Thanksgiving spent with family is always the best option. However, sometimes life happens and you have to come up with an alternate plan. Parker usually has to work most days during Thanksgiving week, so it would not work for us to travel home when he may just have Thanksgiving day off. So, we stay put for Thanksgiving and look forward to a longer Christmas break with both of our families.
We have actually come to really enjoy Thanksgiving with just the two of us (plus Bailey and Rosie obviously). I believe the year we got married and moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas was the first time I missed Thanksgiving with my family. At first, I was really disappointed to miss out. I have so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents that I love to catch up with on Thanksgiving day. However, we came up with a plan that we now look forward to every year!
Everything on the list pictured above happened in 2015, and we have revised it a little bit each year since. For example, the amount of food has been decreased significantly, and we skip the pigs in a blanket breakfast. (And FYI- the things under our names are things we were in charge of cooking/picking up... meaning I didn’t choose all of the 300 things under my name.) However, lots of the things on this list do occur! Let's jump right in, shall we?!
1. Start the day off with pineapple/orange juice screwdrivers and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!
2. Facetime your family. When I can't be home for birthdays and other festive occasions, my family always Facetimes. It doesn't have to be for long, but it's nice to get to see them while chatting, as opposed to the usual texting behind the phone situation.
3. Turn on some tunes and make cooking fun!
4. Set the table with your fine china, crystal, and flowers! We just had a couple of bright sunflowers on the table, and they added so much warmth and happiness!
5. Eat off of your everyday china! I get great joy out of pulling out my fine china and setting the table with it. However, being able to throw my everyday china into the dishwasher when we're finished eating is much more fun than hand washing fine china in my opinion!
6. Go for a walk. Parker and I don't go on a long exercise walk, but we do enjoy getting out of the house for a little stroll with the pups.
7. Watch football / online shop / watch movies / take an afternoon nap!
8. Make a list of 10 (or more!) things you are thankful for.
9. Eat pie and all the desserts! Thanksgiving only happens once a year!
10. Check out ArtFashionFun.com for a roundup of all of the best Cyber Week sales! :) SO many Black Friday sales have already started, and even more will continue to go live over the next few days. I have blog posts tomorrow, Friday, and Cyber Monday with some of the very best deals! We will definitely be using this time to put a dent in our Christmas shopping!
Also, I have created a new page on my blog in an effort to help with navigating Black Friday sales. If you go to the menu at the top and click on Black Friday, you will be taken to the page where I have rounded up a list of my favorite retailers that are having sales. I have also included the codes you need to use to get the sale prices . You can click here to be taken directly to the page. Or you can check out the sales below. Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks so much for reading! Have a great day and a very happy Thanksgiving!
Early Black Friday Sales + Codes
Baublebar- 30% off holiday collection and gift sets with code YAY30
J.Crew- 40% off entire purchase and free shipping with code THANKU
J.Crew Factory- 50% off everything, no code needed
Loft- 40% off everything with code GIFTITUP
Madewell- 25% off entire purchase with code DONTSTRESS
Nordstrom- Up to 40% off, no code needed
Old Navy- 50% off everything, no code needed
Shopbop- Up to 30% off with code MORE17
Tory Burch- 30% off $250 or more with code THANKS