This year we hosted Thanksgiving. We held it with a few other families who also had a lot of children and one of them offered to host also, but they have cats and Brandon preferred to host instead of sneezing his way through the afternoon.
There were four families total, so the cooking got spread out nicely between everyone. Brandon commented when he saw the spread, "There's nothing like profiting from the female desire to show off one's cooking skills!"
We ended cooking the rolls, turkey, gravy, and pecan pie (which I made just because I really like pecan pie) and so I didn't even start cooking until Thanksgiving itself. The rolls took most of the time, as making rolls for 24 people - with enough for leftovers - is no small job. We ended up with almost eight dozen rolls, as I have a mortal fear of running out.
I know that William's Thanksgiving dinner consisted entirely of rolls and juice, and I'm pretty sure a few other children had the same meal, supplemented by sugar cookies. Brandon and I have gotten soft in our old age and our family rule for holidays is, "Eat whatever you want. We don't care. Nutrition doesn't count on holidays." It makes for a more fun holiday for the children and gives us a break from forcing children to eat food they don't like. Also: more tasty holiday leftovers for me.
We have an enormous dining room which comes in handy when you're feeding so many people. We had enough room (and seating) for an adults' table, a kids' table, and a food table all in the same room. It's going to be sad when one day we have to live in normal-sized houses. Easier to clean, much cozier, but not so good for large parties. Which Brandon is probably okay with.
I'm grateful for the wonderful friends we've already made after only being here for four and a half months, friends who were not scared to come and join us for a noisy, child-filled meal and then stay at our house and enjoy each others' company for several more hours. I miss family most at Thanksgiving, as that holiday was always spent with my most favorite cousins, and I treasure the easy companionship that comes from knowing people since you were born. But as we move around the world, we make more family wherever we go. And I'm thankful for my Tashkent family that made Thanksgiving wonderful this year.