Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking and preparing a feast, followed by hours cleaning up the kitchen, and countless time searching for the plastic lids you need to store the leftovers.

Some years I do have the urge to decorate the house, create custom centerpieces, find the perfect side dish recipes to go along with my fool proof roast turkey, and occasionally invite another family over to join us.

However, most years I have no desire whatsoever to handle a slippery-naked-turkey, figure out how to dress it, and what accessories it needs.  This happens to be one of those years.

I recently did a search on Not Cooking For Thanksgiving.
Interesting results:
 – 10 Restaurants To Celebrate Thanksgiving And Give Thanks You’re Not Cooking
– 9 Thanksgiving gravy recipes: Foodday Favorites
Essential Thanksgiving + and many more about the perfect turkey

followed by a link to a great article by Maria Guido:

Cheatsgiving How To Not Cook On Thanksgiving – Mommyish

“All I know is – if you find yourself fighting over who is going to prepare the meal, whose house it is going to be held in, or any other logistical detail of Thanksgiving – just stop. This is how you make it to forty without being responsible for waiting on your relatives for hours on a day we’re all supposed to be giving thanks.”

Only two links came up with articles about not cooking on Thanksgiving.  Which drives my point home even further.  In this county it is almost sacrilegious to do nothing for Thanksgiving.  When a google search on the subject can’t handle the idea and instead offers you-can-cook-the-perfect-turkey articles and recipes to get me to reconsider…you know we have Thanksgiving issues.

You have a some time left before the big day.  You can choose now how you want to spend your Thanksgiving.  Do what makes you happy and thankful, not because you feel a duty or obligation, or because it’s always been that way, but because it makes you feel great.

If however, your plans are already stressing you out, change them and do what makes you feel best.  The most important thing in this world is that you are happy.

Many blessings,
Heather

And a final funny for you…