Happy (almost) Thanksgiving everybody! I’m looking forward to all the fun festivities coming up! This time of year is my favorite because Thanksgiving and Christmas are my most treasured holidays. Along with all the fun holidays, my 14th birthday is coming up! I thought that since Thanksgiving is coming up in just over a week, I should write about it and talk about the traditions that my family has. I’m really excited for this Student Blogging Challenge post! It’s making me feel so happy and festive!

I am usually with my dad and his side of my family during Thanksgiving break. We stay at my grandma’s house, who I call Ma Ma, which is in Chesterfield, SC. After school on the last day before Thanksgiving break starts, my Dad, my brother and I all get in our car and travel to South Carolina. It’s a pretty long ride, about eight hours away, but it’s all worth it in the end. It’s around twelve A.M. when we arrive at her house, so we go to sleep and wake up late the next morning. The day before Thanksgiving is really fun and exciting because we start to prepare all the delicious food! I go the Piggly Wiggly with my family, which is the closest grocery store where my grandma lives, and we scan every aisle to get all the ingredients for our big Thanksgiving meal. We take all the loads of groceries to the house and start preparing some of the feast. We assemble this dish called tomato pie, which sounds really strange but is absolutely delicious. The closest thing I can compare it to is pizza. Even though it’s a pie, it’s a savory dish. I peel and cut the tomatoes and let them dry out for the pie we will make the next day. We season the turkey, shred cheese for macaroni and cheese, and cut vegetables. The rest of the food is prepared the morning of Thanksgiving. 

A couple years ago, my dad, stepmom, stepsister, and more family friends started doing a “Turkey Trot” race. My stepsister, Grace, and I catch up with each others’ lives. I treasure that time I spend with her since I don’t get to see her that often. Grace is a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill. After we’re done with the race, we go back home, shower, and prepare the rest of the food. Every year is a little different, but last year my family and I went to my stepmom’s best friend’s house and had our Thanksgiving dinner there. This year we are planning on staying at my grandma’s house and eating there. My uncle and aunt who live in Columbia, SC, and  sometimes come to my grandmas house and eat with us. We all feast and eat plenty of food and talk around the dinner table. Sometimes my family and I go to my grandma’s barn land after we eat our Thanksgiving dinner. We roast marshmallows, hang out by the campfire, and sometimes ride in our golf cart. 

 I love Thanksgiving because it’s a time when we can all reflect and be grateful for everything in our lives. I’m grateful for my amazing family, friends, wonderful teachers, an education, food, a roof over my head, and a wonderful country to live in. At times I only focus on the things that I don’t have or want, but this time of the year I feel that I’m more thankful and grateful for all the many things I am privileged to have.

Thank you all for reading this festive Thanksgiving blog post! Look out for a Christmas post soon! I love this time of year and all the holidays that are near. In the comments below, tell me what your favorite holiday is and why. Also, what foods do you eat on that holiday? For Thanksgiving, my family and I eat a lot of southern comfort food like macaroni and cheese, turkey and dressing, broccoli casserole, collard greens, and sweet potato pie. See you next time, happy holidays!

 

–Anna Claire

 

Extra links/ resources

Recipe for tomato pie: https://thestayathomechef.com/savory-southern-tomato-pie/

Link to make collage (pictured at top of page): https://www.befunky.com/