give thanks: with casey


One of the hardest things about living abroad is missing out on almost every American holiday I hold dear. Some years, we're able to foot the bill for 2 plane tickets back to the East Coast...but others, we have to make do with spending Thanksgiving away from our loved ones and my Grandma's famous pecan pie. The first year abroad, my husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving just the two of us. After cooking our favorite dishes and eating them while Skyping with our families, our first Thanksgiving away from home turned out to be quite nice. While it wasn't EXACTLY the same as passing the stuffing around a table full of familiar faces, we made do with the traditions we had and still enjoyed giving thanks for all of our blessings that year. I mean, we're living in Europe for goodness sakes! God is SO good...lots and lots to be thankful for! The past two years, we've shared the Thanksgiving wealth with our adoptive military and expat family here in Germany...gobbling up dishes familiar to our individual Thanksgivings back home and sharing new traditions with new friends that are sure to stick around for years to come. It's not always easy transitioning from spending Thanksgiving in America to spending it in a foreign country, but here are a few tips I've found helpful for surviving a Thanksgiving far from home:

1| Keep Some Familiar Traditions: Got a favorite green bean casserole recipe Aunt Lottie made every Thanksgiving? A pumpkin pie made with REAL pumpkin, just like mom used to make? Plan your own Thanksgiving dinner to include some of those special dishes that are familiar to your traditional Thanksgiving feast back home. I, personally, must have homemade macaroni & cheese, my MeeMaw's sweet potato casserole, and a friendly fight over the wishbone with my husband before dinner! Since living abroad, we've also started a few of our own Thanksgiving traditions. I serve this wonderful pumpkin sekt (German sparkling wine) to toast the start of our meal. It's been a real crowd pleaser each year!

2| Fill Your Table: Nothing will lift your spirit more than filling your home away from home with friends that have become like your second family. Invite as many friendly faces as your table will allow and share stories and traditions from Thanksgiving's past. If you're living abroad, maybe invite friends from your host country and introduce them to a real American Thanksgiving! Some of my fondest memories of Thanksgivings abroad were conversations with my foreign friends about what Thanksgiving means to me as an American. It was touching to have them participate by sharing dishes from their home country and telling us what special things they were thankful for that year.

3| Let Everyone Cook: If you're hosting, don't take on too much while away from the familiar. Have your guests all bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish along to dinner. This makes for fun recipe-sharing at the end of the night! Just make sure to find out what they're bringing beforehand so you don't end up with 4 bowls of cranberry sauce. ;) In preparing for our Thanksgiving feasts abroad, I absolutely have to delegate some cooking to our guests. As much as I want to make every single dish, my tiny European oven won't allow it!

4| Decorate: Trim your table with fall linens, overflowing cornucopias, and fresh flowers to lend a comfy ambiance to your Thanksgiving feast. If you've got grandma's old fine china, whip it out! If you're dining buffet-style, find some festive plates or fall centerpieces to dress up your buffet line. This year, I'm giving each one of my guests a homemade caramel apple as a 'Thank You For Celebrating With Us!' gift. We also love decorating with fresh mini-pumpkins and gourds we buy from our favorite German pumpkin festival!

5| Don't Forget The Entertainment!: If it's Thanksgiving Day, there's sure to be football! Plan a touch football game at the local park with your dinner guests. Or if your bellies are too full--sit back, relax, and watch a game or two on the TV. Not a football fan or living abroad without American TV access? Have a few favorite holiday movies on hand for post-dinner viewing. Enjoy with coffee and desert for an evening well done. Since Germany is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast (where my family lives), we get to watch the Macy's Day Parade while eating Thanksgiving lunch/dinner! 

I sincerely hope that wherever you'll be celebrating Thanksgiving this year, that you do it with good food, good friends, and a thankful heart. And remember to give many thanks to God, from whom all these wonderful blessings flow. Happy Thanksgiving from Germany!