I always see on TV where families will be gathered around a large table with a turkey in the middle and with all the nice plates and silverware on the table. Also everyone is all dressed up in very good clothes.

That got me thinking, because at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, there are at least 50 people there. if not more. And we eat outside or where ever we can find a spot to eat. People have to sit in the bed of trucks, on the edge of the porch, standing up or anywhere else. Now we do have a Kitchen that my uncle just built that looks like and old house, so all the food is in there, but theres only tables for the food and nowhere to sit and eat. Plus we eat out of plastic plates and plastic silverware.

So do you guys have a nice sit down dinner inside or do you do like my family does and just scatter around where ever you can find?

It is supposed to be in the mid 60's and maybe low 70's here today so perfect weather for eating outside.

 

There's only about 10 to 15 of us, and it's one of the very few meals we are all together and get the chance to sit at a table.

One big table for the adults and several small tables for the children.

I always eat too much.

 

Here in the North, theres no such thing as eating outside on thanksgiving, way to cold. Last year we had a snow storm on thanksgiving.

anyway, our family gets together at my house this year, and yes, its a dress nicely event. I'm excepting about 35 family members this year, and I have enough room in my kitchen to seat them all (I have a fairly large kitchen) We eat at 5, but we don't have all the food gathered at one big table, we do a buffet style on our Island table, people walk around get what they want to eat, and sit down at one gaint table I set up i nthe kitchen.

after dinner, we wait around some and have desert.

thats about it.

 

Well, there is only 3 of us this year since my sister went to TX to see her boyfriend. Just mom, dad & me. And I'm in some baggy Levi's, Eric Clapton concert T-shirt and some sandals since it's 60 here. As you can tell, not too fancy over here.

 

Only three here, My wife, son and me. This year we went out for the feast, Golden Coral, what a pain in the rear. Never again, first time we didn't have a big dinner at home. I couldn't belive how busy it was there, stood in line for 20 min or so just to get in. Then another 10-15 min in line on the food line. The place was packed. Next year I'm making reservations somewhere else.

 

We go to mom and dads. Myself, wife and kids, sister and brother in law and their kids. 10 of us in all. Mom still does ALL the cooking (she cooks for days prior), but me and sis bring certain dishes or deserts. The table setting is formal complete with china and crystal, Real silverware, the whole shabang. Wine and beer for the adults and milk for the kids. Good times every Thanksgiving and always a good prayer beforehand. Oh yeah, almost forgot the FOOTBALL!

 

Ditto here just 3 this year but usually have the inlaws and G-parents over.
Most of my fam is in Az. Maybe next year we will make it there.
Jeans and t-shirt also very casual! 65 degrees here today Deep fried the
Turkey and had a few

 

This year is was supposed to be Thanksgiving dinner with my crew on the reservation. Side note, but am I the only one who sees the irony in celebrating Thanksgiving on an indian reservation? Anyway, 10 mins before we were all going to sit down the pagers went off. Some dude started circling the drain, so we had to go to work. Oh well, now its leftover thanksgiving dinner.....

 

Hey that always happens at the firestation when you are sitting down to eat!

 

Mine is the whole family....Mom, Dad, sisters. brothers, nephews, nieces......we break out the good china, have a feast for a king, but all very casual.

Oh yeah....and watch football.

 

Thanksgiving dinner for me, my mom, and my two younger brothers is when a few of the chefs at work bring some of the food up from the line at around 3 - 4 PM and put it on the counter. You then have approximately 3 mins and 17 seconds to eat as much as possible before it is completely devoured by 30 - 35 other starving people. Then you go back to work to continue your 12+ hour day. I'm beat...

 

Dinner is at one family members house or another, just depends on who decided to host it that year but we sit down and eat at a table. It's usually way to cold for picnics. Some years there are 12+ people, some years only 3-4; depends on jobs, travel and in-laws. There isn't always good china but everyone is dressed nice, casual maybe but clean and relatively tidy. There is always more than enough to eat, more than enough to drink and lots of laughter and memorable moments.

 

It was just me and the wife this year -- we decided that traveling with a 9-month old was just too much of a PIA to bother with heading up to Dallas for the normal family event.

I'm the cook in our family, so I had the whole spread ready to go at around 6:30 PM (just after the little man's bedtime) and we ate it sitting in bed in our PJ's watching some tube!

I made a 15# bird, and with only the two of us eating I have absolutely no frigging idea what I'm going to do with all the leftover turkey, dressing, taters, green bean casserole, etc......