THANKSGIVING: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX; ALTERNATIVE IDEAS FOR THE HOLIDAY

For the most part, I can hear the responses now:  “Good lord, I have to think about Thanksgiving ALREADY??” That is the common denominator this time of year.  Why do the holidays have a way of creeping up on us seemingly earlier and earlier, and why is Thanksgiving both loved and often loathed – not the holiday itself but the planning, execution and deciding who goes where??

I, like so many others, had a tradition in place for a long time, hosting the dinner at home with mom, siblings (sometimes every other year), and assorted offspring.  Then the offspring moved and/or had significant others, and of course some of the family was no longer here to celebrate, arguably the toughest of all.  I am particularly reminded of loss this year, as I know many of you are who read this blog.

My tradition changed mainly for two reasons.  The first is due to the growth of an annual Hanukkah party which often is close to Thanksgiving (last year they intersected) so planning two overlapping events frankly became silly.  The other reason was the desire to take advantage of traveling over the holiday but avoiding the killer days (the Wednesday before and the Sunday after).  In fact, our first Thanksgiving trip incorporated the weekend before the holiday when the hubby, son, daughter and I went to London for a week.  They were in their senior and junior high school years, respectively, and we justified the time away with them gaining historical perspective!  The bottom line is we were hooked on traveling for this holiday.  

After that is it was off to various cities in the U.S. (NYC, Chicago, New Orleans and Nashville) where the kids joined us from their colleges and we had a great four days, truly shared together. So what's the plan this year?  With my Bay area cousin graciously accepting us joining their large gathering with not a moment's hesitation (I would do the same -- what's four more when you're having a crowd?), a no-brainer decision to visit Napa once again required little additional thought. More about the upcoming trip in a future post.

I found at least one kindred spirit for Thanksgiving travel -- Pilar Guzman, Editor in Chief of Conde Nast Traveler -- who writes in the current issue: "Imagine having Florence, which you readers told us in our 27th annual Readers' Choice Awards was your favorite city in the world, more or less to yourself" as she discovered on a family trip years ago.  She continues "The weather was pretty perfect:  After 15 minutes of walking we found ourselves peeling off scarves and extra layers.  It was equally true for Venice and Rome during the same trip and for Paris the year before. Our kids, not to mention my in-laws, covered the city on foot with far fewer break requests than they would have if it had been in the summer."

So what is the takeaway?  Consider taking the road(s) less traveled if you can at this or other times of the year and avoid the crowds.  I love a family gathering as much as anyone, but combining that passion with the travel passion provides a double dose of goodness!