Barb

I always went home for Thanksgiving, but after having kids we do Thanksgiving at my house in Los Angeles and spend Christmas at my mom’s house in San Francisco. I try to make Thanksgiving personal for my guests, and fill it with traditions that my kids will remember.

I love to set a formal dining table with my wedding china and put red roses bunched in small silver vases and red votive candles down the center. The girls and I always try to make creative seating cards. Last year, we found leaves in the backyard and painted our guests’ names on them. This year, I think we are going to paint our guests’ names on individual pomegranates. My eighty-year-old aunt always makes her special ravioli with her secret meat sauce, a tradition that has been in my family since I was a kid. I make my mom’s famous stuffing that everyone raves about it, but nobody knows comes out of a box – Stove Top stuffing! Since we leave for San Francisco pretty early for Christmas, I buy the Christmas tree and use Thanksgiving as a tree trimming party as well. The kids have so much fun decorating, plus it gets done a lot faster when everyone helps. Most importantly, we give thanks for all our blessings and for having each other.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Barb