I'm jumping right in on this one: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday -- first, a church service to express gratitude, which for me is really at the heart of Thanksgiving even more than family, friends, football and turkey. But then, the big feast with lots of good food and good people. Not a football game anywhere in sight!

My favorite memories of Thanksgiving are my sisters and myself coming home from college the night before and helping our mom chop all the ingredients for the stuffing. (When we were old enough, we could have a cocktail while we were helping!)
Now I have one away at college--she'll be home on Tuesday--so these memories may get trumped by having her home, and later, when her siblings are gone as well, the return of all three kids for the holiday!

My memory is of visiting my late grandmother in Essex Junction, Vermont and smelling the awesome odors of the stuffing and bird. Grandma would make creamed onions, a dish not very popular, but a big hit in my book!

Has the statute of limitations run out? Can I mention this without a lawyer present? Are you wearing a microphone? Oh, not THAT Thanksgiving, the other ones...

My Uncle and Aunts owned a large farmhouse in Lunenburg, MA so the entire clan would show up -- grandparents, distant relatives, folks we hadn't seen in a year. The house would smell of cooking turkeys, apple and mince pie scents in the air, crisp and cool air outside and warm welcoming smiles inside. We'd all enjoy a fine meal served by my mother and Aunts, and afterwards they'd all head off to the kitchen to smoke and gab and clean up. The kids and men headed for the living room to sit in sated stupors in front of the TV, at least until the dessert and coffee call.

We kids would get bored with football and wander off to the cousins rooms to get caught up on kid stuff, or head outside to check out the pond or climb in the barn. As the afternoon wore on the shouts from the men the living room got more boisterous, perhaps due in part to the jug of Canadian Club my Uncle Lenny had hidden away in there.

By 6pm it was almost expected to hear a crash followed by a thud. We'd run in to find my brother with my oldest cousin in a head-lock, or Uncles Lenny and George taking wild, disoriented swings at each other while raving about the last touch-down. One year they busted the TV and sat around looking like guilty kids for a couple hours afterwards. Ah, I miss the good old days!

There is nothing like a 1 a.m. leftovers sandwich. That is when I give the most thanks.

Being grateful for family and friends, along with the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, and the air you breathe should always be exercised every day of the year. I admit, I was a menace and rebel teen/teenager, but always was thankful of everything life has given to me. Live life with happiness, share it with others and good karma will come back to you.

November 24th would mark 11 years that my grandmother has been performing Japanese bon dances in Heaven. I'm grateful of everything she has shared with me while I was growing up and a price tag could never be put on the last meal I shared with her on Thanksgiving.

Great stories! Funny how Thanksgiving seems to touch a special chord for most of us. And, yes, remembering (and hopefully, doing something for) those who aren't as fortunate to have a home, much less a bird. Also, on a different note, I only recently discovered that no one in New England used the term "dressing" for what stuffs the turkey. Even though I've lived here in New England far longer than I ever lived in the Midwest, it was a new realization to me. Where I'm from, "stuffing" and "dressing" are interchangeable terms. Ah, regional variations!

Creamed onions?!? AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH! Not once in entire generations of my family did anyone whip out the creamed onions. Must be 'an acquired taste.' Right up there with beet and raisin pie... ACK!

I love creamed onions- after reading this thread I had to go find my Nana's recipe- Thanks Ryan
Happy Turkey Day

I met my now ex-husband on Thanksgiving, we eventually got together on Thanksgiving and his mom is a wonderful cook so Thanksgiving at his parents' house was always yummy. While I am VERY happy to be on my own (and to be spending THIS Thanksgiving with my own parents in CA), I have some pleasant and tasty memories of Thanksgiving to hold onto from when I was married.