With the best holiday of the year just a mere week away I have been salivating over all of the recipes flooding my Pinterest feed. Besides combining two of my favorite things: eating and being grateful Thanksgiving is also about reconnecting with people that you love and traditions. Since moving to LA 4 years ago I have not been home for the turkey holiday (hey I am not a terrible daughter/sister/aunt I go home for Christmas!) but I have worked hard to keep some of my family traditions alive while adding a few updates of my own. This helps me feel like I am still connected to my family despite being a state line away. Here is how Hey Girl does Turkey Day:
Mimosas: Or as I like to call them “breakfast wine.” These are enjoyed while wearing pajamas, skyping with my parents, and prepping any dishes I am supposed to bring to dinner ( I usually always try to be in charge of wine)
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Ok so this starts pretty early in the morning, but I drag myself out of bed to watch it and drink my coffee before I start in on the breakfast wine. I really do love this parade, when I was young it was because I remember being so ecstatic to see santa at the end and now that I am an adult I thoroughly enjoy the awkward host banter (who knew it took that many people to inflate the Elmo balloon?!) or finding out tidbits like Broadway made the movie Elf into a musical.
Dinner Attire: I’m not going to lie to you friends, my Thanksgiving attire is like one step above pajamas and I am not ashamed. I usually wear something that is stretch jersey to allow for maximum tummy expansion. All pictures taken must be from the waist up so you can’t tell that I am wearing elastic waistband pants ( I might also use this same rule for video conference calls, I will never tell)
Food Options: There are a lot of variations in the world of holiday food traditions and nothing is more unsettling than when you show up for Thanksgiving dinner at someones house you have never been to before and they are misrepresenting your favorite food. I have a few die hard food rules that I value
-Turkey: I want the turkey that has been lovingly basted all day in the oven. I don’t want my turkey deep fried, BBQed, or wrapped in bacon. I most definitely do not want my Turkey stuffed with a duck and then a chicken.
-Stuffing: Cook it in the bird! More flavor, more delicious, more efficient, less pans dirtied.
-Cranberry Sauce: You can judge me all you want but I look forward to cracking the lid on that canned cranberry sauce and the suction sound it makes as it slides out of the can and onto the serving plate. The bonus is the can lines tell you where to cut for a serving!
-Pie: Apple > Pumpkin end of story and there better be ice cream
Post Dinner: Does everyone run out the door as soon as dinner is over? Do you sit around and judge each others vacations and career choices? Are you like me and go play with the little kids while everyone else cleans up but really it is so you can sneak in a nap while catching up on episodes of Sponge Bob Square Pants?
What traditions do you look forward to on Thanksgiving?
SAY|HEY|GIRL 
This is valuable info. But you maybe should have shared this with me sooner! Don’t worry the turkey won’t be deep fried. And the canned cranberry sauce is a must. But don’t think you will be getting out of the clean up duties.
Wendy I can’t wait! Can I borrow a scarf for pictures?
I don’t know…I might not have an extra one.