Each year, as we enter another holiday season, our Elsie Green team loves to share what we are grateful for in our lives, as well as share the traditions we hold near and dear in our hearts. For some, tradition dies hard, and for others new experience's are what is looked most forward to. After all, some of these new experiences are how we build traditions in the first place. And in the end, these are the moments that become legend amongst family. Especially the kitchen disasters.
Read on for Team EG's Most Well Loved Thanksgiving Traditions
Laurie & JP
In our family, we like to go around the dinner table and share what we're most thankful for. It's a simple tradition, but one that really fills our cups and makes us feel grateful for the life our family has together.
Kelsey
My mother was the ultimate entertainer. She would start prepping her table a month in advance. I loved coming up with a theme for her tables with her. We would also both go out to forage florals the day before Thanksgiving for the table, and then spend the day baking pies.
Andie
The Furber family trademarked Thanksgiving item is the upside-down turkey. I'm a pescatarian, but I still love that my dad cooks our turkey the same way every single year: upside down. I believe it stemmed from a year where this happened by accident, but my parents swear it keeps the bird from drying out. I also love the simple and beautiful way my mom decorates the table, and finishing it off with my Grandma Sherry's lemon pie for dessert.
Michele
I love a pre-dinner trail run with friends and family if I’m lucky enough to convince them to join me! The sound of fall leaves crunching under foot brings me gratitude.
Sepi
Thanksgiving isn't a huge holiday for us, as our big family holiday is Persian New Year in March. But, each year I make an apple pie for each of our families. We spend early afternoons with my parents and the evening with my husband's parents.
Terri
Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family is always a formal affair. The fine linens, china and silver come out, there are flowers and candles and everyone gets dressed up for a party. The real star of the show, however, was my mom's gravy! When the turkey was done, everyone would clear some space in the kitchen and, donning her finest apron, my mom would go to work; tasting and stirring, tasting and throwing a pinch of this and a pinch of that into the pan...until it was just perfect! It was always the PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE. Though my mom has since passed away, the family legend of her gravy lives on.
Anna
In addition to Thanksgiving with family, I also have a big dinner with friends. Our tradition is that each person writes down what they are grateful for on a piece of paper. Everyone throws their folded paper into a hat and we go around in a circle, each person pulling out someone else’s paper and one by one we read them aloud and try to guess whose it is. And I'm excited for us to start new traditions with our one year old, Magnolia.
Sarah
My tiny grandmother had a knack for getting the wishbone out of the turkey and saving it for my brother and I to make wishes on. My brother often won, but my grandmother would always wink and whisper to me that my wishes would still come true. I have carried this tradition on to my kids, and it is wonderful to see them believe in this silly bit of magic the way my brother and I did when we were younger.
The setting of the table is also a sacred tradition that my mom and grandmother shared with me. They were such stylish and creative women, and whom I credit getting the decorating gene from. Every time the last candle is lit on my table I think of them.
Joey
I love to spend the day with my sister and my niece and nephew on their property in the country. My pops likes to cook everything and my mom and I usually find an old movie to watch in the evening, and there's usually a lot of dogs around to sneak leftovers to.
India
The tradition I like the most is the proverbial dinner time question of "what are you most grateful for" but we also add "and how were you able to give back this year." This question sparks so many great conversations and ideas for giving back for the year ahead.
Erin
My favorite tradition, like all holiday traditions, is being with family. I love cooking all day with my family and sharing the same stories with them, year after year, at the dinner table. And i absolutely love Thanksgiving dinner... It's a feast I look forward to all year!
Paulina
My dad and uncle have saved their favorite board game from when they were kids, Pro Draft. Taking it out every year after dinner has become our family's favorite tradition. First, we help ourselves in the kitchen to an assortment of pie and then sit down to start the game. We laugh while strategizing our teams, trying to become the year’s winner. I love how something special from my dad’s childhood has become a fun bonding tradition shared among the whole family. It's a wonderful way to end the day and fills me with gratitude for another year of health and family.
Meet the Team
