til you wobble. I love a finishing piece of mincement pie with a cup of hot herbal tea.
Both my parents are in heaven and our family is scattered in the USA. So this will be our families first not being all together. I will set 2 place settings in honor of my parents.
A very Happy And Blessed Thanksgiving everyone !
My favorite tradition is making my mother’s (and grandmother’s) recipe for stuffing and while I am putting it together and smelling the fabulous smells coming from the pots and pans I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade just like I did when I was growing up with my mom. She has been gone for 25 years now but making that stuffing brings her right back into my kitchen and into my day of gratitude for being lucky enough to have had her for my mother!
Your blog is responsible for my addiction to tableware!!! I always loved setting a pretty table, but usually relied on linens and the centerpiece for differentiation. Now, I have multiple sets of dishes, especially those with holiday themes, and it’s all your fault…:BIG SMILE: Now, you’ve introduced me to Wallace Turkey serveware. That may go on my Christmas list if I’m not lucky enough to win a set from you.
Thank you for your posts. I always enjoy seeing the way you design your tables and especially enjoy those times when Chloe and Gracie visit via photographs. They never fail to make me smile.
Oops, I forgot to post about our family’s Thanksgiving tradition of making fresh cranberry salad. I have no idea where the recipe originated, but we have been making it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas for four generations. It’s both sweet and tart so it is a nice side dish with roasted turkey for dinner and the leftovers (carefully portioned out and refrigerated before the salad is served with the meal because otherwise there would be none left over) are tasty for breakfast with toast and coffee.
My favorite tradition is the whole family sitting down together and enjoying each others company. This year will be different since both my sons will not make it home for Thanksgiving. We have decided to have an early Thanksgiving for just the four of us. It will be different since my Auntie cooks a perfect meal.
Gosh Mary, I can not tell you how your blog and beautiful merchandising makes such joy in my day! My Mother passed in April this year. Thanksgiving was the holiday we would spend with her as Christmas time travel is too expensive and just too crazy. Our favorite Thanksgiving treat would be a recipe from her, Marilyn Mallory Casey! It is called Cranberry cake with a warm butter cream sauce. The cake is simple and not too sweet. The cranberries are fresh. Since the cake is white with red dots, sometimes my Mother would add a drop or two of red or green food coloring to the butter sauce. When you first showed the autumn leaves dishes, I thought they were just simply beautiful! I have had my dishes for close to 25 years and they have been loved and well worn, but when I saw this Lenox pattern, set on your table, they so just looked like me! That you for your inspiring and joy-full blog! You make me want to move to Lake Norman!
Wowie! By the time I see this in sweet Cali, there are hundreds of responses! Hooo! I thought I’d tell you about my favorite Thanksgiving food, stuffing! Dressing! By any other name, ambrosia of stale breads, corn and white, a lil’egg onions celery and spices…………roasted in a big bird, ahhhhh. Thanksgiving, my very favorite holiday! This year, going camping on a Northern California beach. (My child is in New Hampshire!) Stovetop stuffing will be on the menu!! Toodleooo Ellen
Congratulations on 1000!!! I am a long time subscriber and Facebook follower. I love your blog and so glad that I found you when I did. You are such a creative talent.
How beautiful and how generous! Thanksgiving for the two of us varies greatly. We have no family in the immediate area ~ closest is five hours away. Most of our families are two days away. Some years we have a houseful of holiday guests. Some years it is the two of us. Regardless, it is always a “fancy” dinner. Our menus change to match the number of guests. This is the only holiday where a bit of tradition remains ~ turkey, taters, gravy, stuffing, vegetable, and cranberries ~ with a pie or two. The day after is all about Gramma’s hamburgers with French fries, and our World Famous Turkey Must Goes. A little tradition from a non traditional kitchen. Thank you so much for all the creativity you share.
I am an email subscriber who loves your blog. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and the leaves dinnerware is so pretty. I have the Wallace turkey silver set, and wow is it nice! Everyone who entertains should have it. I travel by train every year for the holiday dinner with my son and his family.
I have been following your blog for the entire 5 years and save every one of your tablescapes–you are sooo creative! Our family tradition is gathering at my Mother-in-Law’s place with all my husband’s siblings families and relatives in PA. Since we are from MD our tradition is to bring Pork and Sauerkraut ( a MD thing) which is especially relevant since both my and my husband’s family are German. And I also bring Pineapple Bread Casserole–so GOOD!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My family knows that I will be making homemade yeast rolls that is a recipe handed down through 3 generations. The aroma throughout the house is amazing!! Absolutely love your blog!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your husband, and 2 precious dogs!
The family all gathers and we eat and spend time together. We could eat most anything, but we do have the traditional meal of turkey & dressing and all the fixins…I already follow you on FB.
Our family is mostly gone now, so the festivities have been greatly reduced, The memories of Thanksgivings past are still alive & well, though. Dinner at my grandparent’s home, large family gathering, lots of great food – for me, it was all about the stuffing (dressing) – still is!! And using the “good” china :)
I subscribe via email, follow your blog & on Pinterest….your photos are always spectacular!
I make an appetizer plate out of vegetables that is shaped like a turkey. The tail feathers are endive with a bit of goat cheese spread onto them.Carrots, celery, peppers and all other kinds of crudites and sometimes pepperoni and cheese make up the turkey. It’s fun to do and your imagination can make it look different every time. I don’t like too much in the way of appetizers before such a big meal and this is perfect. Thank you for your great blog! I enjoy the way you can set a scene whether its a tablescape or an outdoor scene.
Our Thanksgiving tradition is to play games after we’ve eaten and are ready to settle in for the rest of the day. The last few years have been really mild in Utah, so we’ve added croquet to the list of games! Thanks for all your inspiration.
We love the fresh cranberries the best,or maybe my son’s stuffin muffins which disappear instantly. A new favorite is your cranberry pecan pie crust leaves, which start out with the appetizers and get carried to the table for dinner as well.
I love your blog and the gorgeous pictures you post. I also enjoy your readers’ comments.
I’ve been widowed 15 years but when my husband was alive, we had all the traditional foods for Thanksgiving. He loved the turkey and dressing (I put oysters in one pan of the dressing for him), and the leftovers. The first year after his death, my two adult children and I tried to mix things up a bit so as to make it different for us and not too sad. The first thing the kids said was, “Mom, we don’t want turkey anymore. We really don’t care for it but we knew dad loved it so much we didn’t want to say anything.” SO, since then,Thanksgiving Dinner is totally non-traditional. Sometimes it’s beef and homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, Brookville slaw, homemade cloverleaf rolls, AND pecan and pumpkin pies. Sometimes it’s BBQ ribs from our favorite place BUT the things that remain the same are the pies – pumpkin and pecan – and always with Cool Whip (which we like better than whipped cream). Must be all the additives that make it so good.
I have to say my favorite food during Thanksgiving is the turkey. We only get turkey, the whole roasted one, during Thanksgiving so it’s a treat. But I really love the spirit of giving during the holidays. Everyone is willing to put in the extra effort!
My favorite food for Thanksgiving is my daughter’s, Amber, gluten free dressing. I love having my family over for dinner and the aroma of all the wonderful food!
I am missing the family being together in my home but it has happily gotten too big to fit! My sisters and I are all grandmothers now. But new traditions are welcomed – I want the younger generation to know they can mix things up, just make sure I get a slice of pie!
I don’t live in the continental US, so know that I don’t qualify for the give-aways…but just wanted to congratulate you on the blogging milestone. I look forward to every single one of your posts…always leave them to open after reading and replying to all the e-mails when I first boot-up each morning so that I can savor them at leisure..
Hi – love your blog! I recently retired and I really look forward to reading and finding inspiration through your entries.
My family really looks forward to my stuffing at Thanksgiving. I only make it once a year and it contains an unusual ingredient – water chestnuts. Believe when I say that it is quite good!
Love your post! My favorite food is the turkey- I am just like the dad on A Christmas Story. I pick at it while it is still cooling because I am a turkey junkie! My favorite tradition is to watch A Christmas Story with my husband late Thanksgiving night. It transitions us from Thanksgiving to Christmas. And it is one of my favorite movies. I am a subscriber to your blog. One question- I read that you were held hostage in a robbery once (I think it was in your bio), you said you’d tell us more on that some time. I just started following you two years ago so maybe i missed it. Can you either tell the story or direct me to the post date where you told it. I think I’ve gone back through them all but I may have missed it. I’m dying to know this story!!!!
Thanksgiving is the one holiday where it’s all about family and food. It’s beautiful and warm and everyone is happy! The homemade stuffing is my favorite food by far, I love the leftovers for breakfast!
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is just having the opportunity to be with my loved ones. And my sister-in-laws homemade stuffing. I thoroughly enjoy your posts. Thank You!
My favorite thanksgiving dish would be the recipe I have for stuffing from my amazing father. Each Thanksgiving, the aroma from the sage and seasonings in the stuffing bring me back to my childhood Thanksgivings where me, my sister, my mom and dad and grandpa would enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving meal together. I remember my mom getting up early, putting on her fancy seasonal apron and putting the turkey in the oven. She would set the most beautiful table, with fancy cloth napkins that matched the table cloth (they were her mom’s linens) and always used the silverware that was used only for special occassions. My dad would put on a Frank Sinatra record and they would dance together in the kitchen always saying how blessed they are and how “yummy” the house smelled. Although my mom, dad, and grandpa have passed I am so blessed with the beautiful memories of those times and I cherish the tradition of making my dad’s amazing stuffing and how the aroma’s of the holidays keep them with me always – Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family!
It would not be Thanksgiving without my mother’s dressing. I treasure the memories of making it with her when I was a child. Now that she is no longer with us her recipe is more special than ever.
Heading to the store for Plymouth Popcorn ingredients. I have been following your blog for quite a while to vicariously enjoy more lovely table settings…however, please don’t add me to the give-away. I am now “giving my OWN things away” as much as possible.” Hope these lovely things go to some young person just starting out. However, I have not managed to give away a single one of my over a thousand cloth napkins!
When our sons were young, we always served Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider in champagne flutes at Thanksgiving. Well after they came of age, and I tried to serve champagne, they did not allow me to break the “tradition” and sparkling apple cider is still the required drink at our Thanksgiving table.
Many thanks to you for the beauty you shower upon us – with your gorgeous designs, thoughtful and artistic photos and prose,
We always enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws on Thanksgiving Day and on the Friday after…it’s veggie soup with my mom and we put up her Christmas tree while watching Christmas movies!!! My two favorite days of the year!!!
I was excited that I found your blog. It was a total accident but a wonderful one. My favorite Thanksgiving food is sweet potatoes, fixed any way!! A Thanksgiving tradition that I love is, when the dishes are done and the food put away (except for the pies) we surround the table and work on a puzzle, of course pie is eaten (often the second piece) to give us strength. Fun conversation and memories are shared around a puzzle.
Congratulations on your blog! Amazing photography, décor and food. Favorite thing about Thanksgiving food is the turkey but number one is everyone’s excitement and joy no matter how many friends and family are together.
Our tradition is Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law’s home, which is very special. She is a magnificent cook and hostess! My favorite dish is her cranberry salad. Love the Wallace Turkey hostess set! I look forward to your blog posts!
Mary, your blog has been a source of inspiration to this recently retired person, helping to keep my creative spark alive! I too miss the creativity of my job, but not the drudgery parts! Our Thanksgivings have always been based upon the “traditional” foods, but we always add one or two new recipes each year to try. One dessert that always appears however, is an apple-cranberry pie. There is always a different tablescape each year, and this year I have enlisted the help of my eager, young, artistic granddaughter. Such a warm feeling to know traditions are being passed on!
Thanksgiving always involves family and a casual day. We are together all day ending with the turkey dinner. Everyone brings a dish so no one is stuck in the kitchen all day. And to continue the family get together we always have a picnic on Friday with turkey sandwiches of course. We have had picnics in all kinds of places and weather. Heat in the desert, snow at Yosemite, freezing in the Sierras, but always a great time. As you can see it is all about family. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We have a lot to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving is just that for me……”giving” a big portion of love to those around me….and with a “thankful” heart for all my God given blessings! I do so enjoy your blog and can hardly wait for your posts to arrive. You have such a way with tablescapes.Our family is so large, and spread out over the southern states, that it is difficult for us all to gather any longer in one spot for Thanksgiving. We each try to celebrate with our own immediate families and friends, but take time to make a “conference” phone call on the speaker phone so everyone can join in. We love the stories that we all share of past family gatherings, and look with anticipation to the new stories that are to come. Thank you for this giveaway. Sure hope something comes my way to help grace my table this year. (wink)
Congratulations on 1000 posts. I’m such a poor blogger. Not even 100 and I’ve been blogging since 2012. I love your blog, you have such a wonderful sense of style. Every post is so inspiring!
Congratulations to you for all your hard work on this beautiful blog. I love Thanksgiving dinner and in the South we don’t ever stuff turkeys. We make Dressin’. I make cornbread and homemade biscuits the day before so they will be somewhat crispy for the Dressin’ It is the most time consuming part of the dinner and we all participate in in chopping and broth making. I am the official gravy maker and make lots of gravy with frozen chicken broth as well as turkey broth. We also go around the table and share our blessings. I also follow you on Facebook.
I like to make sure that a turkey and fixings get to a family who has food issues, so I make sure to get a bird early and thaw it out and all the fixins the few days before, haul it to the Salvation Army in a sturdy box for delivery to a family so they can have food for a week..We usually have Cornish hens and the fixins it is just my hubs and me and we always go out to the movies in the afternoon or early times, to avoid huge crowds.. I volunteer for people who need food so it is a holiday filled with joy to me to help others have food for about a week not just a day..that is what Thanksgiving day means to me and my hubs of nearly 42 years, gratefulness and gratitude!! Love your blog happy thanksgiving and all the holidays to you and yours!
OH! How I would LOVE to win the turkey hostess set!!! How perfect!!! Thanks for the chance and congrats on 1000!!! PLEASE keep on blogging, we all LOVE every single, beautiful post!
We donb’t actually have a Thanksgiving tradition, but we do have a Christmas one. My favorite food on Thanksgiving is the stuffing loades with gravy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could skip the meat itself:)
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is that my entire family gets together and we go to the Thanksgiving Day parade in America’s home town, Plymouth, MA. After all, being with family and counting our blessings is what it’s all about. I love your blog so much!
Congratulations on 5 years of blogging AND your 1000th post! I am so happy to have found your blog (and that we help keep you off the streets!) and look forward to every single post. My favorite Thanksgiving food is pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. You are kind and very generous to offer the Alexandria dinnerware and Hostess set. Both are beautiful!
I have a new Thanksgiving tradition that started 3 years ago. My daughter who has married started cooking and serving Thanksgiving Dinner to her current and newly acquired family. She is now hosting upwards of 30+ people and I can relax and enjoy good food and company. After all those years of cooking myself this is a great new tradition in my book!!! (I do bring a Honey Baked Ham to supplement the dinner). Mary, there is no if ands or buts about it, you are the Hostess with the Mostess with your blogs. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to and enjoy every single post. I receive you blog posts both at my work and my home as well as I have you on facebook. I never want to miss a single one!!! This is a great give-a-way, thank you!
I love the tradition of going around the table and each family member tells what they are thankful for and my favorite dish for Thanksgiving? Everything on the table! :-) Congratulations on 5 years of blogging. Your blog is beautiful, photos and sceneries are so gorgeous & so inspiring and I especially love your tablescapes!
I am inspired by your creative tablescapes and beautiful photos, have been following for several years and used many of your decor ideas and recipes as I do a lot of entertaining at home and for church events.
My family’s turkey dinner has the usual basic foods, but they are brightened by our grown children’s creative dishes of the moment! One year my son brought “Turducken”, another year it was sauted bolete mushrooms and kale.
My favorite side dish is slow roasted autumn vegetables,(shallots, garlic cloves chunked rainbow carrots, parsnip, winter squash, tiny mushrooms, baby potatoes, tossed with a little olive oil, a drizzle of honey, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste and maybe a little cumin. Toss in some pomegranate seeds for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Cook at 200 degrees for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I think the slow roasting makes the vegetables sweeter. The vegetables vary by my whim of the moment, so use the ones you like. Chopped parsley adds some green color at last minute. Obviously I am not a cook who measures! These can be done early and re warmed after the turkey comes out of the oven and while you are making gravy if oven space is an issue. In the latter case I would add the pomegranate seeds and parsley at the end.
I am going with decorating for Autumn and Thanksgiving. I have started to collect turkeys in the last years so I love adding to them every year. I also HAVE to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and Miracle on 34th Street. I love reading your blog and seeing all your beautiful pictures, thank you!
While I love all of the holiday foods – and I mean LOVE them, I love the conversation around the table even more. Our reminiscing will be even more special this year as for the first time in 4 years my whole family will be around my table at once. That is more important to me than any of the foods. We can indulge in that any time, but to have my family home…..What a blessing!
My Thanksgiving favorite is setting the table and trying to come up with new things each year!!! My daughter always asks what I found this year!!! I love your tablescapes…you are such an inspiration with all your talent!!!
Sweet Potato Casserole! It is THE best. Just like eating dessert, except with the meal. :) I love reading your blog and your photos are fantastic! I’ve used many of your recipes since finding you. Thanks!
Our favorite Thanksgiving food is my grandmother’s recipe for Cornbread Dressing. It is so tasty and goes well with turkey, as well as the other traditional Thanksgiving favorites! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Blessings,
Lanita
I love “the Gathering of the Clan”…wish the whole family came, but it’s a fun time. I sure love your blog, all year…every photo is always so beautiful!!
Although I have made it all for the last few years for my ailing mother-in-law, my favorite thing to make is green beans wrapped in bacon and baked with a soy sauce, brown sugar, and butter glaze. The little bundles are fun to serve!
Congrats on 1000 inspirational posts Mary! My favorite parts of Thanksgiving are football (yea, you already knew that), a nice long 4.5 days off from work and… ahhhh, I make that Campbell’s green bean casserole. Yep, I do. Didn’t grow up with it but it kinda stuck over the years. Thanks for the fun give-away, the serving pieces are really cute:@)
Congratulations (belated) on your 1000th posting! You keep us all entertained and informed with your beautiful and inspirational writing and photography! Thank you, Mary, for sharing such a huge part of yourself with all your followers! We love you!!!!!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is TURKEY! I know, boring right? But it’s true. I look forward to it every year. I enjoy cooking it with my mother, and now my own children help too. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
ErinLoves2Run at gmail dot com
Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays, the time of year, the time with family and the reason why we celebrate is why. My favourite Thanksgiving dish? Hmmm, they all good, but especially love squash as it reminds me of Dad who always grew it.
Wow, how do you chose just one favorite Thanksgiving dish! :) I would have to say stuffing which I LOVE ! If I didn’t have stuffing, I would say turnip (isn’t that strange !) . Just want to say that I love your blog. Every time I look at your blog I feel as though I am on vacation. I just discovered your site about a year ago and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I wish I lived in your potting shed:) Thanks so much for bringing me so much visual joy.
Mary, getting to visit your blog with each new post is gift enough for me. It’s no secret that I’m an avid fan of all that you share here at Home is Where the Boat Is. I’ve been on the receiving end of your generosity multiple times. You bring joy to my heart in more ways than I can state. Thanks for sharing your creative talents. I learn from your gorgeous styling. Happy Autumn and good luck to all her enter. It’s a beautiful give away!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition would have to be my husband’s family Thanksgiving get together. Always the Saturday before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. It’s difficult for everyone to gather together during the year but Thanksgiving is reserved for that special family time. I enjoy seeing all our family members visit, eat, and celebrate the blessings of this special time.
Thanksgiving is my absolute FAVORITE holiday! I love EVERYTHING about it! I cannot name just one food because it all goes together!! You have to have it ALL! And just getting the entire family together is the best. It’s just my FAVORITE!!
My mother always made oyster dressing for Thanksgiving even though she didn’t like it but my dad & sister & I did. She has been gone for several years now but I make scalloped oysters every year (no dressing fans in my family) to honor her tradition & it makes me feel like she is there in spirit . I wish I could tell you my table looks as good as yours but I do make an effort! Your blog always makes me smile & I share it with all my friends & I get a lot of compliments from your recipes – Happy Thanksgiving!
I love hosting my family’s Thanksgiving dinner because I just love the season altogether. A time of gathering together and being thankful for our blessings. I love the food because of the traditions pasted down and all of the love that goes into preparing our families favorites. I don’t do all of the cooking and that’s what makes it so special. It’s a combination of a family of great cooks. I don’t have a big house but we always have room for all who come and everyone enjoys the togetherness. Thanks for your inspiring blog.
My favorite food for Thanksgiving is my grandmother’s dressing – toasted bread cubes moistened with broth made from the giblets, onions sautéed in butter, LOTS of spices, plus the chopped giblets. I think I have Nana’s recipe ‘down-pat’ (she is no longer living) & my family thinks so too!
Our family always loved going to my mother-in-laws house for Thanksgiving. She put her heart and soul into every holiday meal. Of course, the turkey and homemade dressing were the stars, but my favorite thing was one of her desserts, kolaczycki. These buttery cookies would just melt in your mouth!
Hi Mary, my favorite tradition is to prepare and bake small loaves of bread (pumpkin, cranberry etc.) wrap them in plastic wrap tied with a red bow, then slide a sheaf of wheat under the ribbon. These are given as a small gift to each guest as they leave. The wheat sheaf signifies a rich and plentiful harvest, along with the religious significance of the bread to Christ. I follow you on FB and by email.
Congratulations on your Anniversary Hallmark! Your blog is so much fun, the beautiful tablescapes get my creative juices flowing, … and those scene stealers Gracie and Chloe always make me smile. Thank you for the Give Away…. just in time for the holidays! My favorite food for the holidays hands down are the pies; traditional pumpkin and pecan pie! Already a follower through your emails, didn’t know you were on Facebook, so just signed up.
We usually make my Grandfather’s stuffing recipe it has been in our family for decades. About 19 years ago I came across a pecan pie recipe that is just a bit different from the traditional recipe and I’m happy to say everyone always requests that I make it for Thanksgiving so I’m pretty sure it’s the best pecan pie most people have had.
1000! Wow. I have been following you for most of those. Always enjoy your posts. I love collecting dinnerware and love to decorate for seasons. I love Thanksgiving and plan to spend it with my husband’s family in California this year. I love homemade cranberry relish, sage dressing, and pumpkin or sweet potato pie. I just wish I could spend Thanksgiving with my entire family and my husband’s family in one place. That would be wonderful to me.
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is having family & friends in for a Thanksgiving meal & having enough leftover turkey breast & homemade cranberry sauce to have sandwiches for days! YUMMY!
I already follow you on Facebook.
And I would love to win the Turkey Hostess Serving Set!
I have many favorites with Thanksgiving but the one I value most is getting the youngins involved in the spirit of the day. I do this by giving them a thanksgiiving ceramic vessel, with many holiday colored craft sticks, that say “I am thankful for . . . ” . Their task is, together, visit each family member while turkey dinner is cooking, and ask them to pick a stick or as many as they want and complete the sentence by writing on it with a fine point marker. They collect the sticks and then just before we sit down for dinner we gather in a circle around the kitchen and the youngins randomly pass out the sticks and we all read the stick(s) we picked. It is a very special moment filled with ahhhs, laughs and harmony.
Thanksgiving has always been a family gathering day at our home. Since the kids were little, and now adults themselves. The morning starts with my husband and I getting the Turkey into the oven early. My daughter, who was born in Germany, a 47 yr. old challenged adult, awaits her Germany Advent Calendar and we watch the parade while preparing the food dishes of the day. By noon family starts arriving and we gather in love and thankfulness that we, who are present, are blessed.
My favorite tradition is really the day before. I take the day off from work and have the whole house to myself. I use the quiet day to prep everything from the foods to be served to the table to be set. It’s a day of peace that gives me plenty of time to cherish Thanksgivings past and be thankful for the coming day to be spent with my family.
My favorite dish during thanksgiving is my grandma’s turkey and Amish noodles! They were so good! Now every year they remind me of her! Subscribed and shared!
Mary, your posts are one of the highlights of my day. You should write a recipe/tablescaping/entertaining book with you creative writing and your beautiful pictures! My favorite dish is my Mom’s dressing, which is funny because it is made with finely chopped giblets and I would never eat live and gizzards any other way! Thanks for your dedication to your blog and your fans!
What a wonderful giveaway! My favorite Thanksgiving food has to be the oyster dressing (some call it “stuffing”). I have always lived in the South close to water, so some type of seafood is a must at every celebration. I also liked you on FB and joined by email. Thanks for the opportunity!
We started deep frying our turkey several years ago and now we do it every year… it’s become our traditional way of cooking it and it’s the star of our dinner.
I am an email subscriber and liked you on Facebook. Thanks for the chance to win!
I love having our family gather at our house for the Thanksgiving feast. I think my favorite dish is the sweet potato casserole. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
Congratulations on your 1000 post! I have gotten do many ideas from them all!
We start Thanksgiving day with pumpkin pancake breakfast! My grown children and their significant others look forward to this every year. Hands down that is all of ours favorite dish. We love the big Thanksgiving dinner and just being all together. Every year I set a different tablescape. I really love doing that all the time but make it extra special for Thanksgiving.
Congratulations on your 1,000th post from your newest email subscriber! My favorite Thanksgiving dish would have to be either my mother’s cranberry salad or green bean bundles – green beans wrapped in bacon and baked in a brown sugar sauce. Yum! Oh – I’m also following you now on the Facebook. So glad I discovered you by way of Dixie Delights!
Our favorite family tradition is to enjoy the morning with coffee and pumpkin bread and then head over to the homeless shelter to help serve several hundred homeless and less fortunate individuals. This has made such an impression on our family to be truly grateful for what we have. It gives our Thanksgiving dinner a special and deeper meaning and appreciation. I love your posts especially your photogenic furry “kids”. So glad I signed up!
Congrats on your 1,000th post and thanks so much for this giveaway! I don’t have a favorite Thanksgiving dish because it would be like picking which one of my children is my favorite! Everyone is responsible for their own dish (Justin’s deviled eggs, Josh’s rolls, Jessica’s Cry Pie {there’s a funny story behind that one}…) so each one is special and equally my favorite!
With life being what it is, as the years go by, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition has become going around the table before we eat and everyone sharing what they are most thankful that year, then we thank God for His provision and eat! It keeps the focus where it should be and at the same time brings us all closer with the intimate sharing. A wonderful Thanksgiving to all! I have loved following and subscribing to your blog for so long – thanks for all the work!
Congrats on 1,000. Love this holiday & love hosting it. Turkey & traditional stuffing & leftovers are our favs. Tradition is playing Bingo with young and old. Thanks for asking. Time to gear up for turkey day.
Congratulations Mary – and thank you!- for 1000 beautiful posts, and this fantastic giveaway! I subscribe by email and shared this, today, on Facebook. Everything on our Thanksgiving table is a favorite – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy… but I think my very favorite is (my dear great-aunt-) “Esther’s Buns”. Light, fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness! LOVE your blog! Happy Thanksgiving!
So many Thanksgiving foods! I guess the stuffing would be my favorite, with the pumpkin pie with real whipped cream a close second. This year will be a special one, both our boys (young men) will be home with us for a few days !
Our family enjoys special foods only made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their favorite is Orange Pistachio Asparagus. This has been a family favorite for many years. When adding a new recipe to the holiday menu I pre-test the recipe, when this was tested, the children want me to make it again the next night. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and beautiful pictures. I have been a subscriber for several years.
I love Thanksgiving and all the trimmings, my favorite food is sweet potato casserole. I am in heaven when all the family is gathered around our table, my cup runnith over.
My favorite Thanksgiving Tradition is eating my mom’s delicious feast that she has prepared for our family for almost 70 years. She will turn 92 in a few days and still does the essential cooking on this special day. We cherish every day she is with us and every meal she so loving cooks.
Thanksgiving is always at my Mom & Dad’s. I have 3 sisters and we all bring a side dish and snacks. I love my Mom’s cornbread dressing. Everything on the table is delicious. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my Mom’s pumpkin pie. It’s the best! Love the turkey serve ware. You find the cutest things! I look forward to all of your posts.
Hi Mary –
Congratulations on your 1000th post!!! Can’t thank you enough for all the creative ideas you have so generously shared with us!!! You are always such an inspiration with your wonderful decorating and photography.
I love getting together with family and friends for the Thanksgiving meal. My favorite dish would have to be sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows.
Thank you for the opportunity to win your giveaway. I subscribe to your blog and have liked you on Facebook.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!
Blessings too –
Kathy
Because I am a southern girl who grew up on the Outer Banks of N.C….we always had oyster casserole during the holidays. Our parents are gone, family members are throughout the country, beach house has been sold….but we celebrate this tradition in remembrance of those lovely simple days on the coast .
Our family tradition for ALL holidays is that we’re all together for a supper meal. My sisters and their families always join us for dinner, and then the rest of the family comes in at night for a second feast.
When my mother was alive, her Southern style cornbread dressing was a Thanksgiving favorite. Also my sister-in-law’s bing cherry salad with cream cheese dressing is an all time favorite. I am an e-mail follower.
One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is my mother’s turkey dressing. I also love, love, love pumpkin pie. My extended family loves to decorate with gnomes!!
Love the hostess set! The dish set is sharp as well. Your table settings are always beautiful. Our favorite tradition is to include “lost boys” at our table. Our daughters started to call the “extra” friends at our Thanksgiving table “the lost boys” because when they were young our guests were often wonderful men who for some reason found themselves alone for the holiday. A widower, a bachelor, a doctor on call whose family went to visit family, 6 years of German exchange students, residents from the family medicine residency program who were far from home… and more! Through the years the “lost boys” have changed to include “lost girls,couples” and more! Last year we gathered 17 at the table- 2 days after moving in to a new house! Such wonderful memories that our grandchildren now enjoy, and we look forward to welcoming their “lost boys” someday! Blessed Thanksgiving to you!
We have 2 grown children who live a very long distance from us. When we get together in our home, our kitchen is filled with the 4 of us laughing and enjoying the togetherness. (Yes, hubby loves to cook also. Yea!!!). One of the “children” is known little flour or torn up pieces of bread at one of us……then it’s all out “GAME ON”. Extra cleaning, but so worth it! I’m torn between the dressing and the escalloped sweet potato/apple casserole. Both are always requested. But then, so is the marbled pumpkin cheesecake that our daughter adds to the meal. The other unusual dish is my mother’s celery salad. Altho, Mom is no longer with us, warm memories are served each holiday gathering of her contributions. Thank you for your generosity of these give aways.
We are so thankful for our wonerful friends and neighbors! Every year my husband enjoys purchasing a couple cases of Beaujolais nouveau, when it arrives at our local wine store the third week in November. He makes his rounds on Thanksgiving morning to pass out the wine and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! It is a wonderful tradition that brings him great joy!
Mary you Owl-loween table & cookies are so cute. You can certainly see that you have a retail display background and a talent for it. Congratulations on your 1000th post. You take beautiful photographs. I love your Thanksgiving cups. The lovely place setting & hostess setting would make any hostess proud. Thank you for your generous giveaway. My Thanksgiving specialties are my sweet potato casserole and my creamed corn but honestly I just look forward to sharing a meal with loved ones, Everything tastes better when you share it with friends & family.
The star of my Thanksgiving is my turkey breast. I always use an oven cooking bag and a recipe that included several herbs – parsley, basil, and thyme rubbed on the breast. It never fails to produce a juicy and delicious bird. My family loves it!
I love the fall decorations and preparing all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce,and pies.
Love it all – the food, family, decorating – grateful for all of our blessings! God is good! Love my sister’s home made gravy with mashed potatoes but my favorite is the pecan pie! Thanks Mary for all your hard work and beautiful table scapes, the gardening shed (my favorite) and all of your yummy recipes. Would love the Wallace set. Happy Thanksgiving!
We are a military family, and have spent many Thanksgiving overseas. Although it can seem a bit disorienting (especially going to the markets to find the things you need to make Grandma’s recipes!), we always found Thanksgiving celebrations in foreign countries to be especially poignant, and joyous. Poignant because we missed our extended families, and even our older child who would be attending University back in the states. Joyous because of the rich friendships we had and celebrated on that day, and also because we frequently had the opportunity to introduce foreign nationals to our Thanksgiving traditions. How blessed we’ve been!
By far our most memorable Thanksgiving was in 2005 in the tiny Bavarian hamlet of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. My husband was a fellow at the Marshall School – a place where government and military leaders from all over the world came to discuss security issues (specifically how to address the root causes of terrorism) that face every country. My husband’s class included men and women from Russia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Azerbijian, Bosnian/Hergovenian, and Ukraine. They were all invited to our apartment that Thanksgiving.
You have to remember that this was just 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and even less time since the dismantling of the Soviet Union. We as Americans were brought up to think of many of these countries as our enemies, and yet, here we were, pleasantly crowded around our little table, sharing a meal, and stories of our lives,”back home.” As I listened to their stories, and marveled at the differences of our lives, I became overwhelming thankful – for the peace in Europe we now shared, for my family’s good fortune to be here with these wonderful people. Imagine laughing, talking, sharing with people who had been our sworn enemies just a few years before. It was a surreal and hope-filled evening. Each of us was thankful that evening just to be together, to be united as members of the human family, to be warm, and together around a table of plenty. This is my best memory of Thanksgiving
I follow you on FB; just reading last weeks posts now. We just bought a second home on LKN and were busy putting the finishing touches on it last week. The weather wasn’t too good but luckily most of our work was indoors. Just love your blog, it’s very inspiring and your style is gorgeous!
I am in the middle of revamping a walk in closet that hasn’t been touched since dinosaurs roamed the earth. It is not pleasant~~~so, every now and then I leave the closet and turn to your posts for peace and inspiration. I know if I get this done, I can decorate something or bake something inspired by your wonderful ideas and it really helps. In a strange way, looking at your blog is actually making me think of ways this closet could be functional and beautiful at the same time. Thank you for your inspiration!!!!!!
Thanksgiving~ MY favorite family tradition is of course the wonderful meal shared with family & friends. Coming from a large family it was a time of year that special dishes were made only for Thanksgiving ~
My Mom had a wonderful Fruit Salad that she had won a contest with. It was made 24hrs in advance and is still a family favorite. We still reserve the tradition and make only for Thanksgiving. My Mom is gone now but we are blessed to have this recipe and the many other Traditions she made so special for her 7 children and extended family.~
Thanksgiving Blessing to All~
It’s tough to pick a favorite when all Thanksgiving dishes are so delicious, but I’ll pick the homemade stuffing! It sure wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it. Savory, crunchy and delicious!
Holding hands as we bow our heads for grace fills my heart with happiness and gratitude. As each year passes I realize how precious every meal is I share with my family. We remember those loved ones who are no longer with us. Our table is filled with the favorites that we wait all year for. Thanksgiving is so much more than the day before Holiday shopping begins. It marks the day when we rejoice our blessings and restore our closeness.🦃
I really like cornbread dressing! My grandmother’s was the best. My husbands family always serves stuffing- The one year I made cornbread dressing no one liked it but me- oh well, a whole pan to myself- ha ha! The dinnerware is beautiful and what a gracious and generous gift. Many more years of happy blogging!
I too LOVE the hostess set . As for my favorite food, hands down it’s Alton Brown’s greenbean casserole.He’s with the Food Network and the recipe can be found on their website. Horseradish carrots come in second. I like the “sides” more than the big bird. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving tradition for me is cool crisp air, falling leaves, the scent and warmth of a wood fire, suede boots and sweaters, a fancy table setting for the family, a turkey with all the trimmings—stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, whole cranberry—and then pumpkin pie with a little more wine. :-) Your table settings, design ideas, and photos are all so beautiful! I especially love your china cabinet! Thank you for being a wonderful inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving!
I love the Fall the leaves changing colors. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is gathering with family at my house, mash taters, turkey, stuffing pumpkin pie and loads more of delicious food! Thankful for everything!
In addition to the usual Thanksgiving foods, our family always has battered and deep fried cauliflower. It sometimes makes an appearance at Christmas or Easter too! It is my Grandmother’s recipe and a special treat for everyone.
I really like pecan pie for Thanksgiving dessert. I like pumpkin too, but pecan is so rich and decadent it is perfect to eat on a day when calories are forgotten about :)
Our tradition was when my father was alive his sausage dressing. Although he has passed on we still try to imitate the dish as you can guess just not the same but we will ‘tradition’ on anyway.
Oh my… what a beautiful set of dinnerware. Exactly something I could see on my table. Congrats on your successful blogging! You’re doing something right! Thanks for the chance to win something so lovely!!
My favorite thing for Thanksgiving is setting my table with my great grandmother’s dishes and serving pieces. They were hers, then my grandmother’s, then my mom’s and now mine. All those lovely women have passed on but when the table is set with those dishes they are there with us!
My favorite tradition with the extended family is our Thanksgiving grace. We each verbalize, through prayer, what we are grateful for. We are about 20 people and it brings tears to my eyes every year.
Love Thanksgiving with family and a wonderful shared meal. Everyone brings dishes that we all look forward to eating. My husband makes an old-fashion chocolate pie complete with beautiful meringue on top–a favorite for sure.
Everyone in my family looks forward to dishes that only appear at Thanksgiving: my stuffing recipe has become a family tradition – with a secret ingredient (water chestnuts!). Thank you for your inspiring blog – as a recent retiree, I find it very inspiring!
My favorite Thansgiving food is probably the mashed potatoes and gravy, but, really, it is impossible to choose. It is all so delicious.
I am a email subscriber, and Facebook follower. I look forward to your posts. They are so inspiring.
I told everyone about this when I shared on Facebook. I am adding Pilgrim Popcorn to this year’s celebration.
The gathering of family and friends is what I’m thankful for.
My families favorite tradition for Thanksgiving is just having a beautiful meal and giving thanks for being together. Each one tells what they are grateful for. Our favorite food is the star- the delicious turkey and dressing. For me it is the dressing and gravy. I could eat that and skip everything else. –This year will be the first year without my dog who just passed away. His sweet little face surely will be missed .
I looooove pecan pie! Home made of course and the holidays are the only time I splurge on it!!! I love your blog especially when it stars Chloe and Gracie. Congratulations!!
I love anything pumpkin! This will be the first year without my mom and plan to honor her delicious thanksgiving feasts by preparing some of her favorite recipes but add some new dishes too. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Well I guess I would choose my sister in law’s pumpkin pie. It is so outstanding she could win a prize at the state fair! Happy anniversary.
Since I just won your previous giveaway of the Halloween baking goodies, Mary, I will skip entering this one. Some lucky winners will enjoy the pretty dishes and the Thanksgiving serving set from your generosity of giving gifts. I do have to tell you, however, that my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is the pecan pie! I look forward to winners reveal on the 16th.
Congratulations on your 1000th post!!!!! You always inspire me.
love this time of year, the weather, the fall décor, making me forget what a bad year it was for me. love your blog and always want to see more of Chloe and Gracie.
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is going to my brother’s house for dinner. I have always called it my Hallmark Holiday, since it’s like warm family movie. My brother always has an open door policy. Everyone is welcome at his table.
Thank you for your wonderful blog. I’m a FB follower, and I also share your site with my friends.
We go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Looking forward to my name being pulled. Don’t eat too much turkey!
My favorite is the stuffing! I’m also head over heels about the desserts!!
Everyone comes home at Thanksgiving. The smells, the chatter, the laughter give our home a warm feeling. My mother’s cranberry salad recipe is always a requirement for this meal.
To start I want to tell you that Mikassas Alexandrea patern is my favorite pattern! Rich looking! And my favorite part of Thanksgiving is our family get together and making memories ! My favorite food is an old fashion bread stuffing. Just bread, celery, onions and lots of butter and sage. Oh my how that brings memories of growing up!cant forget the star of the occasion , the Turkey!
So generous of you to give away these dishes and the beautiful serving pieces.
I remember how terrified I was the first Thanksgiving after remarrying. Through marriage, I gained 4 almost-all-grown-up children and I was not used to cooking for so many people (plus they brought friends sometimes) – before that I had one daughter and sometimes a family of friends would come over, so at the most, I would have 8 people at the table. I am European and did not have any traditions for Thanksgiving and I did not want to fail. How things changed in 10 years…. Now 3 of the children are married and I have 6 beautiful grandchildren (the 7th one is celebrating in Heaven and he is in our hearts). This year we moved 400 miles away due to my job and we finally purchased a house last week. 3 of my children and their spouses and kids will come
FormThanksgiving from miles away!!!! I am hoping the fourth one will come, too. I am looking forward to a house full! And while I know it will be another stressful experience to cook in a new to me kitchen, it will be so great to have everybody. My daughter will go to college next year and I will miss her, but I do know she will come home for Thanksgiving! Nowadays, everybody’s favorite is the gravy and stuffing, along with the desserts. Each child and now, in-laws have their favorite dessert and I make them all each year. I guess this year, I will have to start asking the little ones for their favorites, as grandma would never want to disappoint. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
PS: hopefully this wasn’t too long and boring
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is having family and friends around..we have developed several new traditions over the past few years since several of our children have taken jobs as waitresses and are required to work on Thanksgiving. We now have our Thanksgiving dinner either before or right after Thanksgiving. That way everyone gets to sit down and enjoy the meal and I get to cook all of their favorites. BTW, an extra set of dishes or serving utensils would come in handy!! Just sayin..LOL!! I have enjoyed your blog and have gotten a lot of wonderful ideas for tablescapes, flowers, recipes & decor and I thank you very much..😍🦃🦃🦃
i found the best turkey recipe years ago in taste of home for juicy roast turkey and we look forward to that every year. Also best carrot cake, yum can’t wait for the holidays.
I have to say that since I found your blog it has become my favorite! Your photography is stunning! This will be my only chance to be a winner as I am not on Facebook. I have several dishes I make for holidays only and my favorite is a cheesy squash casserole. I am a hospital nurse and end up working lots of holidays but will have Thanksgiving off this year. Happy Holidays and thanks for the blog and giveaway!
I don’t live near any family or friends. I am so looking forward to having my mom come see me and my husband and sharing my sisters receipe of Sweet Potatoe Fluff. I love your blog especially love reading your putterings in the shed! You are very creative and talented!
I also follow you on Facebook!!!! 🦃🦃🦃
Congratulations, Mary, and yes, I certainly follow you. Who doesn’t??
I don’t know why, but Thanksgiving seems to be the one Holiday where everyone has that one special food item that must be included in the menu. From childhood my Thanksgiving morning has always started off with my mother’s Nutbread and a cup of tea. I would make dozens of mini loaves to hand out to all my daughter’s teacher’s the last day before break. For my husband it is his special homemade whole cranberry sauce that he enjoys making every year. For my daughter, it is the family recipe for traditional spoon corn bread that we’ve made since before she was born. I usually have to double it so she has enough to bring back to college with her! For myself, it is two things; making my mother’s recipe for pumpkin pie (which I will never be able to get my pie crust as light and flaky as hers. I do believe she was a kitchen wizard) and secondly – making everyone’s favorite item, hearing the “aaahhh’s” and seeing them sniff the air as the house fills with all those wonderful smells blending together to make it known that Thanksgiving has arrived. It is setting a beautiful table worthy of holding all that scrumptious food. And lastly, it is gathering those close to me around the table and being thankful for the bounty before us and being together for a few short hours before the madness of retail slinks in and steals everyone away (both my husband and daughter work in retail). Thank you for all your wonderful ideas and tablescapes!
I also shared your link to my fb page! :)
Mary, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition is my mom’s recipe for stuffing. While I don’t typically host Thanksgiving for family, I did do it once while my mother was still alive. I most certainly made sure I got her recipe, and it was what I considered my best accomplishment that year at that dinner – serving it to my mom. :) Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Rita
I am a recent subscriber to your site and want to tell you, well, it’s just so darn easy! I now never miss a post and certainly enjoy each and every one of them. Thanks for sharing your time and talent with us.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a real foodie and I adore all the yumminess of Thanksgiving. But as I looked around my room here, it came to me that my favorite part of the season is the decorating. All the pumpkins and turkeys and the great smelling fall candles. It does get a little harder each year to drag it all out, but it’s worth it because you can start decorating as early as September and go right on till December 1st. And as I look around just now, the ORANGEness of it all just makes me Happy!
First of all, thank you for your wonderful blog – I look forward to it everyday! You have great taste and make me and my friends feel so excited about every season. Thank you again for your hard work! Thankgiving has always been special with family, but since both of my parents are deceased we try our best to keep up the tradition – cornbread dressing in my mother’s “ugly” nondescript clear pyrex dish is a must! I can’t say I have totally mastered the recipe of a little of this and a little of that, but I seem to get a little closer every year – it’s been four years now. But definitely the cornbread dressing is mine and our favorite dish! And leftovers never last through the night with everyone sneaking for more!
Corn bread dressing is what I look forward to .My Mom made the best and after trying to make her`s for years I think I have it down. We are in the bird stuffers. And would have it no other way.
Just to be blessed to get together with family .
Such a beautiful blog! My favorite food is the stuffing!
My favorite is the dressing. It brings back so many beautiful memories of my Grandmother, as it’s the same way she made prepared it. Thank you for sharing your gardening shed with us. My husband and I had been in the talking stage of building one when I found your blog, which has been only recently. Your gardening shed is such an inspiration and we are now in the building process.
Of course it’s a family tradition & I am all about the side dishes; mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, etc!!
I grew up in a Polish neighborhood in Chicago and have wonderful memories of many holidays. When i married and moved away i missed some of the special foods. I started finding and cooking fresh Polish sausage in addition to my husbands family favorites. Now 39 years later his family loves it and it has become part of their tradition as well. Its the blending of families that makes the holidays special.
Thank you Mary for your wonderful posts. I am retiring soon and you are my inspiration!
Just being with family, once again, is truly a blessing. “Thanks”, Mary, for all of your “giving” of your wonderful talent and inspiration! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Oh Mary, another exquisite table so perfect for that Thanksgiving dinner or Fall party!….Hands down, my favorite Thanksgiving food/tradition is my mother’s pumpkin pie. At 90 years young, she still nails it!…and of course it goes hand in hand with being with my family, something that my late father treasured….He said that if he ever won the lotto, he would have a table that would seat every member of the family….and that would be a very large table!!
Happy 1000th post Mary!…..I have loved each and every one of them!!!….a very happy follower!!!
Sharing this on Facebook!…love sharing your beautiful creations!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – watching the parades, the aroma of baking turkey with all the fixings, football games, and the anticipation of the holidays to come. Great friends and visiting all weekend. We often change up the dressing or dessert, but it is still Thanksgiving. Thank you for the chance to win such great prizes! I follow you on Bloglovin.
While I love having the family together and all of our traditions – it is really ALL ABOUT THE PIE folks!
Family and friends are so special on Thanksgiving But Fri leftover turkey sandwiches and starting my Christmas decorating has to be my favorite
My favorite thanksgiving tradition is simply that of getting together with as many family members as we can. My favorite thanksgiving food has to be leftovers! There’s nothing better than a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce on it the day after Thanksgiving!
Typos! OMG! All of my Thanksgivings should be capitalized!
Congratulations on so many wonderful post I’m still waiting for your book to come out ! My favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry relish I think because I only have it once a year I am a follower
What a lovely and perfect Thanksgiving giveaway Mary, the turkey serving set is so cute! Congrats on your 1000 posts too, each one a work of art :) I started blogging for the very same reason, to push myself creatively in new directions after years of painting for stores~discovering your blog, and the joy it brings so many, was another important part of my blogging start. I am grateful and thankful everyday for the friends I have made through blogging and the daily inspiration it brings. As for Thanksgiving, my favorite dish is creamed onions with chopped peanuts, which sounds weird but it’s insanely delicious and goes back to childhood Thanksgivings. I am blessed to have so much family nearby that we can be together often, and I am sure they would appreciate a big bucket of your Plymouth Popcorn! As for tradition, we always have turkey and stuffing, always mess up the gravy, and always have a great time!
Jenna
My favorite dish is homemade cranberry sauce served in my Mother’s cut glass dish.
I love my cranberry sauce, a recipient from Yankee magazine. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
I am a subscriber. Enjoy your blog so much. My favorite tradition at Thanksgiving has nothing to do with food. We live next door to my husband’s brother. Our grandchildren and theirs are ages 3 to 10. They are so excited to see each other, since they live far away. Our son-in-law rakes up piles of leaves and the children play in them for hours, until time for lunch. It’s just their laughter and delight that makes me so thankful.
I have to say my favorite at the table is the stuffing…Yum! It has pretty much been a tradition for me to be watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while I’m cooking.
I’ve been following your blog and Facebook for sometime. I also have a Bichon named Gracie and love seeing your girls!
Of course our family enjoys all the Thanksgiving dishes, especially the cornbread dressing. However, the most precious thing is simply the time we share together. Since the grand babies have come along we also have a craft or two they can enjoy and help occupy the time. Not sure who has more fun the littles or the mommies!
Love your sense of design. You inspire many to live a more lovely life through your blog.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and what I love best is the turkey with its gravy and stuffing….it’s a once a year treat & I look forward to the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven….knowing the gravy & pecan bread stuffing make it complete,
I love the decorating, preparing the food, and the leftovers! Our tradition has changed in the past 8 years, since we have begun spending 6 months in Florida, and 6 mo in Wi. Now, in Florida, we take turns hosting Thanksgiving with friends. This year I will have 16.
I know this sounds funny but one of my favorite side dishes is dried Lima beans. Always has been since I was small. My family teases me all the time.
Home made cranberry sauce and stuffing with raisins, but most of all, a family after dinner walk!
Hope to read your 2000th post
We love the smells, colors, decorating of Fall. Thanksgiving is the time to gather family and friends together. We love this Holiday!
My favorite enter for Thanksgiving would have to be stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce….Yum I can hardly wait!
I am a follower of your wonderful blog.
I am a follower on Facebook.
Since our mantra on Thanksgiving is, The more, the merrier”, I Ike to mix things up a bit so no one is sitting next to a member of their own family at the dinner table. I put everyone’s name in a bowl and starting with the matriarch, my 90 year old mother, we pick names to determine seating around the table. Hopefully this starts conversation with someone other than their spouse, child, sister, etc. and encourages new friendships to be made!
The traditional dinner is all I want but the best part is the family that is gathered to be together….so very thankful for family and friends.
My favorite tradition is cooking for my entire family and friends, which can number 40+ and I do it all myself as a gift to my family. I’ve done this for many, many years and it brings me the greatest joy to know they look forward to coming to our house and enjoying a meal that was prepared with so much love for them. I fix everyone’s favorites and it makes me smile to see our home full of love and happiness. We get together almost every weekend, but they know this day is for us to give thanks for all we have and I love to show them how grateful I am for them.
Congrats on still going strong!
My aunt’s stuffing-especially the crispy edges!
I already follow you on Facebook.
And I shared on Facebook also. Lovely gifts. Enjoy your blog and your dogs :).
My favorite Thanksgiving food is my mom’s stuffing recipe. I haven’t been able to exactly duplicate it yet, but I’ll keep trying! Thanks!
Hi Mary,
This year I will start a new Thanksgiving Tradition with my Mom and Dad. I am in the process of finally moving into the house we have renovated (you know the one with the ‘garden shed’ that I will be talking to about later for ‘help’). Since my children cannot come home this year it will be my Mom and Dad, two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world, and Mom and I will be sharing the cooking. I am so excited.
I have been following you for quite some time now and love your blog and follow you on Facebook and Pinterest. I will be sharing this post shortly on Facebook.
I always look forward to all of your blogs. I learn so much from you and enjoy each one of them.
Thank you for these wonderful giveaways.
Patricia Potter (NC Coast)
My favorite food is my mom’s pumpkin pie. She started making them when she was seven and had the best recipe…even people who don’t like pumpkin pie, love this one. I am blessed to carry on that tradition – it keeps her close in heart even though she’s been gone almost 14 years.
Love the beautiful dishes and the serving pieces. Thank you for the chance to win.
Mary, love the Pier 1 napkins you’ve paired with the Mikasa….wonderful presentation!
My Thanksgiving tradition is volunteering on Turkey Day at our local Salvation Army shelter. Many deserving working poor get a great meal served by volunteer waiters.
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the gathering together of multi-generations of family. This year we lost a generation when my Dad passed away in October. I’m so thankful for all the years we shared Thanksgiving meals together. I have fond memories of my grandfather standing at the head of the table, carving knife in hand, saying “light meat or dark?” in his strong commanding voice, and my Dad impressing us kids by eating a whole turkey leg along with all the trimmings. It was at Thanksgiving that my son had his first taste of solid food; mashed potatoes. It was love at first bite. These precious memories join us at the table each year, as real as the guests gathered with us.
I so love your blog. It inspires me and is so beautiful. My favorite Thanksgiving food is the cornbread dressing. I can eat it cold from the refrigerator the next day. Being with family has to be my favorite part of the day. My mother always showed her love of family through her dinners. Keep up the wonderful blog.
One of our favorite dishes is a corn and noodle casserole. It has been a part of every holiday family gathering for over 50 years.
First off, let me say I am thankful you have taken the time to create this blog. I am in awe and am inspired by your gorgeous and fun entertaining ideas. My personal favorite food part of Thanksgiving is my own everything but the kitchen sink stuffing recipe. Each year, I have to make more and more to meet my family’s insatiable appetite for it. Pretty soon it’s going to weigh as much as the turkey. My china is lenox and this year I will be decorating my home with a collection of chunky cable knit, burlap and white velvet pumpkins that I made. And maybe allowing a turkey or two to roost in between- with some acorns and pinecones. LOL I’m excited! The Mikasa dinnerware would make a lovely addition and the Turkey serving pieces would become treasured heirlooms. fun giveaway.Thank you!
Thanksgiving is my family’s favorite holiday! Love to gather everyone together to celebrate just being! Love reading your blog every day-So many good ideas that you share with your readers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is having our family all together, along with all the food of course! The sights, smells, and all the laughter during a time of true Thanksgiving are irreplaceable memories each and every year.
GREAT GIVEAWAY! I always use my good china Autumn by Lenox …that is a Thanksgiving and Christmas must!
My favorite thing about thanksgiving are the smells and family gatherings. My tradition is to make each guest their favorite pie.
I receive your emails!
If I did Facebook ~I would follow you!
I love cooking a meal for my family and friends, and giving thanks for my wonderful family and all we are privileged to have and share.
Happy Anniversary! I also follow you on face book as well. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is just being with family. This year I am excited to be celebrating at my son’s new home and meet some of his fiance’s family for the first time. My favorite dish has to be the stuffing – I don’t know why I only make it when we have turkey – it’s funny how that happens. If I win the serving set giveaway I will give it to my future daughter in law as a thank you for hosting this year! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving :-)
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Lots of good food (hard to choose a favorite) and family…perfect! Your posts are so beautiful and inspiring – you have truly found your calling.
First of all I am so grateful for your talents that you share. You truly have been blessed with a gift of turning everyday things into a work of art. My favorite food for Thanksgiving is “filling” which is what we call stuffing or dressing in my neck of the woods. Of course the entire menu is what makes it so special and brings back many memories of days past. I am an email subscriber and also share you on facebook.
Even though my twin sons are now 23 years old, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition is to display ceramic turkey plates and toilet tissue roll pilgrims and Indians that we made together when they were 7 years old, along with a Thanksgiving prayer card we made the same year in a religious education class I taught. We read the prayer and then say what we are thankful for. This year one of my sons will be with us via Skype as he is living and working in Los Angeles, 3,000 miles away. There are some chips in the plates and the pilgrims and Indians have faded, but they still represent the love we share and our thankfulness that we are family.
I am an email subscriber. Thanks.
Love the turkey hostess set! favorite thanksgiving food; cornbread dressing!!!
My favorite Thanksgiving food is the pumpkin cheesecake I make. Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to have the turkey serving pieces!
My favorite thing at Thanksgiving has always been cranberry sauce. I love trying new recipes for the holidays, last year it was loaded baked potato gnocchi….this year, who knows?
My favorite food is actually a side – green bean casserole. Thanks for the giveaway!
I’m already a follower!
What a wonderful giveaway! Thank you very much. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, although I do miss my mother and father who are now in heaven. My favorite, favorite food at Thanksgiving is my mom’s recipe for oyster dressing with giblet gravy with a side of just good ol’ canned cranberry sauce. Always brings back memories of past Thanksgivings and although it makes me a bit meloncholy, I love to continue the tradition mama started years ago. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Recently found your blog and I am a new subscriber. I have shared on Facebook. Thanks again and I look forward to your posts.
My favorite food is always the sweet potato casserole.
Thanksgiving has changed for me…. due to Alzheimer’s we had to put my Mom in a nursing home last year.
Thanksgiving traditions has always been about family, past and present… we make dishes that have been part of our table “forever” use serving peaces that belonged to generations past…. these are some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving.
Favorite food…. Mom’s stuffing.
I love all of your ideas…you are very talented and your tablescapes are my favorite.
Our favorite tradition is to go out on the lake for a boat ride after the meal. The weather predicts whether we wear t-shirts and shorts, like last year, or hats, coats and scarves. We take warm mulled spice wine for the adults and hot chocolate for the kiddos. We anchor out in the middle of the lake and all take turns saying what we are thankful for. It’s our last hoorah before we take the boat out of the water….so bittersweet but one of my most treasured memories to have this time to spend with my family.
My favorite food on Thanksgiving is the turkey. My son always bakes it for me and we all gather at my home to enjoy this special holiday. I have much to be thankful for and appreciate each and every day God gives me…..what a blessing it is to be with family. Hope you enjoy your holiday and I LOVE your blog!!!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is just my family being together. My children do not care for turkey and dressing so our menu varies…once it was lasagna and once seafood. Whatever my children request, we will have. I am a follower of your wonderful blog but I am hoping you will do a book someday. So glad you did retire so you could be an inspiration to so many.
My favorite Thanksgiving food is stuffing! Pumpkin pie runs a close second. I enjoy spending time with family and friends and eating til I am stuffed!! I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. Thanksgiving blessings to you and yours.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday of the year ’cause that’s when we play Turkey Bingo! The game is fashioned after traditional Bingo with the handmade cards and markers having Thanksgiving themes (turkeys, pilgrims, etc) All year long I collect small, silly prizes (the sillier the better!). All the prizes are ‘wrapped’ in fall-themed bags. Every round has a prize-winner and the prizes can be ‘stolen’ by other players until the rounds are over. That’s when everyone opens their prize bag. Turkey bingo is a after Thanksgiving dinner tradition started years ago when all the neices & nephews were young. They are all grown-up now but the first thing asked when we gather is ‘Are we going to play Turkey Bingo?’
My favorite Thanksgiving memory was the time we went around the table to share something we are thankful for. That year I announced there would be a new member in our family. My favorite tradition was getting up early as a child and helping prepare a special table and Thanksgiving dinner for our large extended family.
I absolutely love pumpkin pie. My mom made the best pumpkin pies and my daughter and I try to make them just like she did!!! Of course the best is being with friends and family, but the pumpkin pie is a close second:)
I receive your emails and follow on Facebook as well!
My favorite is pumpkin pie . Love the individual mini pies. May try that this year! Love your blob
Mary,
Thank you for this opportunity for us to share so many happy memories! I treasure Thanksgiving as a time for us to focus on what we have, and not what we don’t have, or think we want. Family time, the wonderful smells that permeate the house, bringing out the ‘special’ china, cooking all the favorite dishes. It is so hard to choose a favorite food, they all go together, but I guess it would be the sweet potato casserole with pecan topping for me!
I am also an email subscriber. Love your posts and beautiful photos.
Shared your post on my fb page!
By far you have the best blog out there. You have such talent and bring all of your followers joy and inspiration! I follow you on Facebook and email. My favorite Thanksgiving food is noodles. My family has been making this rustic homemade pasta for 5 generations and I now have my grandchildren that help make them.
As always, love my morning dose of “Home is where the boat is”! For four years we lived in Ilwaco, WA. Ilwaco is a sleepy little fishing town on the Coast and home to many cranberry farms. That’s where I learned to toss the canned cranberry sauce and instead make my own fresh whole cranberry sauce in my crockpot. So easy and so much more beautiful and tasty than canned. I would LOVE to win either the dishes or the serving set…they are both so beautiful!
I started hosting Thanksgiving back in my twenties when my boys were born, and I haven’t stopped doing it since. Sadly, the family has gotten smaller over the years, but I am still hosting and that is my favorite tradition.
I follow you on Facebook.
I am an email subscriber.
I shared this post on Twitter and Facebook.
Thanksgiving is the only holiday the hubby and I still cling to. All others have been taken by our daughters. I try to uphold certain traditions: having everyone including the children give voice to what they are thankful for, making Mother’s cornbread dressing, using the same dishes and dryer hose pumpkins year after year. I find myself hoping that some of what makes this day special will be continued by younger members of the family in years to come. I write this not because there is opportunity to win something but because it made me think about what makes Thanksgiving the one holiday the one I want to hold on to.
Thank you, Mary, for what always provides such inspiration.
My favorites: Turkey is #1, followed by my brother-in-law’ smashed potatoes and my Great Aunt’s homemade cranberry sauce.
Thanks for your great blog. Lots of your yummy recipes are featured at our house.
We like to provide a meal for a less fortunate family through our church. There is a quiet happiness in knowing as we sit down to our family meal that another family is also enjoying their Thanksgiving meal.
Sweet Potato casserole and someone re-telling the story of my very conservative mother breaking out with a turkey gobble that made the table break out in laughter – A moment to always remember about special Thanksgiving spent with my parents – miss them every day as I am sure many of you do.
THANKSGIVING: FAMILY
I have a chalkboard runner that goes over the table cloth. Over the course of our family & framily Thanksgiving meal, we write what we are thankful for on the runner. Some funny…some touching…all heartfelt!
First, congratulations on 5 years and 1000 blogs! I wish I had been reading your blogs for 5 years but I just found you recently. I love the beautiful table settings you create. Now, as far as Thanksgiving food goes, my all-time favorite is turkey and dressing. It’s my favorite meal, year-round, but especially at Thanksgiving. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition, though, goes way deeper than food – it is getting together with my family. All my children will be home with me at Thanksgiving this year and I’m so very thankful for that. It wouldn’t matter if we ate peanut butter sandwiches, as long as we are together.
First of all let me say your Blog is amazing. I look forward to seeing your incredible designs for every season and occasion. My favorite food has to be my grandmother’s stuffing recipe and serving my grandmother’s gravy recipe in one of her old crystal gravy boats with the old silver ladle.
And I’m a follower, I subscribe by email.
My family has a Thanksgiving tradition that has been upheld for almost 50 years. The eldest member of the family takes a turkey feather and tucks it, unseen, in to one of the napkins on the table. Has we all gather around and take our seats for our big feast; everyone places their napkin in their lap and the family member who gets the turkey feather gets the honor of saying Thanksgiving grace. From the oldest to the youngest; everyone looks forward to the tradition.
The dressing!! And chocolate pie!!
Since I spent 3 hrs yesterday shopping for a turkey serving platter and walked away empty handed…🙄…your platter would be awesome!!!!!
And thanks for sharing your creativity with us. Have used SO many of your ideas!!
A corn casserole recipe from my husband’s aunt is his favorite! We have had it now for 40 years at out Thanksgiving dinner.
As a new reader and subscriber, thank you again got the lovely table setting and (two chances at the) giveaway. I am so excited at the possibility of winning both the dinnerware and the hostess serving set. Strange as it may sound, at 60+ years old I have never roasted a turkey and that is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving! My husband took on the task of barbecuing the turkey, rain, snow or shine resulting in a moist and beautifully roasted bird. This allows me to focus on sides and desserts and setting a lovely table.
Congratulations on your 1000th post. I have gone back in the archives and am trying to read you from the beginning. What a treat to be able to spend a little time each evening with you.
Pumpkin Pie. We won’t be having a traditional Thanksgiving this year as we are in the process of moving into a new home, but I will have my pumpkin pie.
Our tradition is to be surrounded by family and I am so blessed that each family brings a dish to share. Most of the dishes are the same “traditional dish” that they bring each year. Everyone looks so forward to it and the one dish that has not changed besides the turkey is “Watergate salad” originally brought by my late mother-in-law.
Gobble Gobble til you wobble. I love a finishing piece of mincement pie with a cup of hot herbal tea.
Both my parents are in heaven and our family is scattered in the USA. So this will be our families first not being all together. I will set 2 place settings in honor of my parents.
A very Happy And Blessed Thanksgiving everyone !
My favorite tradition is making my mother’s (and grandmother’s) recipe for stuffing and while I am putting it together and smelling the fabulous smells coming from the pots and pans I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade just like I did when I was growing up with my mom. She has been gone for 25 years now but making that stuffing brings her right back into my kitchen and into my day of gratitude for being lucky enough to have had her for my mother!
My mom’s pecan pie is a tradition at our house. Thanks for the chance to win these beautiful dishes and for the beauty you send us in your posts.
Your blog is responsible for my addiction to tableware!!! I always loved setting a pretty table, but usually relied on linens and the centerpiece for differentiation. Now, I have multiple sets of dishes, especially those with holiday themes, and it’s all your fault…:BIG SMILE: Now, you’ve introduced me to Wallace Turkey serveware. That may go on my Christmas list if I’m not lucky enough to win a set from you.
Thank you for your posts. I always enjoy seeing the way you design your tables and especially enjoy those times when Chloe and Gracie visit via photographs. They never fail to make me smile.
Oops, I forgot to post about our family’s Thanksgiving tradition of making fresh cranberry salad. I have no idea where the recipe originated, but we have been making it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas for four generations. It’s both sweet and tart so it is a nice side dish with roasted turkey for dinner and the leftovers (carefully portioned out and refrigerated before the salad is served with the meal because otherwise there would be none left over) are tasty for breakfast with toast and coffee.
My favorite tradition is the whole family sitting down together and enjoying each others company. This year will be different since both my sons will not make it home for Thanksgiving. We have decided to have an early Thanksgiving for just the four of us. It will be different since my Auntie cooks a perfect meal.
Gosh Mary, I can not tell you how your blog and beautiful merchandising makes such joy in my day! My Mother passed in April this year. Thanksgiving was the holiday we would spend with her as Christmas time travel is too expensive and just too crazy. Our favorite Thanksgiving treat would be a recipe from her, Marilyn Mallory Casey! It is called Cranberry cake with a warm butter cream sauce. The cake is simple and not too sweet. The cranberries are fresh. Since the cake is white with red dots, sometimes my Mother would add a drop or two of red or green food coloring to the butter sauce. When you first showed the autumn leaves dishes, I thought they were just simply beautiful! I have had my dishes for close to 25 years and they have been loved and well worn, but when I saw this Lenox pattern, set on your table, they so just looked like me! That you for your inspiring and joy-full blog! You make me want to move to Lake Norman!
Wowie! By the time I see this in sweet Cali, there are hundreds of responses! Hooo! I thought I’d tell you about my favorite Thanksgiving food, stuffing! Dressing! By any other name, ambrosia of stale breads, corn and white, a lil’egg onions celery and spices…………roasted in a big bird, ahhhhh. Thanksgiving, my very favorite holiday! This year, going camping on a Northern California beach. (My child is in New Hampshire!) Stovetop stuffing will be on the menu!! Toodleooo Ellen
Congratulations on 1000!!! I am a long time subscriber and Facebook follower. I love your blog and so glad that I found you when I did. You are such a creative talent.
Thanksgiving for us is about family and food! My favorite dish is the dressing, a recipe that my mother created.
I am heading to FB to share. Thank you, Mary for all your beautiful blogs!
I love roasted turkey and squash casserole!
How beautiful and how generous! Thanksgiving for the two of us varies greatly. We have no family in the immediate area ~ closest is five hours away. Most of our families are two days away. Some years we have a houseful of holiday guests. Some years it is the two of us. Regardless, it is always a “fancy” dinner. Our menus change to match the number of guests. This is the only holiday where a bit of tradition remains ~ turkey, taters, gravy, stuffing, vegetable, and cranberries ~ with a pie or two. The day after is all about Gramma’s hamburgers with French fries, and our World Famous Turkey Must Goes. A little tradition from a non traditional kitchen. Thank you so much for all the creativity you share.
I follow you on FB as Tracie Cooper and email via tmichellecooper55@gmail.com
My favorite tradition is going to my mother’s house and having her delicious cornbread dressing! Thank you for the opportunity to win!
I am an email follower for all these years!
I am an email subscriber who loves your blog. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and the leaves dinnerware is so pretty. I have the Wallace turkey silver set, and wow is it nice! Everyone who entertains should have it. I travel by train every year for the holiday dinner with my son and his family.
I have been following your blog for the entire 5 years and save every one of your tablescapes–you are sooo creative! Our family tradition is gathering at my Mother-in-Law’s place with all my husband’s siblings families and relatives in PA. Since we are from MD our tradition is to bring Pork and Sauerkraut ( a MD thing) which is especially relevant since both my and my husband’s family are German. And I also bring Pineapple Bread Casserole–so GOOD!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My family knows that I will be making homemade yeast rolls that is a recipe handed down through 3 generations. The aroma throughout the house is amazing!! Absolutely love your blog!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your husband, and 2 precious dogs!
The family all gathers and we eat and spend time together. We could eat most anything, but we do have the traditional meal of turkey & dressing and all the fixins…I already follow you on FB.
Our family is mostly gone now, so the festivities have been greatly reduced, The memories of Thanksgivings past are still alive & well, though. Dinner at my grandparent’s home, large family gathering, lots of great food – for me, it was all about the stuffing (dressing) – still is!! And using the “good” china :)
I subscribe via email, follow your blog & on Pinterest….your photos are always spectacular!
I make an appetizer plate out of vegetables that is shaped like a turkey. The tail feathers are endive with a bit of goat cheese spread onto them.Carrots, celery, peppers and all other kinds of crudites and sometimes pepperoni and cheese make up the turkey. It’s fun to do and your imagination can make it look different every time. I don’t like too much in the way of appetizers before such a big meal and this is perfect. Thank you for your great blog! I enjoy the way you can set a scene whether its a tablescape or an outdoor scene.
My favorite memories are my dads pumpkin pies and my mother in laws fantastic dressing.
Our Thanksgiving tradition is to play games after we’ve eaten and are ready to settle in for the rest of the day. The last few years have been really mild in Utah, so we’ve added croquet to the list of games! Thanks for all your inspiration.
We love the fresh cranberries the best,or maybe my son’s stuffin muffins which disappear instantly. A new favorite is your cranberry pecan pie crust leaves, which start out with the appetizers and get carried to the table for dinner as well.
This give away is very exciting!!!!!!!
I love your blog and the gorgeous pictures you post. I also enjoy your readers’ comments.
I’ve been widowed 15 years but when my husband was alive, we had all the traditional foods for Thanksgiving. He loved the turkey and dressing (I put oysters in one pan of the dressing for him), and the leftovers. The first year after his death, my two adult children and I tried to mix things up a bit so as to make it different for us and not too sad. The first thing the kids said was, “Mom, we don’t want turkey anymore. We really don’t care for it but we knew dad loved it so much we didn’t want to say anything.” SO, since then,Thanksgiving Dinner is totally non-traditional. Sometimes it’s beef and homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, Brookville slaw, homemade cloverleaf rolls, AND pecan and pumpkin pies. Sometimes it’s BBQ ribs from our favorite place BUT the things that remain the same are the pies – pumpkin and pecan – and always with Cool Whip (which we like better than whipped cream). Must be all the additives that make it so good.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
My favorite Thanksgiving food is the turkey and dressing. Love the smell of the house all day while it’s cooking! YUM
I have to say my favorite food during Thanksgiving is the turkey. We only get turkey, the whole roasted one, during Thanksgiving so it’s a treat. But I really love the spirit of giving during the holidays. Everyone is willing to put in the extra effort!
My favorite food for Thanksgiving is my daughter’s, Amber, gluten free dressing. I love having my family over for dinner and the aroma of all the wonderful food!
I am missing the family being together in my home but it has happily gotten too big to fit! My sisters and I are all grandmothers now. But new traditions are welcomed – I want the younger generation to know they can mix things up, just make sure I get a slice of pie!
Memories of Thanksgiving past when we had turkey and dressing, the only time all year.
Then the wonderful leftovers for all to enjoy.
I don’t live in the continental US, so know that I don’t qualify for the give-aways…but just wanted to congratulate you on the blogging milestone. I look forward to every single one of your posts…always leave them to open after reading and replying to all the e-mails when I first boot-up each morning so that I can savor them at leisure..
Hi – love your blog! I recently retired and I really look forward to reading and finding inspiration through your entries.
My family really looks forward to my stuffing at Thanksgiving. I only make it once a year and it contains an unusual ingredient – water chestnuts. Believe when I say that it is quite good!
Best, Ellen
Sent from my iPad
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Love your post! My favorite food is the turkey- I am just like the dad on A Christmas Story. I pick at it while it is still cooling because I am a turkey junkie! My favorite tradition is to watch A Christmas Story with my husband late Thanksgiving night. It transitions us from Thanksgiving to Christmas. And it is one of my favorite movies. I am a subscriber to your blog. One question- I read that you were held hostage in a robbery once (I think it was in your bio), you said you’d tell us more on that some time. I just started following you two years ago so maybe i missed it. Can you either tell the story or direct me to the post date where you told it. I think I’ve gone back through them all but I may have missed it. I’m dying to know this story!!!!
Thanksgiving is the one holiday where it’s all about family and food. It’s beautiful and warm and everyone is happy! The homemade stuffing is my favorite food by far, I love the leftovers for breakfast!
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is just having the opportunity to be with my loved ones. And my sister-in-laws homemade stuffing. I thoroughly enjoy your posts. Thank You!
My favorite thanksgiving dish would be the recipe I have for stuffing from my amazing father. Each Thanksgiving, the aroma from the sage and seasonings in the stuffing bring me back to my childhood Thanksgivings where me, my sister, my mom and dad and grandpa would enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving meal together. I remember my mom getting up early, putting on her fancy seasonal apron and putting the turkey in the oven. She would set the most beautiful table, with fancy cloth napkins that matched the table cloth (they were her mom’s linens) and always used the silverware that was used only for special occassions. My dad would put on a Frank Sinatra record and they would dance together in the kitchen always saying how blessed they are and how “yummy” the house smelled. Although my mom, dad, and grandpa have passed I am so blessed with the beautiful memories of those times and I cherish the tradition of making my dad’s amazing stuffing and how the aroma’s of the holidays keep them with me always – Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family!
It would not be Thanksgiving without my mother’s dressing. I treasure the memories of making it with her when I was a child. Now that she is no longer with us her recipe is more special than ever.
Heading to the store for Plymouth Popcorn ingredients. I have been following your blog for quite a while to vicariously enjoy more lovely table settings…however, please don’t add me to the give-away. I am now “giving my OWN things away” as much as possible.” Hope these lovely things go to some young person just starting out. However, I have not managed to give away a single one of my over a thousand cloth napkins!
When our sons were young, we always served Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider in champagne flutes at Thanksgiving. Well after they came of age, and I tried to serve champagne, they did not allow me to break the “tradition” and sparkling apple cider is still the required drink at our Thanksgiving table.
Many thanks to you for the beauty you shower upon us – with your gorgeous designs, thoughtful and artistic photos and prose,
We always enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws on Thanksgiving Day and on the Friday after…it’s veggie soup with my mom and we put up her Christmas tree while watching Christmas movies!!! My two favorite days of the year!!!
I was excited that I found your blog. It was a total accident but a wonderful one. My favorite Thanksgiving food is sweet potatoes, fixed any way!! A Thanksgiving tradition that I love is, when the dishes are done and the food put away (except for the pies) we surround the table and work on a puzzle, of course pie is eaten (often the second piece) to give us strength. Fun conversation and memories are shared around a puzzle.
Congratulations on your blog! Amazing photography, décor and food. Favorite thing about Thanksgiving food is the turkey but number one is everyone’s excitement and joy no matter how many friends and family are together.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Our tradition is Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law’s home, which is very special. She is a magnificent cook and hostess! My favorite dish is her cranberry salad. Love the Wallace Turkey hostess set! I look forward to your blog posts!
Mary, your blog has been a source of inspiration to this recently retired person, helping to keep my creative spark alive! I too miss the creativity of my job, but not the drudgery parts! Our Thanksgivings have always been based upon the “traditional” foods, but we always add one or two new recipes each year to try. One dessert that always appears however, is an apple-cranberry pie. There is always a different tablescape each year, and this year I have enlisted the help of my eager, young, artistic granddaughter. Such a warm feeling to know traditions are being passed on!
Thanksgiving always involves family and a casual day. We are together all day ending with the turkey dinner. Everyone brings a dish so no one is stuck in the kitchen all day. And to continue the family get together we always have a picnic on Friday with turkey sandwiches of course. We have had picnics in all kinds of places and weather. Heat in the desert, snow at Yosemite, freezing in the Sierras, but always a great time. As you can see it is all about family. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We have a lot to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving is just that for me……”giving” a big portion of love to those around me….and with a “thankful” heart for all my God given blessings! I do so enjoy your blog and can hardly wait for your posts to arrive. You have such a way with tablescapes.Our family is so large, and spread out over the southern states, that it is difficult for us all to gather any longer in one spot for Thanksgiving. We each try to celebrate with our own immediate families and friends, but take time to make a “conference” phone call on the speaker phone so everyone can join in. We love the stories that we all share of past family gatherings, and look with anticipation to the new stories that are to come. Thank you for this giveaway. Sure hope something comes my way to help grace my table this year. (wink)
Congratulations on 1000 posts. I’m such a poor blogger. Not even 100 and I’ve been blogging since 2012. I love your blog, you have such a wonderful sense of style. Every post is so inspiring!
Congrats on your 1000th post! I subscribe to your blog and hope to enjoy it for the 2000th one!
My favorite Thanksgiving food is candied yams. My mom makes it really good!
I love the dressing and desserts. Your blog is a joy to read and follow. Your photographs are exsquite as well.
We always draw names for Christmas after our Thanksgiving dinner. I look forward to seeing whose Christmas wish I can help come true each year!
Congratulations to you for all your hard work on this beautiful blog. I love Thanksgiving dinner and in the South we don’t ever stuff turkeys. We make Dressin’. I make cornbread and homemade biscuits the day before so they will be somewhat crispy for the Dressin’ It is the most time consuming part of the dinner and we all participate in in chopping and broth making. I am the official gravy maker and make lots of gravy with frozen chicken broth as well as turkey broth. We also go around the table and share our blessings. I also follow you on Facebook.
I like to make sure that a turkey and fixings get to a family who has food issues, so I make sure to get a bird early and thaw it out and all the fixins the few days before, haul it to the Salvation Army in a sturdy box for delivery to a family so they can have food for a week..We usually have Cornish hens and the fixins it is just my hubs and me and we always go out to the movies in the afternoon or early times, to avoid huge crowds.. I volunteer for people who need food so it is a holiday filled with joy to me to help others have food for about a week not just a day..that is what Thanksgiving day means to me and my hubs of nearly 42 years, gratefulness and gratitude!! Love your blog happy thanksgiving and all the holidays to you and yours!
OH! How I would LOVE to win the turkey hostess set!!! How perfect!!! Thanks for the chance and congrats on 1000!!! PLEASE keep on blogging, we all LOVE every single, beautiful post!
We donb’t actually have a Thanksgiving tradition, but we do have a Christmas one. My favorite food on Thanksgiving is the stuffing loades with gravy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could skip the meat itself:)
I suscribe by e-mail AND follow you on FB:)
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is that my entire family gets together and we go to the Thanksgiving Day parade in America’s home town, Plymouth, MA. After all, being with family and counting our blessings is what it’s all about. I love your blog so much!
I subscribe by email and follow on Facebook.
Our family favorite is lemon meringue pie.
I love the tradition of going around the table and each family member or friend tells what they are thankful for.
Congrats on 5 years of blogging. Your blog is so gorgeous and I especially love your tablescapes.
I shared on facebook. Thank you for your beautiful, creative, inspiring blog.
I subscribe by email and so look forward to each post.
Congratulations on 5 years of blogging AND your 1000th post! I am so happy to have found your blog (and that we help keep you off the streets!) and look forward to every single post. My favorite Thanksgiving food is pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. You are kind and very generous to offer the Alexandria dinnerware and Hostess set. Both are beautiful!
I have a new Thanksgiving tradition that started 3 years ago. My daughter who has married started cooking and serving Thanksgiving Dinner to her current and newly acquired family. She is now hosting upwards of 30+ people and I can relax and enjoy good food and company. After all those years of cooking myself this is a great new tradition in my book!!! (I do bring a Honey Baked Ham to supplement the dinner). Mary, there is no if ands or buts about it, you are the Hostess with the Mostess with your blogs. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to and enjoy every single post. I receive you blog posts both at my work and my home as well as I have you on facebook. I never want to miss a single one!!! This is a great give-a-way, thank you!
I love the tradition of going around the table and each family member tells what they are thankful for and my favorite dish for Thanksgiving? Everything on the table! :-) Congratulations on 5 years of blogging. Your blog is beautiful, photos and sceneries are so gorgeous & so inspiring and I especially love your tablescapes!
I am inspired by your creative tablescapes and beautiful photos, have been following for several years and used many of your decor ideas and recipes as I do a lot of entertaining at home and for church events.
My family’s turkey dinner has the usual basic foods, but they are brightened by our grown children’s creative dishes of the moment! One year my son brought “Turducken”, another year it was sauted bolete mushrooms and kale.
My favorite side dish is slow roasted autumn vegetables,(shallots, garlic cloves chunked rainbow carrots, parsnip, winter squash, tiny mushrooms, baby potatoes, tossed with a little olive oil, a drizzle of honey, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste and maybe a little cumin. Toss in some pomegranate seeds for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Cook at 200 degrees for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I think the slow roasting makes the vegetables sweeter. The vegetables vary by my whim of the moment, so use the ones you like. Chopped parsley adds some green color at last minute. Obviously I am not a cook who measures! These can be done early and re warmed after the turkey comes out of the oven and while you are making gravy if oven space is an issue. In the latter case I would add the pomegranate seeds and parsley at the end.
I am going with decorating for Autumn and Thanksgiving. I have started to collect turkeys in the last years so I love adding to them every year. I also HAVE to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and Miracle on 34th Street. I love reading your blog and seeing all your beautiful pictures, thank you!
While I love all of the holiday foods – and I mean LOVE them, I love the conversation around the table even more. Our reminiscing will be even more special this year as for the first time in 4 years my whole family will be around my table at once. That is more important to me than any of the foods. We can indulge in that any time, but to have my family home…..What a blessing!
Your retirement was a blessing to us all!
My Thanksgiving favorite is setting the table and trying to come up with new things each year!!! My daughter always asks what I found this year!!! I love your tablescapes…you are such an inspiration with all your talent!!!
LOVE YOUR BLog!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Dee in Texas
Sweet Potato Casserole! It is THE best. Just like eating dessert, except with the meal. :) I love reading your blog and your photos are fantastic! I’ve used many of your recipes since finding you. Thanks!
Our favorite Thanksgiving food is my grandmother’s recipe for Cornbread Dressing. It is so tasty and goes well with turkey, as well as the other traditional Thanksgiving favorites! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Blessings,
Lanita
I love “the Gathering of the Clan”…wish the whole family came, but it’s a fun time. I sure love your blog, all year…every photo is always so beautiful!!
Although I have made it all for the last few years for my ailing mother-in-law, my favorite thing to make is green beans wrapped in bacon and baked with a soy sauce, brown sugar, and butter glaze. The little bundles are fun to serve!
I enjoy seeing my family and catching up on everyone’s going activities! Looking forward to pumpkin pie also.
Congrats on 1000 inspirational posts Mary! My favorite parts of Thanksgiving are football (yea, you already knew that), a nice long 4.5 days off from work and… ahhhh, I make that Campbell’s green bean casserole. Yep, I do. Didn’t grow up with it but it kinda stuck over the years. Thanks for the fun give-away, the serving pieces are really cute:@)
My favorite tradition is watching Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and I love pumpkin pie.
Congratulations (belated) on your 1000th posting! You keep us all entertained and informed with your beautiful and inspirational writing and photography! Thank you, Mary, for sharing such a huge part of yourself with all your followers! We love you!!!!!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is TURKEY! I know, boring right? But it’s true. I look forward to it every year. I enjoy cooking it with my mother, and now my own children help too. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
ErinLoves2Run at gmail dot com
Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays, the time of year, the time with family and the reason why we celebrate is why. My favourite Thanksgiving dish? Hmmm, they all good, but especially love squash as it reminds me of Dad who always grew it.
MACARONI & CHEESE and PUMPKIN PIE!!!
Wow, how do you chose just one favorite Thanksgiving dish! :) I would have to say stuffing which I LOVE ! If I didn’t have stuffing, I would say turnip (isn’t that strange !) . Just want to say that I love your blog. Every time I look at your blog I feel as though I am on vacation. I just discovered your site about a year ago and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I wish I lived in your potting shed:) Thanks so much for bringing me so much visual joy.
Mary, getting to visit your blog with each new post is gift enough for me. It’s no secret that I’m an avid fan of all that you share here at Home is Where the Boat Is. I’ve been on the receiving end of your generosity multiple times. You bring joy to my heart in more ways than I can state. Thanks for sharing your creative talents. I learn from your gorgeous styling. Happy Autumn and good luck to all her enter. It’s a beautiful give away!
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition would have to be my husband’s family Thanksgiving get together. Always the Saturday before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. It’s difficult for everyone to gather together during the year but Thanksgiving is reserved for that special family time. I enjoy seeing all our family members visit, eat, and celebrate the blessings of this special time.
~Mary~
Congrats on the 1000 post!! The six piece serving set is so neat !! I love the homemade cranberry salad , yum!!
So wonderful to read how important family time is important to everyone, family is a blessing for sure.
Paula
IN
For some reason, out of all the dishes, the stuffing is what I fixate on every Thanksgiving!
I love the tradition of all the family coming together to share a meal. And to celebrate all that we are thankful for.
Thanksgiving is my absolute FAVORITE holiday! I love EVERYTHING about it! I cannot name just one food because it all goes together!! You have to have it ALL! And just getting the entire family together is the best. It’s just my FAVORITE!!
My mother always made oyster dressing for Thanksgiving even though she didn’t like it but my dad & sister & I did. She has been gone for several years now but I make scalloped oysters every year (no dressing fans in my family) to honor her tradition & it makes me feel like she is there in spirit . I wish I could tell you my table looks as good as yours but I do make an effort! Your blog always makes me smile & I share it with all my friends & I get a lot of compliments from your recipes – Happy Thanksgiving!
I love hosting my family’s Thanksgiving dinner because I just love the season altogether. A time of gathering together and being thankful for our blessings. I love the food because of the traditions pasted down and all of the love that goes into preparing our families favorites. I don’t do all of the cooking and that’s what makes it so special. It’s a combination of a family of great cooks. I don’t have a big house but we always have room for all who come and everyone enjoys the togetherness. Thanks for your inspiring blog.
My favorite food for Thanksgiving is my grandmother’s dressing – toasted bread cubes moistened with broth made from the giblets, onions sautéed in butter, LOTS of spices, plus the chopped giblets. I think I have Nana’s recipe ‘down-pat’ (she is no longer living) & my family thinks so too!
Our family always loved going to my mother-in-laws house for Thanksgiving. She put her heart and soul into every holiday meal. Of course, the turkey and homemade dressing were the stars, but my favorite thing was one of her desserts, kolaczycki. These buttery cookies would just melt in your mouth!
Hi Mary, my favorite tradition is to prepare and bake small loaves of bread (pumpkin, cranberry etc.) wrap them in plastic wrap tied with a red bow, then slide a sheaf of wheat under the ribbon. These are given as a small gift to each guest as they leave. The wheat sheaf signifies a rich and plentiful harvest, along with the religious significance of the bread to Christ. I follow you on FB and by email.
I love everything about Thanksgiving. But my favorite part is my homemade stuffing! Thanks for the opportunity! ;)
I am also an email follower! ;)
Congratulations on your Anniversary Hallmark! Your blog is so much fun, the beautiful tablescapes get my creative juices flowing, … and those scene stealers Gracie and Chloe always make me smile. Thank you for the Give Away…. just in time for the holidays! My favorite food for the holidays hands down are the pies; traditional pumpkin and pecan pie! Already a follower through your emails, didn’t know you were on Facebook, so just signed up.
NO MATTER WHO HAS ThANKSGIVING, EVERYONE GETS A LOAF OF HOMEMADE BREAD.
We usually make my Grandfather’s stuffing recipe it has been in our family for decades. About 19 years ago I came across a pecan pie recipe that is just a bit different from the traditional recipe and I’m happy to say everyone always requests that I make it for Thanksgiving so I’m pretty sure it’s the best pecan pie most people have had.
Following you on Facebook
1000! Wow. I have been following you for most of those. Always enjoy your posts. I love collecting dinnerware and love to decorate for seasons. I love Thanksgiving and plan to spend it with my husband’s family in California this year. I love homemade cranberry relish, sage dressing, and pumpkin or sweet potato pie. I just wish I could spend Thanksgiving with my entire family and my husband’s family in one place. That would be wonderful to me.
I proudly shared giveaway information on Facebook.
I have been an email subscriber for a very long time.
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is having family & friends in for a Thanksgiving meal & having enough leftover turkey breast & homemade cranberry sauce to have sandwiches for days! YUMMY!
I already follow you on Facebook.
And I would love to win the Turkey Hostess Serving Set!
I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Betty
I also shared your giveaway on Facebook!
Betty
Blessed day with family complete with holiday aromas and festive chatter and giggling!
Home is where our pontoon boat is as well, on Lake Lanier!
I have many favorites with Thanksgiving but the one I value most is getting the youngins involved in the spirit of the day. I do this by giving them a thanksgiiving ceramic vessel, with many holiday colored craft sticks, that say “I am thankful for . . . ” . Their task is, together, visit each family member while turkey dinner is cooking, and ask them to pick a stick or as many as they want and complete the sentence by writing on it with a fine point marker. They collect the sticks and then just before we sit down for dinner we gather in a circle around the kitchen and the youngins randomly pass out the sticks and we all read the stick(s) we picked. It is a very special moment filled with ahhhs, laughs and harmony.
Thanksgiving has always been a family gathering day at our home. Since the kids were little, and now adults themselves. The morning starts with my husband and I getting the Turkey into the oven early. My daughter, who was born in Germany, a 47 yr. old challenged adult, awaits her Germany Advent Calendar and we watch the parade while preparing the food dishes of the day. By noon family starts arriving and we gather in love and thankfulness that we, who are present, are blessed.
My favorite tradition is really the day before. I take the day off from work and have the whole house to myself. I use the quiet day to prep everything from the foods to be served to the table to be set. It’s a day of peace that gives me plenty of time to cherish Thanksgivings past and be thankful for the coming day to be spent with my family.
My favorite dish during thanksgiving is my grandma’s turkey and Amish noodles! They were so good! Now every year they remind me of her! Subscribed and shared!
Mary, your posts are one of the highlights of my day. You should write a recipe/tablescaping/entertaining book with you creative writing and your beautiful pictures! My favorite dish is my Mom’s dressing, which is funny because it is made with finely chopped giblets and I would never eat live and gizzards any other way! Thanks for your dedication to your blog and your fans!
What a wonderful giveaway! My favorite Thanksgiving food has to be the oyster dressing (some call it “stuffing”). I have always lived in the South close to water, so some type of seafood is a must at every celebration. I also liked you on FB and joined by email. Thanks for the opportunity!
We started deep frying our turkey several years ago and now we do it every year… it’s become our traditional way of cooking it and it’s the star of our dinner.
I am an email subscriber and liked you on Facebook. Thanks for the chance to win!
I shared the giveaway on Facebook… “Beverly Everly”.
I love having our family gather at our house for the Thanksgiving feast. I think my favorite dish is the sweet potato casserole. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
I subscribe to your emails and I follow you on facebook!
Congratulations on your 1000 post! I have gotten do many ideas from them all!
We start Thanksgiving day with pumpkin pancake breakfast! My grown children and their significant others look forward to this every year. Hands down that is all of ours favorite dish. We love the big Thanksgiving dinner and just being all together. Every year I set a different tablescape. I really love doing that all the time but make it extra special for Thanksgiving.
Congratulations on your 1,000th post from your newest email subscriber! My favorite Thanksgiving dish would have to be either my mother’s cranberry salad or green bean bundles – green beans wrapped in bacon and baked in a brown sugar sauce. Yum! Oh – I’m also following you now on the Facebook. So glad I discovered you by way of Dixie Delights!
I almost forgot – I shared this on Facebook.
Our favorite family tradition is to enjoy the morning with coffee and pumpkin bread and then head over to the homeless shelter to help serve several hundred homeless and less fortunate individuals. This has made such an impression on our family to be truly grateful for what we have. It gives our Thanksgiving dinner a special and deeper meaning and appreciation. I love your posts especially your photogenic furry “kids”. So glad I signed up!
Congrats on your 1,000th post and thanks so much for this giveaway! I don’t have a favorite Thanksgiving dish because it would be like picking which one of my children is my favorite! Everyone is responsible for their own dish (Justin’s deviled eggs, Josh’s rolls, Jessica’s Cry Pie {there’s a funny story behind that one}…) so each one is special and equally my favorite!
Wow, what a delicious post! My favorite dish for Thanksgiving is a yam casserole with lots of butter, cream, brown sugar, and pecans. Thanks!
I am following you on the blog and your FB page (as Rose Schmidt).
My favorite tradition is dinner with family, and my favorite food for Thanksgiving is sweet potato casserole! :)
You sure know how to make a space inviting. Love your site!
With life being what it is, as the years go by, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition has become going around the table before we eat and everyone sharing what they are most thankful that year, then we thank God for His provision and eat! It keeps the focus where it should be and at the same time brings us all closer with the intimate sharing. A wonderful Thanksgiving to all! I have loved following and subscribing to your blog for so long – thanks for all the work!
Congrats on 1,000. Love this holiday & love hosting it. Turkey & traditional stuffing & leftovers are our favs. Tradition is playing Bingo with young and old. Thanks for asking. Time to gear up for turkey day.
Congratulations Mary – and thank you!- for 1000 beautiful posts, and this fantastic giveaway! I subscribe by email and shared this, today, on Facebook. Everything on our Thanksgiving table is a favorite – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy… but I think my very favorite is (my dear great-aunt-) “Esther’s Buns”. Light, fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness! LOVE your blog! Happy Thanksgiving!
So many Thanksgiving foods! I guess the stuffing would be my favorite, with the pumpkin pie with real whipped cream a close second. This year will be a special one, both our boys (young men) will be home with us for a few days !
Our family enjoys special foods only made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their favorite is Orange Pistachio Asparagus. This has been a family favorite for many years. When adding a new recipe to the holiday menu I pre-test the recipe, when this was tested, the children want me to make it again the next night. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and beautiful pictures. I have been a subscriber for several years.
I love Thanksgiving and all the trimmings, my favorite food is sweet potato casserole. I am in heaven when all the family is gathered around our table, my cup runnith over.
My favorite Thanksgiving Tradition is eating my mom’s delicious feast that she has prepared for our family for almost 70 years. She will turn 92 in a few days and still does the essential cooking on this special day. We cherish every day she is with us and every meal she so loving cooks.
My favorite part of the meal is the dressing. I fix it the way my mom did — baked in a muffin pan so each person gets their own little round dressing.
Thanksgiving is always at my Mom & Dad’s. I have 3 sisters and we all bring a side dish and snacks. I love my Mom’s cornbread dressing. Everything on the table is delicious. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my Mom’s pumpkin pie. It’s the best! Love the turkey serve ware. You find the cutest things! I look forward to all of your posts.
My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is eating all the yummy favorite foods with your loved ones!
I already subscribe by email.
Love my mom’s recipe for cornbread dressing!
I am a follower!
Hi Mary –
Congratulations on your 1000th post!!! Can’t thank you enough for all the creative ideas you have so generously shared with us!!! You are always such an inspiration with your wonderful decorating and photography.
I love getting together with family and friends for the Thanksgiving meal. My favorite dish would have to be sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows.
Thank you for the opportunity to win your giveaway. I subscribe to your blog and have liked you on Facebook.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!
Blessings too –
Kathy
Because I am a southern girl who grew up on the Outer Banks of N.C….we always had oyster casserole during the holidays. Our parents are gone, family members are throughout the country, beach house has been sold….but we celebrate this tradition in remembrance of those lovely simple days on the coast .
Our family tradition for ALL holidays is that we’re all together for a supper meal. My sisters and their families always join us for dinner, and then the rest of the family comes in at night for a second feast.
I’m also a subscriber
When my mother was alive, her Southern style cornbread dressing was a Thanksgiving favorite. Also my sister-in-law’s bing cherry salad with cream cheese dressing is an all time favorite. I am an e-mail follower.
One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is my mother’s turkey dressing. I also love, love, love pumpkin pie. My extended family loves to decorate with gnomes!!
My favorite Thanksgiving food is pumpkin pie.
kellam.susan@yahoo.com
I follow by email.
kellam.susan@yahoo.com
I would have to say that my favorite is squash
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I loved my grandmother’s dressing.Thanks for the give away!
Love the hostess set! The dish set is sharp as well. Your table settings are always beautiful. Our favorite tradition is to include “lost boys” at our table. Our daughters started to call the “extra” friends at our Thanksgiving table “the lost boys” because when they were young our guests were often wonderful men who for some reason found themselves alone for the holiday. A widower, a bachelor, a doctor on call whose family went to visit family, 6 years of German exchange students, residents from the family medicine residency program who were far from home… and more! Through the years the “lost boys” have changed to include “lost girls,couples” and more! Last year we gathered 17 at the table- 2 days after moving in to a new house! Such wonderful memories that our grandchildren now enjoy, and we look forward to welcoming their “lost boys” someday! Blessed Thanksgiving to you!
My favorite tradition is sitting around the table and remembering past Thanksgivings and funny family stories.
I am following your blog and following Facebook
We have 2 grown children who live a very long distance from us. When we get together in our home, our kitchen is filled with the 4 of us laughing and enjoying the togetherness. (Yes, hubby loves to cook also. Yea!!!). One of the “children” is known little flour or torn up pieces of bread at one of us……then it’s all out “GAME ON”. Extra cleaning, but so worth it! I’m torn between the dressing and the escalloped sweet potato/apple casserole. Both are always requested. But then, so is the marbled pumpkin cheesecake that our daughter adds to the meal. The other unusual dish is my mother’s celery salad. Altho, Mom is no longer with us, warm memories are served each holiday gathering of her contributions. Thank you for your generosity of these give aways.
We are so thankful for our wonerful friends and neighbors! Every year my husband enjoys purchasing a couple cases of Beaujolais nouveau, when it arrives at our local wine store the third week in November. He makes his rounds on Thanksgiving morning to pass out the wine and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! It is a wonderful tradition that brings him great joy!
Mary you Owl-loween table & cookies are so cute. You can certainly see that you have a retail display background and a talent for it. Congratulations on your 1000th post. You take beautiful photographs. I love your Thanksgiving cups. The lovely place setting & hostess setting would make any hostess proud. Thank you for your generous giveaway. My Thanksgiving specialties are my sweet potato casserole and my creamed corn but honestly I just look forward to sharing a meal with loved ones, Everything tastes better when you share it with friends & family.
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The star of my Thanksgiving is my turkey breast. I always use an oven cooking bag and a recipe that included several herbs – parsley, basil, and thyme rubbed on the breast. It never fails to produce a juicy and delicious bird. My family loves it!
I love the fall decorations and preparing all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce,and pies.
Love it all – the food, family, decorating – grateful for all of our blessings! God is good! Love my sister’s home made gravy with mashed potatoes but my favorite is the pecan pie! Thanks Mary for all your hard work and beautiful table scapes, the gardening shed (my favorite) and all of your yummy recipes. Would love the Wallace set. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Mary,
We are a military family, and have spent many Thanksgiving overseas. Although it can seem a bit disorienting (especially going to the markets to find the things you need to make Grandma’s recipes!), we always found Thanksgiving celebrations in foreign countries to be especially poignant, and joyous. Poignant because we missed our extended families, and even our older child who would be attending University back in the states. Joyous because of the rich friendships we had and celebrated on that day, and also because we frequently had the opportunity to introduce foreign nationals to our Thanksgiving traditions. How blessed we’ve been!
By far our most memorable Thanksgiving was in 2005 in the tiny Bavarian hamlet of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. My husband was a fellow at the Marshall School – a place where government and military leaders from all over the world came to discuss security issues (specifically how to address the root causes of terrorism) that face every country. My husband’s class included men and women from Russia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Azerbijian, Bosnian/Hergovenian, and Ukraine. They were all invited to our apartment that Thanksgiving.
You have to remember that this was just 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and even less time since the dismantling of the Soviet Union. We as Americans were brought up to think of many of these countries as our enemies, and yet, here we were, pleasantly crowded around our little table, sharing a meal, and stories of our lives,”back home.” As I listened to their stories, and marveled at the differences of our lives, I became overwhelming thankful – for the peace in Europe we now shared, for my family’s good fortune to be here with these wonderful people. Imagine laughing, talking, sharing with people who had been our sworn enemies just a few years before. It was a surreal and hope-filled evening. Each of us was thankful that evening just to be together, to be united as members of the human family, to be warm, and together around a table of plenty. This is my best memory of Thanksgiving
I just love anything made with sweet potatoes. It seems that no one really uses them except Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My favorite tradition – when the family sits around the dining table and states what they are thankful for – love what the grandchildren say!
I love the stuffing… My mom makes an amazing recipe
I love home made Pumpkin Log for dessert. Pumpkin, spices, pecans and cream cheese. Yummy
I follow you on FB; just reading last weeks posts now. We just bought a second home on LKN and were busy putting the finishing touches on it last week. The weather wasn’t too good but luckily most of our work was indoors. Just love your blog, it’s very inspiring and your style is gorgeous!
I am in the middle of revamping a walk in closet that hasn’t been touched since dinosaurs roamed the earth. It is not pleasant~~~so, every now and then I leave the closet and turn to your posts for peace and inspiration. I know if I get this done, I can decorate something or bake something inspired by your wonderful ideas and it really helps. In a strange way, looking at your blog is actually making me think of ways this closet could be functional and beautiful at the same time. Thank you for your inspiration!!!!!!
Thanksgiving~ MY favorite family tradition is of course the wonderful meal shared with family & friends. Coming from a large family it was a time of year that special dishes were made only for Thanksgiving ~
My Mom had a wonderful Fruit Salad that she had won a contest with. It was made 24hrs in advance and is still a family favorite. We still reserve the tradition and make only for Thanksgiving. My Mom is gone now but we are blessed to have this recipe and the many other Traditions she made so special for her 7 children and extended family.~
Thanksgiving Blessing to All~
It’s tough to pick a favorite when all Thanksgiving dishes are so delicious, but I’ll pick the homemade stuffing! It sure wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it. Savory, crunchy and delicious!
My favorite is roasted squash.
Holding hands as we bow our heads for grace fills my heart with happiness and gratitude. As each year passes I realize how precious every meal is I share with my family. We remember those loved ones who are no longer with us. Our table is filled with the favorites that we wait all year for. Thanksgiving is so much more than the day before Holiday shopping begins. It marks the day when we rejoice our blessings and restore our closeness.🦃
I really like cornbread dressing! My grandmother’s was the best. My husbands family always serves stuffing- The one year I made cornbread dressing no one liked it but me- oh well, a whole pan to myself- ha ha! The dinnerware is beautiful and what a gracious and generous gift. Many more years of happy blogging!
I love Thanksgiving stuffing
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I love cornbread dressing – it is Thanksgiving
What a beautiful table setting! It is so warm and inviting. I can picture many hours of eating and conversation there. Love the turkey serve ware!
I too LOVE the hostess set . As for my favorite food, hands down it’s Alton Brown’s greenbean casserole.He’s with the Food Network and the recipe can be found on their website. Horseradish carrots come in second. I like the “sides” more than the big bird. Happy Thanksgiving.
Congrats on five years of blogging! One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is using my mother’s china. Love the turkey and dressing.
My Favorite food is Stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy for thanksgiving.
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Thanksgiving tradition for me is cool crisp air, falling leaves, the scent and warmth of a wood fire, suede boots and sweaters, a fancy table setting for the family, a turkey with all the trimmings—stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, whole cranberry—and then pumpkin pie with a little more wine. :-) Your table settings, design ideas, and photos are all so beautiful! I especially love your china cabinet! Thank you for being a wonderful inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving!
I love the Fall the leaves changing colors. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is gathering with family at my house, mash taters, turkey, stuffing pumpkin pie and loads more of delicious food! Thankful for everything!
In addition to the usual Thanksgiving foods, our family always has battered and deep fried cauliflower. It sometimes makes an appearance at Christmas or Easter too! It is my Grandmother’s recipe and a special treat for everyone.
I shared this on facebook as well!
I really like pecan pie for Thanksgiving dessert. I like pumpkin too, but pecan is so rich and decadent it is perfect to eat on a day when calories are forgotten about :)
I am an email subscriber to your blog – thanks!
Our tradition was when my father was alive his sausage dressing. Although he has passed on we still try to imitate the dish as you can guess just not the same but we will ‘tradition’ on anyway.
Oh my… what a beautiful set of dinnerware. Exactly something I could see on my table. Congrats on your successful blogging! You’re doing something right! Thanks for the chance to win something so lovely!!
My favorite thing for Thanksgiving is setting my table with my great grandmother’s dishes and serving pieces. They were hers, then my grandmother’s, then my mom’s and now mine. All those lovely women have passed on but when the table is set with those dishes they are there with us!
sweet taters with butter and gravy