Growing up I kinda hated Thanksgiving (also Christmas, Easter, and any holiday where family gathered). My parents were divorced which meant my sisters and I had to split our time between different households who weren't welcoming with each other. On top of this my Dad's parents were divorced and my Dad had remarried and divorced again. So every holiday was spent driving back and forth across the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, only being able to spend a limited amount of time with each family faction. Thanksgiving was breakfast with grandma, brunch with my half sister, lunch with my cousins, supper at my uncle's house and dinner with grandpa. Did I mention everyone lived 1 to 2 hours away from each other?
Today I live in a completely different state from everyone and am able to sit and relax with my wife and kids. It's nice and quiet and I enjoy every second of it. For the past few years my kids and I use this time to play a video game called Overcooked where the players have to work together to get orders out of a wacky, chaotic kitchen. It's a lot of fun and last year we talked my wife into playing with us.
As for food, I do the cooking because I love to cook. It's fairly traditional with herb roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, cranberry sauce (from actual cranberries, not a can) and for veggies it's one or more of steamed broccoli, sauted asparagus, creamed spinach or crispy pan fried Brussel sprouts.
There is a tradition that comes from my wife's family. At the end of the day I make sure all the 8 primal cuts of the bird (wings, breaststroke, legs, thighs) are removed and the remaining carcass is put into the crackpot with some water to stew overnight. The next morning we separate the bones from the meat then add tomatoes, onions, corn, green chili and rice to the meat and broth. After a few more hours in the crackpot it makes a delicious spicy turkey soup.
