I've seen so many posts that start out '....Thanksgiving was a little different this year for us...' which is funny bc I think it's probably been that way for most everyone....living life in a pandemic means new norms and adjustments. We of course were no exception! Our thanksgivings have always been varied but the one consistent is we've always spent it with others [be it family or friends]. So this is the first time we spent it just as us, our little Pineda unit. 

I was a little unsure as to how it would turn out, so in the days before I came up with a few small plans to make it feel a little special and fun. For one, I had the kids come up with the Thanksgiving menu and then after we decided on what was doable, we divided it up into assignments. Each of the kids were in charge of 2 parts of the meal, which I think they enjoyed planning. For example, Addy loves this green jello salad that my Grandma Chandler makes and Isla insisted that there be fresh green beans instead of the casserole [which I am with her 100% on] and that we should do roasted potatoes instead of mashed. Then for the grocery shopping, we waited till the stores were known to have least busy, masked up and went in all our pregnant, million kids glory. 

I had each kid make and bring their own individual list with the ingredients they needed and then treat it a bit like a scavenger hunt to find everything they needed. It ended up being comical some of the things that happened during that trip [like getting blocked into our parking spot by another car, and Isla climbing out of the cart and accidentally sticking her pencil up her nose and having resulting in a very messy bloody nose, and then finding out we had gotten a free turkey at checkout], but the kids were still so into feeling involved like 'grown ups', and with being a in grocery store for the first time in so long [as Lester and I have been trying to take turns going to mitigate risks] that at the end of the day, we were just proud and happy we made it out alive haha. Perspective, people!

The day of we worked together and took our sweet time cooking, without rushing or being worried about presentation or the house being perfect. We listened to Christmas music, talked about what we were thankful for, played a bit in the snow, snitched cider and rolls throughout, and watched Home Alone. We talked to both of our families a few times via zoom, and even got to do a fun activity that was Addy's suggestion. She read a book at school called Turkey Trouble, where the main character turkey tries to disguise himself so he won't be eaten for dinner. So every member of my side of the family took the same template and created their own turkey disguises, using a book character as inspiration. It was so silly and fun and weird and creative and we loved making ours, coloring on the floor like we were all kids, and then sharing with our family and seeing their awesome creations. 

[and the second was good old Nancy Drew. I'm obsessed]. 

[I made a Legolas turkey since I'm currently re-reading The Two Towers. Please notice the eye of Sauron, Lothlorien, and other book AND movie details. And also don't judge me haha!]

[Lester made a Batman Turkey haha. Bear and him are cut from the same mold I tell ya.]