My Family Thanksgiving Traditions (Texas-Style)

See how many of these Thanksgiving traditions your family follows.

I’m sure you have your favorite family Thanksgiving traditions like mine, from watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to watching football on TV and eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Whatever it may be, family is the most important thing at this time of year. Mine will look a little different this year as there’s been a divorce, someone passing, and a few who moved away, but at least I know my mom will be beside me wherever I go.

Also, please scroll down to my recipe for a Thanksgiving wreath using fresh rosemary sprigs from my garden.

Thanksgiving Traditions

We all have traditions, especially during a holiday. Some put up their Christmas tree on Thanksgiving or the day after, and some eat duck instead of turkey! Do you put up your Christmas tree on Thanksgiving? We don’t usually, but this year we will. One year, I visited my aunt and cousin in Grand Junction, CO, where their traditional meat was duck. I did not like it!

I’m curious to know what your Thanksgiving traditions are. Are they similar to the ones below or way off?

Whether it’s your first Thanksgiving to celebrate or your 20th and beyond, family traditions are deep in Texas, and pecan pie and pumpkin pie are the centers of it all. Well, it is for my family. Whatever the case, it’s a national holiday we all celebrate (usually) with family members and sometimes friends.

My Family Thanksgiving Tradition (Texas-Style)

Our annual Thanksgiving tradition took a road trip to my great aunt’s home in Houston, Texas, for many years. Every year, my whole family would drive down to her house a couple of days before Thanksgiving to help her prepare for the meal on Thanksgiving Day. Her Thanksgiving dinner tables were set with her best china. I don’t think she ever used those dishes, but once a year. And every year after we left, her son would return a couple of days later to help her set up the Christmas tree. It wasn’t often that we got to see her tree because we were already home

Then, that Friday after Thanksgiving, we would all go to the mall and take pictures with Santa Claus. I love the memories and the Christmas shopping season – then and now!

Our 10 Southern Texas Family Thanksgiving Traditions

Our Thanksgiving Traditional Menu

I’m pretty sure you have your favorite Thanksgiving menu you serve every year and loads of memories to go with it. This year, like last year, I’m making a Thanksgiving rosemary wreath. I made it years ago, and it went over very well, so I will make it again as one of the many appetizers served. And, of course, it’s my new family Thanksgiving tradition.

Reminiscing about Thanksgiving’s past is my favorite thing as we gather around the table to eat. We talked about how funny my dad was when asking one of us to “pull his finger,” I’m sure you know what happens after that. We would fall for it every time! And when he and my cousin would shake our hands and say, “How you doing?” Those were the best of times.

Though my dad and his cousin (and my great aunt) are all gone now, we miss them, mainly because one of them would always say the blessing.

Our meal would always include a medley of olives, tomatoes, and marinated mozzarella cheese in a bowl drenched in extra virgin olive oil. But I’m making the dish more festive by making it into a Thanksgiving Rosemary Wreath. See below.

Before I share how I made the rosemary wreath, I’d like to share what’s on our favorite Thanksgiving meal.

My Family’s Traditional Texas Thanksgiving Meal

• Smoke turkey
• Honey-baked ham
• Cornbread dressing (my mom would always use too much sage)
• Green beans or the traditional green bean casserole (all depends on who’s making it)
• Sweet potatoes or as a sweet potato casserole (again, it depends on who makes it)
• Broccoli cheese caserole
• Mashed potatoes
• Rolls (lots of rolls)
• Sweet Tea
• Cranberry sauce
• Pumpkin pie
• Apple pie
• Pecan pie

And we always have Thanksgiving day meals for weeks because we make so much.

So much time has passed since we all gathered at my great-aunt’s house in Houston. But now – when the fourth Thursday of November rolls around, we celebrate the holiday AND my son’s birthday on the 29th. Our traditional ways are a little different, but what remains the same is that big fat turkey!

Here is an easy idea for a beautiful Thanksgiving dish using fresh rosemary.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone from my Texas home to yours (wherever you reside).

My Thanksgiving Rosemary Wreath

First, I grow rosemary in my garden. You’ll need many sprigs of fresh rosemary about 6-8 inches long. Arrange the rosemary springs in a circle for the wreath (on a platter), bending the springs as needed.

Mix a small amount of basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper in extra-virgin olive oil.

Arrange these foods on top of the rosemary wreath:

• Mozzarella balls (marinated in the above for 20 minutes)
• Kalamata Olives
• Cherry tomatoes (marinated in the olive oil mixture if desired)
• Serve with crackers in a bowl and place in the middle of the wreath.

Now that we’ve completed our family Thanksgiving Traditions for you to read, what will you do for the weekend? Here are some ideas on things to do during the week of Thanksgiving in Texas.

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