Life Down Under

Thanksgiving Countdown

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and I can't wait. The holiday will be celebrated in full style this year, regardless of the fact that we live on the other side of the world. The good thing about Thanksgiving in New Zealand is that with the exception of a couple imported items, all the necessary ingredients can easily be found here, so no delicacies will be missing from the table. To be fair, I do have to confess that although most ingredients can be found here, they are not necessairly as inexpensive as their American counterparts. Take our $80 turkey, for example. Yes, my American friends. You read that right. $80 for a turkey. No exaggeration. Let's just pray I don't overcook the thing. I also have to say that Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix doesn't exist here, so I'll be making my own from scratch. Good thing I've made it a few times and have a bit of practice under my belt. Can't be ruining the stuffing on Thanksgiving. It's one of the most important parts. And all the other usuals will be present ~ mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole (with the imported mini marshmallows on top), homemade macaroni and cheese (an addition to the menu from our Canadian friend), green bean casserole, corn, rolls, and cranberry relish. Oh, and the making its debut to our Thanksgiving menu - baked brie and crackers as an appetizer. The dessert menu is just as good - pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and cranberry sauce on top, and Watergate salad (affectionately known as the "green stuff" to the attendees of our occasional cookouts). Wow. It promises to be a good feed. Did I mention we are going to postpone the celebration a few days until Sunday? The unfortunate aspect of living in a foreign country is that life proceeds as normal even on American holidays, so we're waiting for our day off so we can enjoy a day-long celebration.

Another fun aspect of celebrating Thanksgiving in a foreign country is the opportunity to educate Taylor on the American tradition. It's always fun to get her Thanksgiving books out of storage this time of year and read about what the first Thanksgiving was all about, and how and why we celebrate it today. We've also had lots of fun this year doing Thanksgiving-related craft projects. We made hand-print Turkeys, and then moved on to making a big turkey to which we attached paper-cut-out feathers on which I wrote things that Taylor told me she was thankful for. And today, we started making a paper-plate pilgrim. Her attention span ran out mid-project, so I'm hoping we can finish it tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to starting the pre-Thanksgiving baking with her ~ ya know, all the seasonal goodies that have to be made this time of year, but are just too much to eat all on Thanksgiving: pumpkin cookies, cranberry muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake squares, and other yummy cranberry desserts. Okay, some of those will have to wait until after Thanksgiving, but hey, it sure is worth the wait!

In case you hadn't figured it out by now, we take our Thanksgiving seriously around here!!