Thanksgiving has a magic power to help family and friends share the cozy warmth of togetherness around a celebratory meal. Of course, along with that beautiful bird and the flotilla of side dishes, comes hours of preparation and, let?s face it, just a little bit of pressure. After all, Aunt Martha expects the yams to be cooked just so?
And just when you think you finally have the cooking marathon under control you hear a big sneeze come from a cute little nose, smack in the middle of your son?s flushed face. Seems he spent an hour or two throwing snowballs at the neighbor?s cat ? with his hat, scarf and gloves tucked neatly in his closet.
So you whisk him upstairs for a fever check, hoping your spouse can tear himself away from the flat screen long enough to answer the doorbell. It?s ringing right now! As the big meal gets underway, and your little one?s taken his Motrin, you keep wondering how your little snowman is feeling and what you could do to make sure this never happens again.
Is there a secret to keeping a balance during the holidays? Has anyone truly mastered the art of multitasking while staying sensitive to family?s emotional or health needs? Is the trick in preparation? Is there a planning strategy that works for you every year? Share your tips in the comment field below and we?ll randomly select 5 responders to receive a children?s cell phone.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states, D.C. and PR, who are 18 or older, or the age of legal majority in your state as of the date of entry. Sponsored by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc.
Starts at 12:00am. ET on November 19, 2007, 2007 and ends at 11:59pm. ET on November 25, 2007.
See Sweepstakes Official Rules
Return to the Code Orange group
Code Orange group Comment Policy
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 50
Next- ask for help. Got a houseful coming? Request each person brings a side dish or a dessert item. It's less you have to make, and if Aunt Sally wants her yams without being candied, she can make them exactly how she wants.
We have large families, and have learned that too little help in the kitchen doesn't work, but having too many hands in the pot, so to speak, also doesn't work.
With having a sick child along with all the chaos, my best tip is to set up a comfortable place to lay down, and to give the child a movie to watch or a book to read- well away from the chaos!
If we're at my moms house, the sick child goes up to my mom's room. This actually happened last year. We had all just arrived at my mother's house, and my 10 year old threw up all over the entrance way. She ended up spending the Christmas party in the bedroom watching Christmas specials on Disney. It was helpful to her because she wasn't around the chaos- no yelling children, no adults laughing and moving around.
All of that can lead to a sensory overload in any child- let alone a sick child! So, set up a comfortable quiet place away from the chaos for your little sick one, and check on them often, but let them just rest and get better away from everyone!
Happy holidays!
1. Make Lists of errands, gifts purchased and wrapped, and necessary chores.
2. Use your calendar to list daily chores as well as special holiday events.
3. Take turns keeping one anothers children, so that you and your friends can shop for children's gifts, get a haircut and do errands. She travels fastest, who travels alone!
*Grandmas like me are willing and eager to take the grandkids out for a day to give young parents time to smuggle in toys and wrap kids' gifts.*
4. Address your greeting cards while watching a Christmas movie with the family.
5. Set aside one night for baking the cookies. Make one big mess, finish the job, then clean up. Cross this item off your list!
6. Prioritize - Make your family time #1. Don't stress out over small things. Would the dinner be any less festive without the yams? Your young children really want to spend time with you, and if you're tired and irritable, it won't be quality time. Ask the kids what things are most important to them. Whether it's making paper snowflakes, watching favorite movies, sledding, or cutting cookies, schedule enough time to relax and enjoy those activities with the kids.
Have a happy, healthy holiday!
everyone tends to congregate in my small kitchen, for some reason ... and jobs are happily shared by all, even the chore of keeping the smallest children out from under foot ... our elderly relatives seem to take pride in providing this invaluable service for the rest of the feast preparers .....
nobody bothers to stress about "what should I bring?" ... or "is aunt Betty going to be upset if I don't bake a pie" .... because everyone feels that they have contributed a valuable service by helping to put the actual meal together .... which they have ... and everyone can take pride in the meal and enjoy it ... knowing that we are together again, for another year .... celebrating everything that we have to be thankful for ... and remembering those who are no longer with us ....
stressful? ... yes .... but in a good way .... there is too much laughter and catching-up going on to get stressed out in a bad way ..... the only thing I really dread is the clearing up .... there are usually way too many leftovers .... maybe I can send some home with aunt Betty .... hmmmm ... I think uncle Jim could use some too ..... :o)
I start prepping for our Thanksgiving meal days ahead. We've had the same tradition for over twenty years now - I get up at 6 a.m. to put the turkey in the oven, then the whole family heads over to the soccer fields about 10 a.m. to join a dozen or so families from all over town, to play "Turkey Bowl".
Turkey Bowl is football played with a nerf football. Kids and old folks alike play together, with dogs and folks of all ages thrown in. Afterwards, after hot, we all head home to enjoy our own Thanksgiving clebrations.
We open our home to friends without families or the retired vietnam vets in town, and friends without famillies, where we cook the whole turkey dinner on an old wood stove!
It's here that we share in the true gift of Thanksgiving - the little things that make life worth living - friends, giving, a roof over our heads, food on the table, warm homes, laughter and warm hearts.
I always like to start early in the morning to prepare potato salad or other cold foods and put them in the fridge until dinner time. Also the turkey I do around noon.
It's a good idea to take breaks through out the morning to save energy for the rest of the day to come to visit with your family spending precious moments and long lasting memories that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, get everyone to help pitch in for clean- up time at the end of the evening before bed time. It's easy to lose site of why we are giving thanks during this time of preparation. Working at a nice slow pace helps everyone have a relaxing refreshed day.
We start Thanksgiving day with a game of "We are thankful for," in which we go around to each member and have them tell what they are thankful for. Needless to say we get some interesting answers! But it puts the proper perspective on the holiday and makes for pleasant moods all over the house!
Children want and need to be included in all family events and what could be more important than including them in our Holiday celebrations?
My wish for all is a blessed and peaceful holiday season!
THen make lists of what needs to be purchased well before the day so no additional trips to the store are necesary.
Then I prepare everything possible before the big day including what dishes and pots will be needed and if they are clean and ready. I have even cooked the turkey and sliced it the day before and then reheated, if I knew the day was going to be overly busy or we would be traveling.
Most of all I try to plan ahead so I can enjoy the day.
The simple traditions like breaking the turkey wishbone always turns out to be a time of fun. We usually turn off the televison and put up the Christmas tree, each person picking one ornament and retelling the story that goes with it. This is great fun when there is someone in the house visitin and unfamiliar with the story.
thank you
I am not the main cook just yet so I really get off a bit easy. My families have each person bring a dish and then the main courses are fixed at the place the dinner is held.
We usually have a pretty good time and try to not get stressed out. I mean really getting totally stressed out makes the holidays less enjoyable! Thanks fir the great question!
Even the youngest members of our family get a chore. The kids love it and since we do a pot luck there isnt a danger of too many desserts and no main dishes. Each person is assigned to bring a main dish or vegetable or a side dish.
This keeps each of us a little less stressed knowing you dont have to prepare an entire meal but a small portion of one.
The kids love it it makes them feel like they are contributing to our very special family celebration plus it affords them bragging rights to their contribution.
If I remember to set the emotional tone by remaining happy and relaxed and setting out plenty of hors d'oeuvres while I finish off the details of the feast? My family and friends follow my lead and the day becomes much more enjoyable and certainly memorable.
I also like to include the kids as full partners in the celebration of the holiday. It is amazing how well they can behave when they feel honored to be an important part of everything. One Christmas our granddaughter was just an infant and fussy with a virus. We took turns at dinner passing her from arms to arms, comforting her and rocking her the whole time.
Oddly, that was one of the most loving holidays of all and one day when she's older we'll tell her how much we loved her even then. Happy Thanksgiving!
In my family, we have the Thanksgiving at one of our houses. We all bring something, a side dish, offer help with cleanup etc.
This Christmas I'll be hosting Christmas at my house. I'll be doing the turkey and several desserts but I will ask other family members to bring mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, etc. I'll give my kids little jobs to do during it so they don't feel left out.
My youngest son is sick and will probably be sick on Thanksgiving so I'll make sure he has plenty of fluid and a coloring book and other activities while everyone else is busy getting ready.
Often the host of a holiday event gets stressed out. It doesn't have to be that way. Everyone should enjoy a holiday, including the host! Ask for help. I do and while I still get flustered getting stuff ready, it's not as near as bad as it could be.
We would cook for any big dinners to taped stories. Then afterwards we would talk about what we listened to. Even when my two were very little, they would settle down and cooperate when we started listening to taped stories of the seasons. Your Story Hour was a good source for historical, biblical and/or seasonal stories. Focus on the Family Ministries has tons of good stories on tapes/CD's including the very popular "Adventures in Odessey" series.
We checked out tapes/CD's from the library too. Some books on tape were so loved we would check them out and listen to them over and over. Have you ever heard "The Legend of Squanto," a Thanksgiving story produced by Focus on the Family Radio Theater? It's wonderful.
It was amazing how soothing listening to stories during cooking and meal preparation could be. Now, I get books on tape from Amazon.com. They have tons of classics and Radio Theatre tapes. When my two got older, we found tapes from very old radio broadcasts, such as "The Shadow!" We got such a kick out of those. My brother sent us CD's of old episodes from the old Mystery Theater.
If we traveled in the car for the holidays visiting relatives, we popped those tapes into a tape player (CD player now) and the ride whizzed past in record breaking time. It was a great way to avoid those back seat quarrels brother and sister inevitably would get involved in.
Now that my two are older, they are beginning to purchase their own copies of their favorite books on tape or radio episodes. I hope they will pass this tradition down to their own children.
We all put on our Christmas aprons early in the day and have fun cooking and chatting all day then have our meal at supper.
As for me, the best method I've found is focusing on what is truly important -- friends and family. I host a Thanksgiving dinner almost every year and have tried to take a more casual approach, not sweating the small stuff.
This year, the smoke alarm went off twice (due to turkey drippings in the first case and an overbroiled casserole in the second). But all was okay. No one was hurt. No permanent damage was done to my oven. And I'd rather have a full house of family and an active smoke alarm than have a smoke-free Thanksgiving without those I care about.