On Being a Gracious Thanksgiving Guest

Happy Thanksgiving a day early! What do you have planned for tomorrow? Hadley and I will be spending a much-needed day with my family, and I’m really looking forward to it. The last time we spent Thanksgiving with my family was two years ago when Hadley was only 11 days old, and that holiday was a total blur. 🙂 I didn’t even bring my child pants to wear with her onesie… in November. #newmomprobs

My younger brother bought his first house a few months ago, and he called dibs almost a year ago on hosting Thanksgiving this year. It’ll be his first time hosting a big holiday meal, which brings back memories of hosting my first big holiday meal.

For Christmas 2011 Jamie was home on R&R during his first deployment to Afghanistan, and we invited his parents and brother to Tennessee to spend a few days with us. I was so excited to create a beautiful Christmas tablescape and prepare a big meal.

How hard could it be, right?

Well, it turns out that it was hard for that 23-year-old newlywed. I severely burned the rolls, I destroyed the green bean casserole by putting 1.5 CUPS of salt into it (looooong story!), and my sweet carrots were just a bit too sweet. I think we ended up eating a ham, mashed potatoes, and a salad. A family member also actually choked during dinner, but another family saved Christmas (and family member’s life) by performing an impressive Heimlich. I’m not kidding. We laugh about it now and add it to the story of how we nearly ate cereal for our first Christmas dinner.

I share this story to encourage you to enjoy your holiday tomorrow with friends and/or family and to give your host(s) lots of grace and appreciation for hosting, especially if it’s his or her first time. My dad and I were talking yesterday about how the point of Thanksgiving isn’t about the meal anyway, but rather about creating memories with family, enjoying togetherness, and being thankful for another year of blessings. I love that perspective.

Have a good one! Gobble till you wobble. 🙂