Giving thanks in Switzerland

Thanksgiving came to Switzerland a few days late this year. And in case you're wondering, no, we did not have last Thursday off for the holiday. Thanksgiving is an American holiday, meaning the Swiss don't recognize or even acknowledge it here. If you're someone who had never thought about that, don't worry, you're not the only one- I've gotten the question numerous times.

Since we were away from our families for the first time this year, BK and I decided we should get some Americans together to celebrate. It also happened to be BK's birthday, so it was fun to have everyone over for that occasion as well. Our friends M, J, and Baby M came down for the weekend as well. We had the babysitter come Friday night for parents' night out to celebrate BK's birthday. We enjoyed a nice dinner out and drinks afterward.

I think this year is the first year I've ever been away from my family on Thanksgiving. Of course, being married and all, we have had to decide which side to spend the holiday with and celebrated beforehand as well. But this year it was just me, BK, and Baby K as a family. I was a little bit sad that we didn't get to spend the holiday with our families, but this year we decided to skip Thanksgiving and have a longer trip at Christmas.

All that said, Thanksgiving turned out great! I cooked a whole turkey (actually two) for the first time, made my grandmother's stuffing (with cornbread mix brought from the US), homemade cranberry sauce, and BK made mashed potatoes. All of the guests also brought a dish as well to fill our table.

                                          

The turkey was a serious source of worry for me leading up to Thanksgiving. Having never cooked a turkey before and wondering if it would fit in my oven were my two main concerns. I bought a 3 kilo (6 lbs) turkey as my practice run turkey, and cooked that one on Friday just to make sure I had some clue about what to do. I had to special order a bigger turkey, weighing in at 6 kilos (13 lbs), for the main one. 

They both turned out great, although I think the first one was a little better than the second. In all honesty, we probably could have just gotten by with the little one; everyone fills their plate with sides anyway, right? Now BK and I have turkey that goes on forever. I need to freeze it or something. Baby K may have turkey with every meal until we come to the US.

We had 11 people, plus two babies join us for the meal. Afterwards we enjoyed lots of lively conversation, getting to know one another better, and discussing how we find life here in Switzerland. Football doesn't typically come on for us until around 6pm, so we didn't watch all that much football until later when everyone else had started making their way home.

Sorry I don't have more pictures to include. Making that Thanksgiving meal is a lot of work! I got caught up in hosting and preparing and forgot to assign the picture taking to anyone else. Also, I think I owe the moms in my life a big thank you for all the years they made Thanksgiving dinner...and they should really have the weekend off from cooking after all that production! 

It was a new way to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we had a great weekend. This weekend we're off to Davos for some skiing (BK) and playing in the snow. And just 9 days from now Baby K and I are headed to the US for Christmas! See you all soon!