Thankful

For our family, Thanksgiving revolves around friends. Our relatives live far away, so we do occasionally travel to celebrate a second Thanksgiving with them. However, we consistently spend almost every Thanksgiving with two couples who have become like family. While other friends have joined us for the meal, these friends who feel like family are always there.

Each year, I begin with a duplicate of the previous year's holiday planning spreadsheet. It includes five tabs: "Thanksgiving," which features the menu along with links to new recipes I might want to try, as well as preparation days and other meals before and after; "Shopping," which is the grocery list for the main meal and any additional items needed for other meals; "Cookies," which is my list of Christmas cookies to bake; "Presents," which is my list of people and gifts to purchase; and lastly, "Christmas," which holds my menus and meal plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the surrounding days.

In San Jose, there's a large Turkey Trot that attracts nearly 20,000 runners/participants, and we've been attending almost every year since moving here. I enjoy looking at photos of my sons when they were young. We usually walk the 5k—it's a fantastic way to prepare for our big meal. Typically, my dear friend Kissy, my sons, and any visiting guests join us; this year, my husband will be attending for the first time! We are such dedicated trotters that Kissy and I participated in virtual trots during COVID!

I must admit, my Thanksgiving menu doesn't change much, but I do take requests. We usually eat late, around 4:30 pm, so we begin with appetizers and snacks. This year, we're trying a new appetizer: roasted grapes on crostini with a spread of mascarpone. A chef at work made these and offered samples—they're delicious. We'll also put out some cheese and sausage for small bites while we prepare dinner. My youngest son asked for a different kind of stuffing this year, one with sausage. After researching online, I found a recipe, so we'll be having a new stuffing as well.

We have our traditional sides of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a pasta dish—this year, it's stuffed shells—cranberries (with a new recipe this year!), a relish tray, gravy, and rolls. My Royal Evesham collection includes beautiful serving pieces, each with unique shapes and different fruit images, which I've collected over the years. Royal Worcester produced this pattern for over 50 years, offering a variety of serving pieces. Kissy and I take out the serving pieces, label each with Post-its indicating what goes in them, and arrange them on a side table. As we prepare the side dishes, we fill the serving pieces, then place them in the refrigerator.

In early October, I began planning the Thanksgiving table. I usually use my Royal Evesham china as the main set. I had seen a charger with silk fall leaves somewhere and was determined to make my own for Thanksgiving. I purchased inexpensive chargers and leaves, prepared everything, and was ready to create them. April Cornell linens frequently appear in my Facebook feed, and while browsing, the rust-colored Marguerite pattern caught my attention. It's a busy design with multicolored daisies and leaves, so I took some screenshots to virtually arrange the table and check if the linen and china patterns would clash. I decided to take a risk and ordered it!

I initially considered round burgundy placemats with a ruffle. I discovered some beautiful velvet placemats, but they were quite expensive. Then, I came across these beaded ones, and everything fell into place!

The plate arrangement is straightforward: it includes a beaded charger, a Royal Evesham plate, an amber Fostoria "Swirl" bread plate, and wine glasses from Estelle in various colors. The cutlery is the new gold set I bought at HomeGoods. The napkins, which perfectly match the tablecloth, are also from April Cornell, and the napkin ring is a gold band with small leaves.

We discovered some lovely mums at the farmers market and floated them in small bowls to complete the plate stack. The centerpiece was completely unplanned. The wooden dough bowl with silk leaves and a turkey was on the buffet, and we placed it there temporarily as a placeholder for the centerpiece. Initially, we intended to use rattan cornucopias, but the arrangement just worked out beautifully. Kissy and I added an ivory runner to break up the patterned tablecloth, and it matched the turkey (a Goodwill find!) perfectly. The cornucopias were moved to the buffet, we added a few See's Candies foil-wrapped turkeys, and the table was finished!

Dessert is always the final course, featuring traditional pumpkin pie, my Grandma's apple pie with streusel, and a returning favorite this year: pistachio tiramisu.

No matter how you celebrate, I wish you a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving!