Thanksgiving Holiday Traditions: $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway from Welch's
Monday, November 08, 2010
This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Welch's.
Is your family big on holiday traditions?
Mine is.
And I am fond of many of them, really.
Especially the ones we have on Thanksgiving. Christmas Eve is my number ONE favorite night of the year, but Thanksgiving is a close second. It has everything, really...family, fun, tradition and pumpkin pie.
We do NOT watch football and we DO assemble huge puzzles, lounge about, laugh, and it is, of course, the time that we break out Christmas Carols and sing and then that night we always (usually) (some of the time) (really it is highly dependent on my sanity and preparedness level) set up our Christmas tree and decorate the house.
Most important on the list: EAT.
My family is HUGE on food. And even HUGER on PIE. (I don't care what you say, Webster. 'Huger' is TOTALLY a word.)
We have simple tradition in my family: We only make pumpkin pie.
LOTS of pumpkin pie.
About 2-3 dozen every Thanksgiving, depending on the year and my mother's energy. Again, they are all pumpkin. I DO make 2 chocolate pudding pies on my own time because my husband doesn't like pumpkin pie.
(I KNOW, right?!)
(I seriously don't know how he copes.)
(Although, that also means there is more pie for me, so really, I think I'm OK with it.)
This is one of my very favorite holiday traditions and memories: making pie for thanksgiving with my mother and sisters. It began the way most of the truly memorable and loved traditions in families start...by all being together and doing something that brings you closer as a family unit. We all love pie, my mother makes the best pie crust on the planet and working together to make the quantity we consume takes teamwork and includes lots of love and laughter. (Unless someone is really cranky. But then we just through little balls of pie dough at one another until the bad mood goes away. You should try it sometime. Pie dough wars can be hugely therapeutic.)
We start making pies about 3-days before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving breakfast is ALWAYS a slice of pie.
(Hush. It's fabulous, y'all.).
(I probably shouldn't mention that I LOVE, err...'sampling' the pumpkin pie mix.)
(Yup, you heard me. I could drink it by the cupfuls.)
(Again, hush! Do not knock until you've tried it.)
(And no horror stories about salmonella, either!)
(If I die from it, I die a happy, happy woman!)
(Is it weird that I love this and loathe eggnog?)
(Probably.)
Where were we again?
Oh, yes! Holiday traditions!
I love the family traditions we have. Well, I love MOST of the holiday traditions we have. But there are a couple that I am very decidedly NOT fond of. One of them being...(looking around to see if maternal parental figure is somehow lurking around the shadowy corners of this blog)...my mother's annual "Red Punch".
I. cannot. stand. it.
The recipe is straightforward. Take 2 liters of fizzy lemon-lime soda and dump a big bottle of Hawaiian Punch Concentrate into it.
Now, look, I am not out to be hating on Hawaiian Punch, but I just DO NOT LIKE this punch. I didn't as a child and to be honest, the feeling hasn't diminished with my advancing age over the years.
Every year we beg her to make something else, but no...Thanksgiving is at her house, her recipe stands.
UNTIL THIS YEAR!
We are having Thanksgiving at my brothers.
AND GUESS WHO MANAGED TO PULL OFF GETTING THE DRINK ASSIGNMENT?! (I know, I know...I'm brilliant.)
I'm really excited to try something new, and as it happens, Welch's and BlogHer came around just in time to save my punch-making heiny for Thanksgiving. When I buy juice, it is almost ALWAYS Welch's and I love these recipes. Growing up in a non-drinking household, we buy Welch's sparkling juices a lot for holidays. All the fun fizz, without the alcohol. And I am grateful that there are so many options I can make and serve at the various family gatherings we have over the holidays.
Every year we beg her to make something else, but no...Thanksgiving is at her house, her recipe stands.
UNTIL THIS YEAR!
We are having Thanksgiving at my brothers.
AND GUESS WHO MANAGED TO PULL OFF GETTING THE DRINK ASSIGNMENT?! (I know, I know...I'm brilliant.)
I'm really excited to try something new, and as it happens, Welch's and BlogHer came around just in time to save my punch-making heiny for Thanksgiving. When I buy juice, it is almost ALWAYS Welch's and I love these recipes. Growing up in a non-drinking household, we buy Welch's sparkling juices a lot for holidays. All the fun fizz, without the alcohol. And I am grateful that there are so many options I can make and serve at the various family gatherings we have over the holidays.
I'm really leaning towards making their Sparkling Cranberry Punch to take with me to Thanksgiving dinner. It looks divine and a huge improvement on the red punch of yesteryear.
I admit, I am a tiny bit sad about losing the red punch of my childhood as a family tradition but VERY excited (and ready) to start a new tradition. Isn't that what it's all about when you have a family of your own, anyway? Incorporating existing traditions to new ones?
As I mentioned, I am giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card in this giveaway. (YAY!)
The way to answer this giveaway is to answer two questions: WHICH RECIPE WOULD YOU PICK? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FAMILY HOLIDAY AND IS IT NEW OR LONG STANDING?
Make sure you check out the other holiday stories on the BlogHer roundup page for 11 more chances to win! Don’t forget to check out my review post next week for 2 more chances to win!
For a second entry, you can:
1. Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)
2. Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)
3. Follow this link and provide your email address and your response to the sweepstakes prompt.
Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on December 31, 2010.
For Official Rules click here: http://goo.gl/PPqgR.
