We do!
People often ask me what it’s like to celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas abroad. We manage just fine, I think. I suppose it really boils down to what your expectations of the day are more than anything else.
When we lived in the United Arab Emirates, the weekend was Thursday / Friday so Thanksgiving was never an issue – we always had the day off! The weekend in Egypt however is Friday / Saturday so there have been times when the children actually had to go to school on Thanksgiving. As it happens, this year Thanksgiving coincides with a Muslim holiday so EVERYONE in Egypt has a long weekend.
As my husband and children are vegetarian, we don’t cook a turkey, though they are available. I saw some giant frozen Butterball turkeys at the store the other day. Just thinking how much fossil fuel energy that turkey must have consumed to travel to all the way to Cairo is staggering, frankly. And I wouldn’t want to think about how many times it might have thawed just a bit on the way! But if you are really into your turkey, it is still probably worth the money. A neighbor of mine bought a local turkey one year and in the end was very disappointed. Turns out, the shop had sold her a rooster! They compensated her by giving her a Butterball after the fact, but that didn’t make up for the fact that they ruined her holiday meal.
On a normal day, I’m a one-pot meal kind of cook. On Thanksgiving, I go all out (for me, anyway!). I make a pumpkin pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce, a veggie (this year, steamed broccoli), and a lieu of a turkey we have lentil loaf. It’s a meal we all enjoy and since we only make it on the holidays, it’s all the more special.
There’s no Macy’s Day parade or football to watch, but the children don’t mind because Thanksgiving is when I finally lift the ban on watching Christmas movies 
Whatever your plans for the holiday, I hope you have a great weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving, Jenyfer. I am glad you managed to have your celebration.
by Mona Risk November 26th, 2009 at 3:55 pmMade my usual turkey and fixins. However, I tried a new dessert….a pumpkin cheesecake. I think you guys would like that….liking pumpkin and cheesecakes. Yummm…..I will be making that again.
by Sandy Updyke November 27th, 2009 at 2:31 pmOh, we always manage to have it – even if it’s on a different day
by Jenyfer November 28th, 2009 at 3:42 amI’ve been tempted to try that one, but never wanted to “ruin” my holiday with an unfamiliar dessert – ha ha!! Maybe I’ll give it a go at Christmas – my menu is more flexible then
by Jenyfer November 28th, 2009 at 3:43 am