Each year Thanksgiving comes and goes, with the same idea of eating turkey and the football games. If your a child you may get to see Santa in the parade, or watch it on TV. Sometimes there may even be some Thanksgiving specials on TV, like when Snoopy makes Thanksgiving dinner. Or the Miracle on 34th Street, is a true classic movie to watch. Some people may go to church and others help out at a soup kitchen. And then there are those who are out hunting for that deer.
But I wanted more! I was going to turn 40 years old on November 28th, 2002 and it just so happened to fall on Thanksgiving day. Wow, this was special to me and I wanted to remember it, so I decided to do something big.
I rented an indoor hall at my local park, and I could have 100 people attend. This was going to be so much fun, I invited all of my family members and my husbands, then our friends and co-works. Every invite was open to them to invite anyone in their family and anyone they may know that would be alone for Thanksgiving and invite them too. Each invitation asked what meat, side dish, and treat they would bring, and how many adults and children would attend.
This was such a great idea for everyone. Everyone was able to get together with other family and friends without having do all the cleaning and cooking at their home. Children had other kids to play with, while the adults enjoyed talking. Since each family only had to cook a few things and not everything, there was less stress on the cooks. Plus there was so much to eat and so many different types of foods. What a feast to give thanks for.
There was a few things that I needed to get help with, like the table clothes, and putting up the decorations, and place cards and table setting, and even had my father put together a few tapes of Christmas music for us to enjoy in the background. I also had one table put aside for the children with coloring books and toys.
One thing I did want, was for everyone to be able to see each other, so we put all the tables into a large square, with all the chairs set up around the outside. Each table had a loaf of bread and butter to share. So we had everything for the perfect Thanksgiving Dinner.
This was my best birthday ever, to enjoy Thanksgiving this way together with everyone I loved.
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