We generally eat our Thanksgiving dinner a little earlier than most I’ve decided. Depending on the year, it’s either at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. This year it will be at 3:00. I don’t know why we eat so early, it’s how my mother-in-law did it. I can’t even remember what time we ate when I was growing up. But I have found I really like that time of day because it lets the food digest before I go to bed.

Because we eat so early in the day, we definitely don’t eat lunch. Not because my kids aren’t hungry (or starving when they were younger), but because they know they better not come into my kitchen asking what they can eat! I will scoot them right back out of my kitchen with the admonition that they can help cook or wait a few more hours, they’re not going to die.

Breakfast is hard though. It’s nice to get up and grab something to get the energy up as we get started. I don’t eat on Thanksgiving day before the actual meal. But I do taste test most of the dishes at some point, so I’m usually not starving by dinner.

My kids and their dad, all but one daughter, go to our Church that morning and play basketball with a group from Church for a couple of hours. This has become such a tradition that even when some move away, if they’re in the area that day, they will come and play. Consequently, they usually grab something small and quick to eat on the way out the door, but they don’t usually want a huge meal or they’d be sick running up and down the court. This used to irritate me. I wanted them there helping. But not so much now, that just means they have no excuse to help clean up!

I guess overall, we don’t eat a lot before Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t know if it’s out of fear to enter the kitchen – fear of being told to leave if they ask for food, or fear of being told to help if they’re in the kitchen – but not too many people enter the kitchen unless asked or to help prepare their favorites.

Most of my kids do have favorite dishes they like to help make. One daughter loves the stuffing and comes and helps with that. One daughter loves chocolate pie, and has volunteered this year to make it! One son will usually help peel potatoes and always wants to mash them (potatoes are his favorite food). One son will stay completely away from the kitchen and only enters to help set the table or when I ask him to go grab something from the pantry for me. My husband completely stays out of the kitchen. This year our son-in-law volunteered to make one of the pies as well as the rolls. He makes the best rolls, so I was excited for his help with one of the more time consuming tasks.

I am excited for Thanksgiving this year. For us it’s the kickoff to the whole Holiday season. We invite a number of friends as well as family, and we always have good conversation. What about you? Do you do any breakfast or lunch before Thanksgiving dinner?