Happy Tuesday ladies! I hope you all don’t think I’ve forgotten about you – I had a super busy week last week and weekend celebrating my birthday. It was a great weekend and I have some pretty new goodies – more to come on that later this week, though!
I have been cooking up a storm this week preparing for Thanksgiving – we’re having a potluck at work today, my classroom is having a Thanksgiving party on Wednesday, and then I’m preparing for real Thanksgiving with Corey’s family on Thursday. This is the first Thanksgiving in my entire life that I haven’t spent with my parents and my own family and as I was preparing a Bridal Talk Tuesday discussing my take on bridesmaids dresses, I changed my mind completely and decided to talk about a more serious topic.You’ll have to stay tuned another week in the near future to check out my top picks for my what my bridesmaids will be wearing.
Today I wanted to talk about blending holiday traditions. I am an only child and I have never spent a Thanksgiving away from my parents. There were a couple Thanksgivings where it was just me and my mom (when I was representing South Carolina at the National American Miss pageant in California which took place during Thanksgiving week, for example) but most of the time I’ve had both my parents with me and other members of my own extended family.
On my 21st birthday my father was admitted into the hospital for congestive heart failure. He stayed in the hospital for a week and it was unbelievably scary for me. He came home on Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving and even though we ate steamed vegetables and low sodium stuffing, it was probably the Thanksgiving where I felt most thankful.
I can’t wait for the day when Corey and I own a house and can host Thanksgiving there for both sets of parents. This year, we’re spending Thanksgiving with his family here in New Jersey and then we’re flying home to spend Christmas with my family. Everyone seems to be pretty happy with this arrangement for this year and I’m excited that Corey and I will be spending the holidays together.
I love the holiday traditions I have with my family but I love Corey’s family as well. I really wish we could just have two Thanksgivings and two Christmases so I could celebrate both holidays with all the people I love. Compromises are being made – I’m making macaroni and cheese to bring a bit of Southerness to Thanksgiving this year and I know my parents will adjust our Christmas traditions to make Corey feel at home.
My question for all of my married and engaged readers, what are one or two ways you’ve blended your holiday traditions with your significant other?
I’m excited that I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with this man, this year and always.
A little bit of a ramble today but I think this is a more serious aspect of wedding planning than the usual fluff we’ve been discussing – you know, the hair, shoes, wine choices, etc. And its something I’ve been thinking about today!
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I love the holidays, but it is also such a struggle to spend enough time with both families on both holidays. Last year Stephen and I didn't have Thanksgiving together, so this year my family invited his family over for Thanksgiving. I'm so glad we will have both our families together this year. For Christmas, Stephen gets together with my family Christmas Eve, this is when we do our family time, and then after I open up presents on Christmas morning I go over to his house to open presents and spend part of the day with him. I definitely understand how you feel, I can't wait till we are married next year and everything will be easier around the holidays!
What we do is Thanksgiving am with my family, Thanksgiving dinner with Zach's family and then Christmas Eve/Christmas am with mine. Then we go to Zach's family for Christmas dinner. We are lucky in that we only live a mile away.
So are you spending Tgives at Corey's house? I have no idea how M and I will blend our holidays together. We have yet to discuss what we're doing for Xmas…
Due to the boy's work schedule, we're spending Thanksgiving apart. I am pretty bummed about it, but we will be together on Christmas so that makes up for it a bit. His family lives out of town and doesn't make much of an effort to see us at the holidays, and since he can't get off work to travel and see them, we will be spending this year with my family. It's such a tough thing to figure out and a lot about compromise. I dread the days when I won't be able to spend the holidays with my own family, but hope compromises can always be made. Although, i have a good sense that it will lead to some arguements in the future!
We kind of have two Christmases. Will's parents are divorced so we do have two celebrations, but they are not on the same day. It works for us. My mom kind of blends in to both since my father passed away and I'm an only child.Have a very happy Thanksgiving!
[KP] had to work this Thanksgiving so I am up in TN at my families cabin and he is back in FL working 🙁 not the ideal situation but I guess this is what happens when you grow up and get jobs. We have quite a nice xmas schedule worked out that we have been doing for the past 3 years or so. Xmas eve at my gmas house, xmas morning & breakfast at my house (we have little kids), xmas lunch at my dads, xmas afternoon meal at his house, and xmas dinner at my house. Yes, I really do eat four meals on christmas. Then the next day we leave for TN and stay until new years. Hopefully it will all work out with his job this year. xoxo.
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