As I think about the ghosts of past Thanksgivings, I’m reminded that I am grateful to be wherever I am. Although usually far from my immediate family, I try to hold on to our traditions as best I can, reveling in the celebration of good food and good company.

A few years ago during this holiday, I was visiting with my sisters in Ireland. The one who lives in Dublin decided to host an American Thanksgiving dinner for her Irish friends. It turned out to be no easy task!

Kristen & Maureen Gill, hostesses extraordinaires!

For one, my sister had to special-order a turkey from the butcher, since they are not commonly eaten in Ireland until around Christmastime. My other sister from Chicago brought over 2 cans of pumpkin, which were badly damaged in transit. Next up, we could not find any round pie tins! Turns out we had to make 2 square pumpkin pies instead of one round one. To make our mother’s/grandmother’s homemade stuffing, we went  late-night grocery shopping and cleared the shelves of white loaves of bread. I think they thought we were crazy buying 8 loaves of bread, and nothing else!

Check out these decorations that my mom sent over. I think she must have had these left over from the 70s! Gotta love the accordion turkey and pilgrim (with evil shadow on wall). Ha!

The evening turned out to be great! There was no great dining table upon which to eat, but everyone got a full plate of American-sized portions, and washed it all down with some good Irish whiskey. It was a great “first” Thanksgiving for a lot of people…and I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to share in this experience.

May all of you have wonderful thanksgivings, wherever in the world you are celebrating. And, if I learned anything from my Irish experience, it’s that a post-dinner whiskey with friends is sometimes all you really need.

Adventure on, and eat up!

Kristen