I will be the first to admit, turkey is not the best main dish out there.  I would not complain if the traditional Thanksgiving dish was filet mignon and lobster.  However, you add in mashed potatoes, stuffing, 7-layer salad, sweet potatoes, cole slaw, jello salad, green bean casserole (or hotdish if you prefer), corn, dinner rolls, and the highly-underrated cranberry sauce – you have a formidable feast.  Literally everything in this meal mixes well together, so no worries when loading up your plate, two or three layers will just create some interesting combinations.  Best of all, there’s almost always enough for seconds, thirds, and fourths, so you can get something new each time around!  And heck, if you really dislike turkey that much, make filet mignon and lobster!

Some of us have families whom we love to spend time with while others are stuck in a proverbial hornet’s nest of bickering, political debate, and being reminded for the billionth time that you are still single and “not getting any younger”.  As one of our founding father, Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”.  Well, on Thanksgiving, this applies to wine, cider, cocktails, shots, and anything else that can provide some happiness and help to either push you through the mayhem or enjoy your dad’s corny jokes even more.

Like it or not, in 2015, football is America’s favorite pastime.  If you love football, you need no explanation of why having 3 football games throughout Thanksgiving Day makes for the perfect holiday.  If you are not into watching pigskin, no problem!  While the more aggressive family members yell at the TV, you can play a game, put together a puzzle, read a good book, or basically any other thing you want to do.  Including…….

Apple, Peach, Strawberry, Pecan, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Blackberry, Chocolate, Cherry, Strawberry Rhubarb… Shall I go on?  There are bound to be several pie options at your Thanksgiving celebrations, and since calories don’t count on Thanksgiving, you can eat as many pieces as you want!  Have some a la mode, have some plain, but however you have it – have a lot.

If you thought the food was delicious the first time around, just wait for the leftovers!  Warm it all up and eat it as close to the original form as possible.  Make mini-turkey sliders with dinner rolls.  Eat it cold for totally new consistencies and flavors.  Or go the entire-Thanksgiving-dinner-on-a-bun route.  There is no wrong way to enjoy leftovers.  Pro-tip: Mayo will accomplish the same things that gravy did at the main meal.