The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We were in Disney World for a long weekend from Friday-Monday, then back to work on Tuesday before hosting Thanksgiving for 16+ at our apartment. That was quickly followed by a few days upstate.
While I’ve done plenty of Thanksgiving cooking over the past few years, I’ve never hosted in my home. It’s a whole different animal, an exhausting one. Knowing we’d be away until almost midnight on Monday, I placed a large fresh direct order for delivery on Tuesday evening to cut down on grocery runs. We still ended up making two small trips to local stores, but the delivery made everything more manageable.
I pinned away on pinterest to get ideas for tablescapes and the menu. Fortunately, I had purchased much of the decor from Michael’s in October, as by mid-November all hints of Thanksgiving decor were gone and Christmas and Hanukkah filled every corner of the store.
Prior to leaving for our trip, we planned out the exact cooking schedule, printed the place cards and figured out a table formation that would fit 17 people in our NYC living room.
We took Wednesday off to get things set up, make anything that could be made ahead and run to the store for those last minute items that always seem to be forgotten. Fortunately we realized we didn’t own a gravy boat before Frank’s dad arrived with 5 quarts of homemade gravy!
Honestly, the hardest part of hosting for me is timing. I like hot food and it was a juggling act to get everything cooked and/or reheated at the exact same time. In the end, we made it work and everyone had a good time and left full. Having an armload of relatives over also made for one impressive dish washing station! I’ll take cooking over cleaning any day or holiday of the week.
Here’s a look at our tablescapes – which looked better after we lit the candles, but given how hectic things were around that time, I’m thankful I got photos at all!
Here’s the spread (Regular turkey, bourbon smoked turkey, cranberry walnut apple salad, butternut squash lasagna, broccoli cheese casserole, corn casserole, honey garlic carrots–stuffing and mashed potatoes not pictured)
I didn’t get a photo of the dessert buffet, but it was a great one. Almost everyone brought dessert, so there were pies, dozens of italian pastries (Veniero’s and Alfonso’s were represented), gelato, brownies, cheesecake bars and more.
The following day, we drove upstate early to partake in my annual football traditions with friends. 17 straight years of football followed by evening shenanigans with the high school gang.
Small business Saturday shopping is another tradition that Frank and I are fairly zealous about -we even got interviewed for the local news one year. We started off hitting Stuyvesant Plaza, which hosts several locally-owned specialty shops…and apparently now a West Elm. We stopped to get lunch at Bountiful Bread, which is my favorite lunch spot in town. Chicken pesto panini for the win. 
Next up, we went to Downtown Troy to check out the antique and artisan shops. 
Wow, I can’t believe how cute Downtown Troy has become. It’s like stepping back in time and the stores are all so beautifully decorated. This area has been undergoing a major revitalization and I hope it continues. Other highlights of the weekend included dinners at Pasta Pane and Cock and Bull. Yum.
Do you find that holidays are for relaxing or for packing in as much as possible?
