Holiday

The Stranger Your Thanksgiving Tradition, the Better

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October 22, 2015
8 Comments

In the next couple of weeks, you're going to hear a lot (probably too much) about turkey, stuffing, casserole, and pumpkin pie.

But we know—and so do you—that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving the same way. Some people eat cauliflower instead of turkey; some eat sticky rice instead of stuffing; some eat string cheese instead of string beans; and some eat halo-halo instead of pie.  

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Do you have atypical, out-of-the-ordinary, thank-gosh-it's-not-turkey Thanksgiving traditions? We want to hear about them—and to celebrate the many different ways that we're giving thanks this November 26.

Send your unusual Thanksgiving recipes, traditions, and stories to [email protected]. We'll get back to you with more information.

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8 Comments

Cary
Cary October 23, 2015
our thanksgiving tradition tends to be making delicious cranberry ice to serve with dinner instead of cranberry sauce and leaving it in the freezer to be discovered the next day
 
Sarah J.
Sarah J. October 23, 2015
How do you make cranberry ice?!
 
T
T October 23, 2015
Lasagna. Every year, my mom serves a lasagna alongside all the Thanskgiving traditional favorites-- everyone eats it happily, it's easy, freezes well in advance, and serves a crowd. Side note: my sister was 30 before she realized that no, that's not part of EVERYONE's tradition....
 
Dessito
Dessito October 22, 2015
OK, so recently got married but even before that, have been spending Thanksgiving with my husband's all-American family for a few years now. While the dishes they serve for Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't that odd, they have a vigorous contest about eating the crispy skin off the turkey before it is even carved and served! While my then-still-boyfriend tried to warn me about it (knowing how much I also love the skin) and told me to be ready, I thought he was just joshing. (Growing up an only child and without close cousins for the first 10-15 years of my life, I couldn't imagine what adult would have the heart to "steal" all the skin from the kids, for example; also, why would you want to have a naked turkey?!) No, it was all quite real and his dad was/is the worst offender (even though, thankfully, he does leave at least half the skin for the rest of us to share)! :)
 
Karen P.
Karen P. October 20, 2015
We do "Hogsgiving." It started out as "Chris-giving" which was always held on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and featured the traditional meal and then a Christmas-themed white elephant exchange afterwards.

But over the years, we realized more people were eating the delicious ham I made rather than the turkey, so we just turned it into a full-on pork fest. In addition to the ham, all the side dishes featured ham or bacon. It's way more fun.
 
EliseAnderson
EliseAnderson October 15, 2015
Thanksgiving (and basically any other holiday) at my maternal grandparents' house in Drumright, Oklahoma, has always been pretty standard--save an ever-present, generous side dish of tabbouleh from a local steakhouse. (Northeast Oklahoma is home to a number of steakhouses opened by Lebanese immigrants, and the menus feature stuffed cabbage, tabbouleh, and other "this-ain't-quite-Oklahoma" dishes alongside standard steakhouse fare.) A number of family members have taken turns making it ourselves over the years but have never been able to get it as good as the restaurant's--lemony, tart, addictive--so we just give in and get a couple quarts of it to-go.
 
William D.
William D. October 14, 2015
Christmas is odd.... ribs and coleslaw with ham and thanks giving side dishes
 
William D.
William D. October 14, 2015
standard turkey spatchcocked three gravy white brown chicken .green bean mushrooms casserole. corn. pumpkin and sweet potato pie with frozen pecan pie.. mashed potato ..and stuffed potato double bakes ..cranberry sauce ..with canned jelly ..and fresh cranberries for drinks ..salad day after sandwich made with everything and beer