what are you favorite thanksgiving traditions?

enhanced-buzz-28612-1353765469-3 Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whoever you're with, you're having a wonderful day.

The Holiday season, for me as with most, is filled with nostalgia. My favorite traditions take place during this time, ones that I will remember forever (and hopefully Raven and I will carry on with our children someday). I'd love to share with you some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions, on the condition that you share with me some of yours:

1. My mother has made the same meal every Thanksgiving since before I was born (with a few modifications here and there). She makes notes on looseleaf paper for every year, with comments on what worked and what didn't, and chronicling all of the guests in attendance. The year I was born, she was in the hospital (I was born the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 1984), so her notes are something like this: "Allie arrived, no meal!" By my sister's account, the meal that year consisted of a rotisserie chicken and pumpkin pie from the grocery store. Apparently, she cried. :)

2. While my Mom prepares the meal, she listens to Handel's Messiah in anticipation of the Christmas Holiday.

3. Last year, my sister in law and I began a new tradition with the boys (my 3 nephews) in mind. After football is turned off, we watch one Harry Potter movie, to get us in the Holiday Spirit. It is the tradition I am most excited about.

4. Football is always on, and there are drinks in abundance. The boys usually drink beer, and the girls stick to red wine. I am usually tipsy before dinner.

Do tell, what are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions??

Today, I am grateful for all of you :).

xoxo,

ALLIE SIGNATURE

 

 

 

 

 

 

image via.

your (six hour) thanksgiving roadtrip playlist

Road trips. Airplanes. Mass transit. Rental cars. Yep, you heard right - it’s officially the holiday season. Craig and I live equidistant between Massachusetts (his family) and Pennsylvania (my family), so we’ve got a solid three to four hour trip each time we want some pumpkin pie and mommy hugs.

It’s always the first and most important question of the trip: what should we listen to? So here, I’ve compiled six hours of what I think is a great playlist for the road, and given you a few guidelines for how these songs should be enjoyed. Feel free to follow me on Spotify, put this bad boy on shuffle, and before you know it, your mom will be mixing you a holiday cocktail and stuffing you with turkey.

For your first few miles...

first miles

For a good story...

good story

For getting all sentimental...

sentimental

For when you want to feel like a badass...

badass

For your pop singalong pleasure...

pop singalong

For the throwback...

throwback

For the cheesy songs you don’t want to admit to loving...

cheesy

For when you are getting punchy...

punchy

For sitting back and enjoying the ride...

sit back

What's on your playlist? What did I miss? What's a song I NEED to hear?

friends

In the spirit of this week, I wanted to share some pictures of some people I love... IMG_3319

Have you ever played the game Celebrity?

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Next time you have a day off, I suggest getting together some friends...

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Some wine...

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And busting out this game.  Hilarity will ensue...

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And when the night is over you'll have one of those full belly feelings that only happens when you spend time with loved ones.

Even Charlie is into it.

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All photos by Raven Koehler for LRW.