Canadian Thanksgiving in Britain

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Everyone! It is my second favourite holiday (Hallowe'en is the first) and it is the best long weekend of the year! I wanted to host a Thanksgiving meal for all my British friends and show them why it is my favourite weekend of the year so here is what I did to prep and host this weekend.

I started the previous weekend making my list of everything I needed to buy and what I was going to serve. Of course the start of any Thanksgiving meal is the turkey and the size depends on how many people you are having for dinner, we were five people so I got just over 4kg turkey. We needed mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, carrots, stuffing, gravy, devilled eggs and of course homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I ordered my groceries for delivery for the Friday before dinner and I picked up the turkey from the local shop a few days before. I put it in the freezer and took it out 24 hours before I had to put it in the oven.

Prepping is key for Thanksgiving dinner as there are a lot of different dishes and it can be overwhelming at times. I really enjoy cooking and like to take my time so that everything has the care and love put into it. I have been helping make Thanksgiving dinner for over a decade now so I am well aware of how much work it takes. Friday night after my groceries were delivered I made devilled eggs, the stuffing and the pumpkin pie with homemade crust. Stuffing always tastes better made a night or two before. I also like to set the table the night before so I can make it lovely and decorative without rushing.

On Saturday I woke up early to get started. I peeled the potatoes, put the turkey in the oven and made the whipped cream. I then had to go out and get the wine, clean the downstairs for our guests and I brought autumn and Hallowe'en decorations over with me as well and put those up then had to make some place cards with my Cricut. Also to throw more into the mix I decided to do a few loads of laundry as well. Once 16:00 hit I was ready for Thanksgiving dinner. The last few things I needed to do was light the candles and wait for everyone to arrive.

Once our guests arrived I was ready with all the food and was carving the turkey, something I definitely need more practice with. We sat down and piled our plates high with everything and ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Then again there is always room for pie. Only one of my friends had had pumpkin pie before so I was so excited for everyone to try it and I must say I was very glad when everyone loved the pie, one of my friends even asked if he could bring a couple of slices home for later which I gladly gave him. After dinner and coffee as we were sitting around chatting we decided to play Cards Against Humanity and ended the evening with laughter and a beautiful night of memories.

Thanksgiving was different than what I've had from most but it is a tradition I will carry on from Canada and will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner again next year.