Thanksgiving is a holiday filled with traditions, memories, love, laughter, thanks and most importantly food. The overall idea is the same but what I love the most about this particular holiday is the creativity it brings. Each family has their own way of celebrating and that is what makes it truly special.

For me, it’s also a holiday that embodies the idea of sharing. You share your table, your food and your thoughts of thanks. So, what better way to start the holiday than by sharing the traditions and sentiments of each member from the marketing department:

Karen:

For the past several years, we have spent our Thanksgiving with our neighbors, as we will this year. Like so many people who have moved to the Carolinas from other places, our neighbors have become our second family. These are the folks we can call in the middle of the night, who we borrow a ladder from, who can help fix a broken pipe or baby-sit a sick child. We can count on each other for a cold beer, a shoulder to cry on or an honest opinion. On Thanksgiving, we bring together our traditions from North, South and points in between and simply enjoy the comfort of knowing these are “our people.”

Jodie:

First, I put on my thermals. Then, I get my turkey caller and head out into the woods of SouthPark.  Then, I find a quiet tree to sit under. Then I gobble, gobble, gobble until a Turkey comes up to me. Then, I invite him over for dinner!

In all seriousness…………

Since we have a young family and live away from our extended families we are just at the beginning of starting our traditions. This is the fourth time I’ve made Thanksgiving dinner and feel pretty sure that I’ve conquered my mom’s sweet potato recipe and quite confident that I have NOT done my great-grandmother’s pie crust any justice. Making pie crust is difficult!  The day will include several phone calls to my mother and grandmother for a cooking pep talk! We’ll go to the parade in Charlotte and will try to combat some of our eating by taking the dog for a walk.  I love the chance to spend an extra day with my husband and son.

Eric:

Although occasionally traveling or having company at home, most years Kathleen and I celebrate Thanksgiving just us at home with a cat or two. The day starts early in the morning, with Kathleen putting the turkey in the oven. I’m needed only to remove the unpleasant stuff from inside it. Then I’ll turn the TV on to watch New York and Hawaii being invaded by gigantic cartoon characters and high-school bands. I do this every year, not really to watch it as much as to maintain the natural order of things. First, we’ll have a “discussion” about why I feel the need to have it on at all. If the timing is right this will be interrupted by a phone call from my brother in PA to say hello and yell across the house to my sister-in-law, “yeah, he’s watching the parade.”

The main event, of course, is the feast. This is eaten while watching Ralphie get his Red Rider BB rifle and the Bumpus’ dogs devour the Thanksgiving turkey in, “A Christmas Story.”  We are thankful of many things, including our Thanksgiving tradition.

Amy:

Thanksgiving two years ago my mom, dad and I went to my aunt’s house in Hickory.  That year was different because it was the first big holiday that my brother wasn’t able to be there. He was an officer in the Marines and was shipped out to Iraq earlier that year. It was very hard to spend a holiday being thankful when such an important part of our family was missing.

When we got to my aunt’s house, everyone was there and had brought goodies (home baked cookies, brownies and snacks) to package up and send over to my brother.

What really made it special was that my uncle’s family had brought their video camera to record Thanksgiving for my brother.  They got everything from coming into the front door to the food.  It was a really great way for the family to remember my brother and include him on Thanksgiving even though he couldn’t be there.

Mitch:

To me, Thanksgiving means catching up with relatives while enjoying good food. Most of all it means being thankful for all my families blessings, especially my newborn baby boy!

Susan:

At my home, table decorations are always an important part of every holiday.  It’s not uncommon for us to have everything from red glitter hearts and white flowers for Valentines to red, white, and blue carnations for Fourth of July. Thanksgiving is always marked with beautiful fall flowers and colors. And while it might seem complete to most people, at Thanksgiving everyone adds the final touch to the decoration when we sit down for dinner. My parents ask each of us to tell everyone one thing they’re thankful for that year, and then add just the right amount of corn kernels around the base of the decoration. Some of us put our kernels in one pile, others spread it out, and still some try to place each kernel in just the right place. The end result is a table decoration that is a family affair and truly reminds us to be thankful for many things.

Melissa:

My family has been taking a Thanksgiving beach trip since 1997. We’ve been everywhere from the Outer Banks of NC down to Hilton Head, SC. We never stay in the same home. This year we’re headed back to beautiful Isle of Palms, SC. The guests change every year but it’s always the best week of the year. I’m thankful for such a wonderful family.

Genevieve:

Not one member of my immediate family was born in the United States which gives us a slightly different perspective on Thanksgiving. In fact, I routinely forget that we don’t have to call our extended family to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving because well, they don’t celebrate that holiday overseas.

When we moved to Philadelphia, which has now become home, we met an Australian family who has since become our American family. Each Thanksgiving we rotate who will play host and typically eat till the top button on our jeans has to be undone (some of us have given up completely and opted for sweats). When we gather around the table, each of us are charged with sharing what we were thankful for that year (which has ranged for new jobs to sports teams) and while it used to be embarrassing for us kids when we were younger it has grown to be one of my favorite moments of the whole meal.

John:

Having a wife and two kids, it’s hard to travel to see her family over Thanksgiving since they are from the Buffalo, NY area. Nothing like a 12 hour drive with a 4 year old and a 6 month old! Last year and this year, I’m thankful that they have come down here for Thanksgiving so the grandparents, uncles and aunt can spend time with us. This is what it is really all about, family coming together.