Take the pressure off and enjoy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday.  I love the gathering of family, the food and most of all the desserts!  Although, the preparation for Thanksgiving is a whole ordeal in itself.

Last year I did something that I thought I would never do.

Last year was a year where my extended family decided we would spend it in our own homes so that changed the way I prepared.  I cooked only for my husband, two sons, and myself.  And as I thought more and more about it, I mentioned to my husband the idea of possibly buying our turkey already cooked and ready to serve versus me cooking one.  At first, he really wasn’t for it.  However, as I explained the preparation of the other dishes he warmed up to the idea.

Honestly, I think he saw all the work it takes to prepare for this meal and the effort I put into it.  In the last two years, I have really enjoyed cooking, and the joy it brings me to prepare a meal for my family.  But I can also put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure this meal is the best! I want everyone to like the food and the presentation of the food has to look great too.

As I reviewed my menu and decided on what dishes I would prepare for my family I just decided why not try the already cooked and ready-to-serve turkey.

Now, as I mentioned my husband wasn’t a hundred percent on board, but he did trust me. So, as I prepared our meal I kept telling myself this turkey is going to be great.  Again, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have the perfect meal.  We put pressure on ourselves to outdo last year’s meal and to be a little more creative as well.

I am happy to report that after cooking and preparing and using every dish in my kitchen our meal turned out awesome!!

As we sat at our table reflecting and being thankful for all of our blessings, I realized the stress I have allowed myself to go through for the “perfect meal” wasn’t really that important.  I sat at the table thinking of my two daughters who were off celebrating elsewhere and thankful my two sons were with us. I was thankful for my husband and the many blessings we have together as a family.  And to top it off that turkey was pretty good.  My husband approved it and said I should consider buying our turkey every year! Yes, that sounds good to me.

My advice is to take the pressure off of yourself and truly enjoy what is important in life…family.