Kaela Pratt and Jenny Stollar
Round Table Reporters
It’s Thanksgiving Day. Mom is running around the house making last minute preparations. She stops to light a Yankee candle that smells as sweet as the pumpkin pie grandma is sure to bring for the feast. She continues to clean, patiently waiting for countless family members to arrive. The red and orange leaves crunch beneath relatives’ feet as they rush up the stairs to get out of the cold. Once inside, a TV in the family room broadcasts the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, while the boys are watching the pregame football show in the basement. Sweet smells of turkey and mashed potatoes pour out of the kitchen and fill the house as mom, aunty and grandma frantically prepare the feast.
Some Thanksgiving traditions are like scenes straight out of the movies, while in other homes, the traditions have unique aspects that only the families participating in them can truly appreciate.
Middletown High School junior Emma Carlson said there’s nothing out of the ordinary about her family’s Thanksgiving dinner.
“We always have the usual, turkey, cranberry sauce, ham and mashed potatoes,” said Carlson. “My family has everything that a basic Thanksgiving dinner should have.”
Other families have unique twists, however. Some pass down recipes from generation to generation for weird food creations.
“Every year we have a Jello, pineapple, walnut, and cream cheese dish called “Green Stuff,” and it’s really good,” said Stephanie Letourneau, MHS sophomore.
In some households, different family members have different duties when it comes to preparing the feast.
Letourneau said it all comes together because of the work her grandmother puts in.
“My grandma does all of the cooking. She’s working hard in the kitchen all day,” said Letourneau.
“Carving the turkey is a team effort in my family. My dad and uncle usually work together and show my cousins how to carve the turkey,” said MHS freshman Stephanie Stollar.
Thanksgiving isn’t all about the eating, however. Some families also participate in activities that get everyone up and moving to make up for the huge meal that will be consumed later in the day.
Letourneau said, “In the morning we bundle up and run in the annual Turkey Trot as a family.”
MHS freshman Alex Leaman plays football out in the backyard with his family to stay active.
“You know you have to watch football and play football,” said Leaman.
Not everyone stays at home and hosts dinner, though. Stollar goes to New York City each year for Thanksgiving.
“My whole family goes to my aunt and uncle’s house for dinner in New York City. We don’t go to the parade though. We just watch it on TV,” she said.
Whether it’s going to the parade in New York City, or staying home with family to toss the football and have a traditional dinner, every family celebrates Thanksgiving with different, unique traditions.
