Thanksgiving Plans & Menu Ideas

For the past few years we have headed up to Maine for Thanksgiving to my brother & sister in laws (Jack & Amanda) house.  We would head up the night before or morning of and  I would help my Amanda cook all day (with mimosas of course).  My family and her family would all come over late afternoon and we would have a big yummy dinner.  We would follow up dinner with beer tasting and games until late into the night.  Unfortunately, this isn't our plan this year.  Amanda had to go ahead and graduate from Med School, so her and Jack moved to Connecticut for Residency. (the nerve huh?)  :)

Anyways, we took a while figuring out what we actually would do this year for Thanksgiving and ultimately decided it would be nice to stay home just the 4 of us.  My mom will be doing dinner at her house in Maine, but not until 6pm because she is flying out Sunday to greet my brother Kevin in Kentucky as he returns from Afghanistan on Monday or Tuesday. (YAY!)  She is actually spending the morning with him on Thanksgiving and flying home in the afternoon, so she won't be around most of the day.  And my little sister's (Meaghan) baby shower is on Saturday, so the girls and I are going to head up on Friday and spend the night and get in some family time then.  We do have other family we could visit, but since we will be doing a lot of traveling over the weekend it will be nice to just stay home and relax on Thanksgiving.

                                      Yes that is her (Meaghan)-------------------^ How cute is she?

I think this is the first time we have stayed home for Thanksgiving since having the girls, so I want to make it fun.  The girls and I have started menu planning and have picked a few fun Thanksgiving crafts to make over the weekend for decorations.

Like this Banner:

And this Thanksgiving Turkey:



And a centerpiece of some sort.  I haven't found one I really like that is possible to make as a craft with the kids.  Let me know if you have any ideas!

I'm still deciding on our complete menu.  I want to have all of our favorites, but with only 4 of us I don't want to have loads of leftovers.  So here is what I have so far:

Appetizers:

• Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
• Cheese & Crackers

Main Course:

• Turkey
• Ham (hubby is allergic to poultry, yes for real.)
• Mashed Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole (I will make this fresh, no canned soup here)
• Roasted Butternut Squash
• Brussel Sprouts made with pancetta or bacon
• Homemade Corn Bread

Dessert:

• Peanut Butter Pie
• Mini Apple Pie's

I may add or take away some of these.  Like I said I don't want too much food, but I want everyone to be happy.  I have to ask hubby if he is set on stuffing because he is the only one who will eat it, but if he really wants it I will make it.  I was trying to think of another appetizer that the kids will eat because they won't eat the stuffed mushrooms. They love shrimp so maybe I will get a little to cook up as an app.  I will be sure to add some of the recipe's I will be using as we get closer to the big day, so be sure to check back if you are looking for any ideas!

We are planning to do a family hike this day, probably before dinner.  Otherwise we will just be hanging out, spending time together, watching football & maybe a family movie!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?  Do you spend the holiday at home or visiting family/friends?  Any fun traditions?