This time of year is the perfect time for families, friends and loved ones to gather together and give thanks. It's a time to reminisce on old memories and cheers to new ones. With the eve of Thanksgiving upon us, we thought it would be a good idea to ask the CommonPlaces team what they loved about this time of year, what traditions they may have and things they look forward to. Do you see any common trends?
"Every year, the family gets together to sit back, relax, watch a little football and take an Autumn walk together."
"My family is not big on tradition. We typically get together, chat, eat, and chat some more. I do however, always look forward to green bean casserole every year, and usually taking a nap on the couch."
"Come to think of it, Thanksgiving for me is full of friendly competition. The night before a bunch of family and friends get together to go bowling, first thing in the morning we wake up and play touch football, and have a bonfire with some adult beverages while we prepare for the big turkey dinner, and watch football and play games all night."
"I couldn’t be more thankful about my life in these days. I have a wonderful wife, great friends around the world and I work for the coolest company! I pray for God to take care of each one, not just today, but every day. Also, now that I know what “fall desserts” are, I would probably add that to my list."
"Winter beers, campfires and days off."
"Every year my girlfriends and I throw a Friendsgiving, and I absolutely LOVE it. We bring all our families together, to cook, eat, and have a great time. My favorite tradition with my family is to have everyone say what they are thankful for while we are eating. As for my favorite foods, I love smoked turkey and my grandmother's Green Bean Casserole, I look forward to them every year and usually go back for seconds when they are on the table."
"One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is: I usually can travel to someplace nice. My family lives in another country, so if I’m not travelling I often spend Thanksgiving with friends enjoying a delicious meal and wine."
"I'm thankful for the company of my father-in-law, as I let the over-sized meal settle on the couch, not feeling the need to make small talk, and if we rest our eyes for a few moments while the kids are in the other room, so be it."
"What I love is definitely the food. Too shallow? I know. I don't care. My grandma's milk pudding is too awesome not to take the prize. Yes, meeting relatives I haven't seen in awhile is nice. I enjoy pinching the new baby's cheeks and answering the same questions as last year ("No auntie, I'm not married yet") but none of those things beats the fight for the turkey's legs. That's right. I am proud to say I have consistently won the turkey leg tournament for several years now. I always get to eat at least one. The secret is to move swiftly after the end of the prayer without any pudor or honor. Focus on the prize."
"Family and friends sums it up for me. It’s great to actually make time to just get together and laugh and share time. I love to make empanadas a traditional Argentinian finger food filled with meat and love, Thanks for the recipe Nona it’s always a hit."