Thanksgiving is the simplest of fall holidays. Unlike Halloween, you don’t have to create some elaborate, creative costume that references pop culture in a sly way. You don’t have to worry about your celebration will reflect on social media. Here’s five uncommon Thanksgiving traditions to celebrate this year because, well, why not?
Regardless of your culture and background, December also invokes pressure: the pressure to stay for long periods of time together, the pressure to give stellar gifts, the pressure of capitalistic importance.
Thanksgiving is short and sweet. No one (really) expects you to stay through the weekend. A three-day visit is usually good enough. All that is required is you show up, drink, and eat. Perhaps you throw and/or watch football. Or you play card games. It’s all so simple.
That being said, what’s wonderful about our country is that we are so different. No one celebrates a holiday in the exact same way, and that includes Thanksgiving. Dig deep enough and you realize these outliers are what should be rejoiced. So we’re doing exactly that with some of the most uncommon, out-there traditions you’ll find on Thanksgiving.
Pie Night
So your eyes were bigger than your stomach and you packed your plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, and everything wonderful in between. This being Thanksgiving, you returned to your savage ways, and ate it all anyways.
But his presents a quandary of sorts: You’re too stuffed for dessert. Most push through the pain anyways, but what if you could enjoy the delicious desserts and pies in peace?
Meet Pie Night, celebrated on the Monday night before Thanksgiving. This tradition comes courtesy of The Single Dad Laughing blog. Here’s how it works: The extended family, i.e. most of the guest you’d see on Thanksgiving, comes over with all the pies they’d cook anyways and everyone chows down. Enjoy your sweets in peace.
Leftover Calzone
Sick of turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving? Understandable. So why not get creative like this dad did, throwing it all together in a calzone and baking it. Forget the marinara. Drizzle gravy all over this creation.
Go Fancy, Like Joan Rivers
That’s what the late, great Joan Rivers did anyways. Instead of the more typical fare you’d eat during Thanksgiving, Rivers catered a 23-course meal full of treats and delicacies alike.
Here’s some of the dishes as described by Redbook: “five appetizers (such as caramelized-onion-and-goat-cheese tarts), first-course pasta (pumpkin tortellini), pumpkin soup (served in a carved-out pumpkin), roast turkey, smoked ham, six sides, and six desserts.”
Turducken
Is one bird not good enough for you? What about a bird inside of a bird inside of a bird? That’s how you get a turducken. A deboned chicken inside a deboned duck inside a deboned turkey.
And if you really want to get crazy, you stuff all that inside a pig.
Get Multicultural
Why subjugate ourselves to the same dishes year after year? Why not experiment, try something different?
Mashable has a great guide on how to incorporate dishes from around the world into your typical Thanksgiving fare. Add some kimchi mac and cheese or an antipasto dish to change up your Thanksgiving this year.
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