I started Campsgiving with my husband when we lived in Florida. We rarely made it home for holidays and so camping sounded like a great idea. We kept it up mostly after we moved back, though some years we do something different. I love the simplicity of it, the idea of just being with people you love instead of making a ton of food!
Our family started alternating a traditional at-home Thanksgiving with travel. Our most memorable Thanksgiving was 2009 in Santiago, Chile, during a year of round-the-word travel. A wire in my 11-year-old daughter's braces broke, so we had to walk across the city to Santiago's graduate school of orthodontia, where a professor demonstrated to several students how to repair her braces, for free! Then we ate dinner at a seafood place with a raw bar and have since incorporated shellfish into our Thanksgiving dinners to remember that funny, strange Thanksgiving. But I do still value a family gathering with a home-cooked meal, along with the tradition of going around (youngest to oldest) and saying what we're thankful for. I also try to do a Turkey Trot run, either as part of an organized race or on my own. I feel pressure the weekend following to get up Christmas decorations, and this is where I've decided to cut myself some slack -- no need to rush getting the tree, wreath, and lights up; enjoy the process. Thanks for your post that made me think through these traditions!
Ha! We're a Michigan Wolverine household so today is The Game. BUT I know my daughter is itching to get the decorations out, so we'll probably also start that process today. During the five years we camped, we decorated the tree BEFORE we left just to make sure that it was done when we were home. With Advent starting tomorrow, it's probably a good idea to just do it.
I started Campsgiving with my husband when we lived in Florida. We rarely made it home for holidays and so camping sounded like a great idea. We kept it up mostly after we moved back, though some years we do something different. I love the simplicity of it, the idea of just being with people you love instead of making a ton of food!
That's why we started! We weren't going home to Michigan from Houston so why not camp? Best decision ever.
Our family started alternating a traditional at-home Thanksgiving with travel. Our most memorable Thanksgiving was 2009 in Santiago, Chile, during a year of round-the-word travel. A wire in my 11-year-old daughter's braces broke, so we had to walk across the city to Santiago's graduate school of orthodontia, where a professor demonstrated to several students how to repair her braces, for free! Then we ate dinner at a seafood place with a raw bar and have since incorporated shellfish into our Thanksgiving dinners to remember that funny, strange Thanksgiving. But I do still value a family gathering with a home-cooked meal, along with the tradition of going around (youngest to oldest) and saying what we're thankful for. I also try to do a Turkey Trot run, either as part of an organized race or on my own. I feel pressure the weekend following to get up Christmas decorations, and this is where I've decided to cut myself some slack -- no need to rush getting the tree, wreath, and lights up; enjoy the process. Thanks for your post that made me think through these traditions!
Ha! We're a Michigan Wolverine household so today is The Game. BUT I know my daughter is itching to get the decorations out, so we'll probably also start that process today. During the five years we camped, we decorated the tree BEFORE we left just to make sure that it was done when we were home. With Advent starting tomorrow, it's probably a good idea to just do it.
I never mopped my kitchen floor.