Every family has their own Thanksgiving traditions. Some try something new every year, but my family’s tradition has been the same for as long as I can remember.
My mom, two younger sisters and I have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma, who we moved in with a few years ago. Each year, we spend the day cooking and prepping for dinner. First, we begin roasting the turkey in the oven, then work on the many side dishes. This task takes up most of the day, but afterwards we can enjoy the food. My main cooking responsibilities are usually making the green bean casserole and cranberry sauce and helping with the pumpkin pie.
When dinner time finally arrives, we eat an array of foods such as turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans, homemade rolls and pumpkin pie. Sometimes dinner also includes ham, green bean casserole or macaroni and cheese. We have these foods each year, but on occasion, my mom will find a new recipe to try out like a side dish or dessert.
The foods I most look forward to are the turkey with cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. My younger sisters tend to enjoy sweeter foods like pumpkin pie the most. We all also really enjoy the homemade rolls and macaroni and cheese.
My favorite part of this yearly Thanksgiving tradition is the extra time I get to dedicate to my family. Cooking with my mom throughout the day brings back memories of helping my grandma cook when I was younger. Most of the time, I am too busy with school and work to have a nice sit-down meal with my family, so Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to spend the day together cooking, enjoying a homemade meal and watching a holiday movie.
I am so grateful to have a family that is so close to one another, and I look forward to spending Thanksgiving with them this year – and every year!
