Thanksgiving: the Wixom way.

So Thanksgiving is kind of a big deal in the Wixom household...and by "kind of" I mean it is the most anticipated holiday and gets just as much attention (if not more) as Christmas. It's the Holiday about being thankful and giving back. I honestly don't remember a Thanksgiving where we didn't have at-least two guests around our table (usually I don't them...that's just how our family rolls. ;))

So here is what a typical Wixom Thanksgiving schedule looks like:

Tuesday before:

• Make Bread Baskets for Smith, Larsen, and Wixom (and by bread I mean bread, rolls, cookies, mazourkas, jam, something random, etc. Half is usually made by yours truly and my mother, the other is half is by Great Harvest...That is my favorite half.)

Wednesday:

• Deliver Bread Baskets. 
• Layne makes the biggest (and best tasting) batch of Cranberry Relish you have ever seen. 
• Natalie begins the turkey brining process for the best darn turkey you have ever had.
• Claire starts the rolls. 
• Mom makes the stuffing. 
• Bake the Pies (usually 6, including mum's sugarless apple, pumpkin, cherry, and whatever else we feel the need to experiment with that particular year.) . This always happen at night when the familia is home from work. 

The Big day, Thursday:

• 6:15- Wake up (unless you are my padre, who is up by 5.) . 
• 6:45- Head Out to the Race. 
• 7:20- Arrive at location and check in. This is also were you get to put on your new festive sweat (as pictured below.)
• 7:40- Do Jazzercise with the obnoxious warm-up lady...which my family very willingly participates. 
• 8:00-Begin chasing the gobbler 
• 8:15- The 1-milers are back by now. 
• 8:23- The 5k-ers begin getting back (with Robert in the lead.) 
• 8:45- Eat gross breakfast that the coordinators of "Catch the Gobbler" provide. 
• 9:00- Get awards (always Dad, sometimes others from our family.)
• 9:15- Raffle drawing!
• 9:45- Family usually has about 4 free turkeys by now with a few random gift certificates in-between. 
• 10:15- Begin the trek home. 
• 11:00- Begin food prep/shuffling through the shower (note that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is ALWAYS playing in the kitchen)
• 2:00-Thanksgiving Devotional (often accompanied by Polly the Pilgrim.) 
• 2:30-Dinner
• 3:30- Lay around being stuffed (well, half of us (the smart ones) do this) 
• 3:45- Clear the table. 
• 4:00- Head out decided movie (which we arrive to a half hour early thanks to my father's strategic planning.)
• 7:00- Dessert with the Rosekelly's. This consists of all of the family gathering around while partaking of pie, Christina's Snicker-Salad, ice cream, and something random. The kido's (which there are a constant increasing number of) are usually running around making rather loud ruccus. It's a joy :). 
• 9:30- Rosekelly's slowly leave, kids are put to sleep, and the planning of tomorrow begins. 
• 10:00- this is where the after party consisting of Elf, left-overs, and obnoxious behavior usually comes in and lasts for multiple hours. 

Friday: 

• Left-Overs for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
• Black-Friday shopping
• The official opening of the Christmas season. Meaning we set out all of the Christmas decoration, blast Christmas music all day long, make caramel apple cider, and set up my father's Christmas tree (which a whole evening's affair). 

Side note. The first time we did the Catch the Gobbler race, in about 2001, we all hated it and thought it was the worst idea ever.
Now, we all love it and wouldn't dream of not doing it (minus Micah, she still thinks it's dumb.)