Having a Thanksgiving potluck is now one of my favorite and most helpful holiday traditions. Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays in my family. Growing up, all of the major holidays were celebrated at my grandparents’ house. My aunts, uncles, and cousins would all be there.
As my grandparents got older, the meal eventually shifted into a potluck-style meal, with everyone bringing a few different components. As a kid, I just thought that’s how Thanksgiving meals were supposed to be.
Time passed, I grew up, I had my own kids, my grandparents passed away, and the way holidays used to look changed. Each of my aunts and uncles started doing their own Thanksgiving celebration. So, I learned how to cook a turkey. I can make all of the classic Thanksgiving dinner dishes (pretty well, too!) and boy, is it a LOT OF WORK!
It takes a lot of preparation, time, and energy to make a full holiday spread by yourself. Beyond that, it always felt so small and quiet to have a holiday meal with only 4-5 people. I missed the chaotic, loud, and crowded holiday celebrations of my childhood. Eventually, I missed it so much that I decided to try to bring it back. I wanted my daughters to grow up with that same beautiful, loving, mess of a holiday celebration that I did.
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Bringing Back Old Traditions
So, I started hosting Thanksgiving and inviting my aunts, uncles, and cousins to come. The first year, I made every dish. The meal was tasty, and the gathering went well, but I was so, so, so TIRED! I swear that I didn’t fully recover my energy until January. This is when I remembered how Thanksgiving really worked as a kid. It was a potluck, and everyone brought something to contribute.
The next year, I asked family members to bring a few other dishes while I made the main two or three. At this point in my life, I was also a recently single mom and had a lot on my plate. As much as I’d like to say the potluck-style Thanksgiving was purely due to sentiment, it truly came about as more of a necessity. A full Thanksgiving meal prep was more than I could manage with the money, time, and energy I had available.
Two years ago was the first year that we had a fully potluck-style Thanksgiving dinner with everyone equally contributing. By this time, I had roped most of my cousins (who are now adults) into the celebration as well. Last year, we had another beautiful and full table, with everyone bringing something different. And as long as I can help it, I never want to go back to a traditionally made Thanksgiving meal again.
The Best Holiday Tradition
Now I’ll go into a few reasons why I firmly believe this is one of the best holiday traditions!
1. Practical
Doing a potluck-style meal is very practical. It saves everyone time and money and allows everyone to have a plentiful and fulfilling meal with minimal effort. PRO TIP: Use disposable containers to make clean up super easy. Bonus practicality points for using paper plates and plastic utensils!
2. Manageable
Let’s face it, the world we live in is busy, fast-paced, expensive, and demanding. We all have so much on our plates all the time. As moms, we often experience pressure to do everything for everyone all the time. We can’t keep that up, and we shouldn’t have to. As hard as it is to ask for help sometimes, it really does make life so much more manageable and ENJOYABLE! When we’re not so busy trying to do everything, we can actually experience and enjoy what we are doing. I love being able to enjoy the meal with my family instead of spending the whole day running around trying to get everything done.
3. Family
For a potluck-style meal to work, you obviously need a good number of contributing parties. I love that I can bring my family together in a special way for the holidays with this tradition. Being able to provide a way for my children to grow up spending time with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and maybe even friends during the holidays makes me feel so unbelievably blessed. It’s also a good way for my kids to learn what a community should look and feel like. Bringing something to the table isn’t an entrance ticket: we want you there, not what you can bring. Sometimes I can bring the turkey, sometimes it’s a pack of rolls, and that is ok. It’s not about being transactional; it’s about working together in a meaningful way to create something special as a family.
4. Grateful
Thanksgiving potlucks are also a great way to practice gratefulness. I love the opportunity to truly appreciate what everyone brings to the table, even if it’s not what I would have chosen or if it doesn’t look the way I think something should look. It also gives me an opportunity to be thankful for everyone’s individual preferences and talents.
The first year we did a potluck, my sister tried to make the sweet potato casserole and, well, let’s just say it wasn’t her best dish. She had tried to bring something she thought was “expected” to be part of the meal, even when she wasn’t too sure how to make it. Now, there’s nothing wrong with trying something new or getting out of your comfort zone, but it’s usually better if it’s something you WANT to do, instead of something you feel like you HAVE to do. The following year, she brought a macaroni and cheese casserole that was so good, I’m pretty sure my aunt cried. Instead of making something that was expected, she made something she wanted to make, and it was a huge success!
Our Thanksgiving potluck is a wonderful reminder to be grateful for the people in our lives, exactly as they are. It also helps me to be thankful for my own abilities and talents and the way I can contribute to the celebration, no matter how big or small.
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