Laura Caeris – Thoughtful Millennial

Thanksgiving is usually a holiday I spend alone. I have grown not to care, it started when I was in university too far away and too broke to come home for just a weekend and continued when I started working Thanksgiving so that I would have Christmas off. However, now I am off both holidays, but too far away to come home.

Before I get too far, I am Candian. I live in Canada. Thanksgiving in Canada is in October, so unbunch your panties Americans.

I do love a Friendsgiving, but they often are not on Thanksgiving weekend to allow people to be with their families, so the actual weekend/day is usually on my own. And I have gotten pretty good at making it special for myself.

Plan the Meal//

The first bit is of course, the food. I think it’s because I was raised by British and Irish parents we like to lean full American-style for Thanksgiving. Now that I am on my own, and don’t want to be making a full turkey dinner for myself (because I would be eating it forever). There are two routes I choose between:

Traditional/Nostalgic

This is where I basically make a smaller version of what my Mom is making at home, this can be challenging occasionally as some dishes are hard to make smaller without having a bunch of weird leftovers. But this is my gameplan:

Roast a turkey breast or a chicken. Much less meat to eat.
Pick a potato: if you’re on your own you don’t need both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. So pick a potato. I adore this Half-Baked Harvest Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie.
Pick another carb-y side: I’m partial to this broccoli and rice casserole because my Mom makes it, but I also love mac and cheese (homemade, not boxed)
A vegetable or a salad. Green beans are a Thanksgiving classic, but sometimes I like a salad with apples or pears and nuts, like this autumn pear salad, or a squash dish.
Cranberry sauce. This is an essential for me. Not the stuff you slice up, but the chunky stuff, canned or homemade are both perfect.
Dessert: this is the most fun for me, but also the most difficult to get the portions right on. However, this is also the area I’m least likely to mind having leftovers all week. I really want to try this layered chocolate meringue cake. Or maybe this pumpkin patch chocolate peanut butter cake to be more on theme.

Something My Mom Would Never Make

This has been the option I’ve gone for more the past couple years. Something completely off the norm for Thanksgiving, maybe an Asian flavour, a soup, or a pasta.

Get decorating//

Just because you are alone, does not mean that you should not make it look festive. Get pumpkins, put out any fall decorations you have. Light candles on the table, get nice napkins, use your nice plates if you have them. Make it nice, even when it’s just you.

Set the music//

If you have a dinner party playlist, that is perfect. You may want to watch something while you’re eating (I’d recommend one off this list), but while you’re cooking, I would recommend listening to some music to really dive into the Nancy Meyers’s fantasy world we are building here.

If you need a visual while you cook, consider a YouTube “ambiance room”, it’s good music, typically with another noise like rain or low chatter, and a pretty room with falling leaves or a cat. I find them very soothing for when you need something on, but not something that will attract your attention too much.

Get Dressed//

This could be in extreme comfies, or in a nice Thanksgiving outfit, but either way; make it intentional. Don’t wear the same thing that you’ve worn all weekend.

Wallow//

Listen, spending holidays alone can kind of suck. It sucks watching everyone else be with their loved ones (I recommend getting off social media for a bit), it sucks cleaning, preparing, cooking, and cleaning all by yourself. So go ahead and feel it, get sad if you need to. Acknowledge that you are lonely – and if all of this prep feels too much order takeout or buy a prepared meal that you wouldn’t normally. And remember that this part of life, doesn’t last forever.

You’ve got this.

Laura