thanksgiving weekend in review

our turkey : )

wow.  thanksgiving (weekend) has already come and gone.  it's hard to believe.  i look forward to this time of year so much, and it never fails to fly by.  quicker and quicker each year.

thanksgiving table

thanksgiving was spent at my parents' house.  my mom makes a killer thanksgiving dinner.  we began prepping the day before and continued our kitchen duties thanksgiving morning while the macy's parade was on.  and it snowed! 

snow...snow...snow...snow...SNOW!!!

i'm always in charge of the mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce.  my sister made homemade bread and rolls.  and my mom prepared the turkey, stuffing and her traditional mushroom souffle.  the food was spectacular.

han's homemade rolls on baking sheets

the house felt "holidayish" and super cozy with fires blazing in both fireplaces.  we visited with family and enjoyed food, cocktails and company.  perfection.

fast-forward to saturday.  we spent the day helping my parents' decorate their house for the holidays.  generally we don't decorate for christmas quite so early, but they're hosting a baby shower for  my cousin next weekend and the house has to be christmasfied by then : )

the big tree

living room mantle

we got and put up and decorated both trees (one for their living room and one for the great room), rearranged furniture, cleaned and prepped for the holidays/baby shower.  it definitely got me in the holiday spirit.

small tree in living room

then saturday night my parents had a party to go to, so i hung out with my sis and we had a girls' night.  (craig was up with his family all weekend in ny.)  we made homemade pizza.  half with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, (delicious) chopped olives and thyme.  the other half had caramelized onions, bleu cheese, fresh mozzarella and rosemary.  omg.  they were so good!  we watched movies and enjoyed sister-time.



pizza pre-baking

pizza post-baking.  yum!

sunday craig headed back down, and we worked on our own decorations back at our place.  we got our tree situated in our family room and put lights on it and also decorated our barn with colorful strands of lights.  it looks adorable.  for dinner we enjoyed some thanksgiving leftovers my mom sent home with us : )

our cute baby tree

so, how was everyone's thanksgiving weekend?



.

i can't stop this feeling...

picture credit {here}

i've been getting that "holiday feeling" lately. you know the one. it's that feeling you used to get when you were little and the holidays were soooo magical. now, i guess, it's more of a nostalgic feeling - remembering all those wonderful childhood christmas traditions. the feeling arrives sometimes unexpectedly, brought on by a christmas commercial, a holiday song or evergreen garlands around a door. other times you know it's coming. like this thursday when i'm helping my mom and sis in the kitchen getting the thanksgiving meal ready while the macy's thanksgiving day parade is on. just typing that, i got a glimmer of that holiday glow. like the kid in the polar express, i know that somewhere deep down, i'll always "believe". even when the jingle bell stops ringing for others' ears, i'll hear it. i know i will.

picture credit {here}

in order to "keep the jingle bell ringing", i think you have to work at it. and each year, i (nicely) enforce our holiday traditions. to keep them alive and to preserve them (so one day we can share them with our own children).

a few of my fave traditions (feel free to steal any that interest you!) :

-christmas ride. each year, we all pile into the car in our pjs with blankets, pillows and food and peruse nearby neighborhoods looking for the best decorated houses while listening to christmas songs.

-carolling. most years we host a carolling party. we enjoy cookies and hot cocoa before wrapping ourselves in red scarves and donning santa hats as we serenade the town. my recommendation: appoint a leader who can organize the singers and start songs so that they're on key.

-holiday specials. i make it my goal to watch as many holiday specials and christmas movies as humanly possible between thanksgiving and christmas. whether it's a sappy lifestime movie or a classic like "white christmas", i'm tuned in. hey...the holidays come but once a year!

picture credit {here}

those are just a few of the many, and i'm sure i'll be writing many more similar posts throughout the next month or so. i just couldn't resist sharing a few now!

so, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

happy thanksgiving : ).