In a season of abundance, the quintessential harvest holiday inspires Americans to look with gratitude to the past, embracing the best of what is behind them. In a fond reflection of celebrations gone by and with eager anticipation of those ahead, readers share their sweetest Thanksgiving rituals, from time-honored recipes to simple moments with those they love most.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It is a time to reflect, count our blessings, and be grateful. With anticipation, we look forward to the festive season ahead.
Tradition is a gift handed down through the generations. My favorite is the one my daughter started years ago: My husband and I gather at her house on the eve of family celebrations and spend hours preparing. We all don shirts inscribed “Papa’s Turkey Team,” and each of us has special tasks to complete. I am greeted at the door by my grandson, whose small hand takes my own and leads me to the table. There await the construction paper, scissors, and crayons scattered across its surface. I trace my hand upon a page and, in each finger, must write something for which I am thankful. I smile at my little helper; I cannot fit it all. I begin writing in tiny print. On the top of each finger, I pen my grandchildren’s names, and the list goes on until my handprint is covered in text.
Once this craft is completed, I cut out the picture and hang it along with the others across a wide window. I take a moment to read each one. The responses warm my heart.
Thanksgiving Day arrives, and the aromas from the kitchen permeate the dining room. The table settings are beautifully decorated with fine china and crystal. As the candles are lit and dinner begins to be served, I glance up and spot my grandson’s handiwork. Written in big letters, his tiny handprint proclaims “Grandma’s hugs.” I bow my head and am thankful.
MARION ELLIOTT
Milford, Connecticut
I anticipate Thanksgiving morn even more than the dawn of Christmas Day. It is our family tradition to wake up early, make Southern sausage balls and crumb cake, and then pile onto the sofa to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I love observing the pomp, from the Broadway musical numbers to everyone wrapped up in winter wear and, my favorite, a performance from the Rockettes!
Later, with our stomachs happily full of morning goodies, we will begin prepping vegetables and, of course, peeling apples for the pie that will culminate our feast. But it is Thanksgiving morning—the house smelling of cinnamon, family members cooking together and sitting together to watch the festivities in New York—that is our truest tradition. I am forever thankful for the memories we have together and those we will continue to make. They mean even more to me now that I live so far from home.
VICTORIA COX
Honolulu, Hawaii
Coming from a humble farm in Canada, my mother grew up learning how to make everything from scratch. That included pie. Mom later emigrated to the United States, never to live on a farm again, but the “scratch” skills never faded. As a child, I learned that pumpkin pies were the natural evolution of the Halloween pumpkins we had seen everywhere a few weeks prior. It was wonderful when the pumpkins were marked down on November 1. That meant more puréed pumpkin would end up in the freezer and, hence, more pies. Throughout my life, I’ve attested to loved ones that pumpkin pies do not grow in a can. My mom is gone now, but the memory and legacy of, as well as recipe for, her amazing “from the real pumpkin” pies continue the bless our family into new generations.
SUZANNE STONE
San Diego, California
Several years ago, my family and I found ourselves far away from relatives and anything autumnal. We had moved, along with our two young children, from Minnesota—with its crisp, cool, and colorful harvest seasons—to warm, tropical, and verdant Florida. With the different climate and distance from family, it really didn’t even seem like fall to us. The holiday loomed, but we were left with a strange, almost empty feeling. The four of us needed to come up with a new Thanksgiving tradition to lift our spirits.
Thanksgiving is a day set aside to express gratitude for gifts and blessings. The greatest earthly treasures my husband and I have are our children, so we decided to plan something that would allow us to thoroughly enjoy them and each other. We abandoned the expected home-cooked turkey dinner with all of the trimmings and headed to a lovely hotel in St. Augustine for four days of vacation. During the warm daylight hours, my husband and son mastered water sports in the ocean, while my daughter and I crocheted and cross-stitched Christmas gifts on the beach. In the late afternoons, we wandered into Old Town St. Augustine, learning about the history of the area. We discovered “the greatest pizza in the world,” savored delicious ice cream desserts, and admired the beautiful white lights adorning the coastal getaway for the holidays. We competed in a couple of serious miniature golf games and spent evenings in the hotel lobby playing cards. On Thanksgiving Day, we ate at a restaurant, but no one minded; we were having the best time ever—laughing, talking, playing, and celebrating the gift of one another.
We loved every second of that trip, and when the next year rolled around, the children could hardly wait to go again. Year after year, Thanksgiving in St. Augustine was a much-anticipated highlight, and every visit was filled with memories we will forever cherish.
Both of our children are now grown, married, and live in other states, but all year long they talk about coming back to Florida to join us for our untraditional Thanksgiving tradition: those few days away when we can delight in and be thankful for our greatest blessings: each other.
CYNTHIA JONES
Longwood, Florida
Each November, as I gather menu ideas from my favorite cookbooks and magazines, I know one dish is sure to be a part of our Thanksgiving celebration: Mother’s poached pears. Choosing Bosc pears with a lovely shape and stem, she carefully carved out the seeds before simmering the orchard fruit in Port wine. As a young girl, I would see the beautiful pears on a platter in the refrigerator and get so excited. They looked so fancy. Mother would serve them in lieu of salad, presented before each guest on individual plates. This is a family recipe I treasure to this day.
LISA MYERS
Gleneden Beach, Oregon
Thanksgiving has always been our family’s favorite American holiday. It’s a time to reflect and give thanks for bounty and blessings as we gather around the dining table for a traditional turkey meal, filled with savory comfort foods and richly flavored treats. But with the changes life brings as we grow older, sometimes traditions shift for reasons beyond our control.
My husband and I recently relocated from Oregon to Texas and will be alone for the holiday. My heart sank when I first realized this, but then I got an idea: make new traditions! So, in lieu of our usual festivities, we will host new neighbors who also will be available on Thanksgiving Day. I decided to plan this feast in honor of the first Thanksgiving celebration of 1621, when the native Wampanoag people and new English settlers gathered together after the harvest, sharing a meal of roasted wild game, shellfish, and corn.
To prepare for the celebration, I’ve decided to write a Thanksgiving play, which will be read aloud around the table as our form of after-dinner entertainment. As for food, I will provide the herb-roasted stuffed turkey, cranberry compote, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Our neighbors will bring their favorite side dishes and desserts to share. After all, isn’t that what the spirit of Thanksgiving is all about?
ROBIN CAPERS
Temple, Texas
My mother always made the holidays so special for our family. She baked and crafted, decorated and gifted, and remained kind and patient. Unfortunately, she barely got to know her granddaughter, Desiree, whom we adopted at age eight. This was a challenging transition, and we tried desperately to foster connection. The year after my mother passed, in an attempt to keep ourselves together, we traveled to Washington, D.C. to spend Thanksgiving at my sister’s house. I worked hard to prepare the classic meal, with home-baked apple and pumpkin pies like I used to make with my mother. We wanted Desiree to know her grandmother through these traditions, and we wanted our daughter to feel happy even though we were all grieving.
After saying grace at dinner, my sister-in-law asked everyone around the table to share something for which they were thankful. When it came to Desiree, we all expected silence, but, instead, she blurted out, unprovoked, as if she couldn’t wait another second to say it: “I’m just so glad this family wants me.” We were all awed to realize that maybe we were making progress after all! Now, fourteen years later, Desiree is almost twenty-three. She is happy and beautiful and reminds us of all the holiday traditions!
LISA AMBROGIO-DECOLA
New Haven, Connecticut
Read more sentiments about Thanksgiving and gratitude in the Reader-to-Reader column of our November/December 2023 issue, available on newsstands and at victoriamag.com. Plus, submit your thoughts to our latest Calling All Readers prompt to perhaps see your words published in a future issue of Victoria!
