Move Between Courses
With a long meal like this you really have the luxury of taking your time and creating natural breaks between courses. The complication and multiplicity of this type of collaborative meal is what Thanksgiving is all about, and the passing of dishes engenders new levels of communication and social bonding. 8. Many of the Wampanoag had to walk two days to get to the Plymouth settlement. It shifts the momentum of the day, makes it a much more relaxed meal and allows the foodl to settle long before bedtime. Sit Close Have a Long Table
For most dinner parties I worry about having too many people around a table or being too tight in my home. When I worked with clients, every single one said that a top wish was to entertain more at home. 5. Harvest festivals were nothing new; both the English and the Wampanoag had similar traditions in their culture. 10 Things To Remember About Thanksgiving
1. A Kid’s table is an opportunity to have some fun and even have your kids help you set it up. I also think that children appreciate being a little independent at Thanksgiving and helping one another instead of having their parents wait on them. With Thanksgiving around the corner, you know we’re going to speak to experts, load you up with inspiration and show you how to cook a turkey. Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a national holiday on different dates, but on October 3, 1863, in the wake of victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln decided to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation declaring the fourth Thursday in November national Thanksgiving Day. I know that I said to seat everyone together, but I think young and old alike always appreciate their own space to have the meal at their own pace. The meal was mostly meat and seafood, but probably included squash, cabbage, corn, and onions, and spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper. At the first Thanksgiving, they didn’t eat mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, and they probably didn’t even eat turkey. Start with drinks on the sofa, then sit at the table and then retire to the kitchen or living room again for or before dessert. If you serve family style, have people bring their favorite dishes and then get some crazy passing going around your table you will have MORE fun. There are many poems about Thanksgiving, and if you want a really nicely written history, this one from The Writer’s Almanac is one of my favorites:
«Today is Thanksgiving Day. Don’t rush it! Kid’s Table
If you’re doing Thanksgiving with kids, give them their own table. Eat Early — When The Sun’s Still Up
I am a big fan of skipping lunch on Thanksgiving day and having an early supper. (Image credits: Cambria Bold; Shelterness; Dummy Account; Maxwell Ryan; Rachel Joy Baransi; Kinfolk; Real Simple; Painting by Jennie A. In the fall of 1621, the Plymouth colonists had barely survived the previous winter and had lost about half their population. There were about 50 English people and 90 Wampanoag, and since there wasn’t enough room in the seven houses for the guests, they went ahead and built themselves temporary shelters. He taught the settlers how to plant corn, beans, and squash and how to catch eel and shellfish. We’d like to help you solve this problem. A man known as Squanto, a Patuxet living with the Wampanoag tribe, knew English because he had been a slave in England. 3. In 1941, Congress made it official.»
9. Anything is good, and you can simply carve out gourds to place votive candles in them or make place cards. The raw and authentic shapes and colors in leaves, branches and berries (and flowers, sometimes, when down south) are stunning and simple reminders of this special time of year. Make Something
In keeping with the modest tone and family centered feeling of the holiday, making something for the table or the guests is a great idea. This is not about glitter and bling, people! Few of them did, they said, because they didn’t feel confident. If you can get everyone at a long table and get them close to one another it will be intimate, cozy and great. Passing: Many Sides, Little Dishes
Thanksgiving is a meal of side dishes and there’s a huge advantage to this. The Wampanoag people and their chief, Massasoit, were friendly toward the Pilgrims and helped teach them how to live on different land with new food sources. 6. Leaves, Branches Berries
Every table I’ve ever decorated has been done with what I’ve found outside on the day. Not so Thanksgiving. When they run off to play, you won’t have to collapse your seating at the main table to get closer to one another. With this in mind, focus on the food and keep your decor seasonal, simple and harvest based. Brownscombe; Oneill; Country Living) Invite the people you love, take in strays and don’t worry that everyone is sitting shoulder to shoulder. The Pilgrims built seven houses, a meeting place, and storehouses full of food, so they invited the Wampanoag Indians to feast with them.
