Celebrating Good With New York Life
If Thanksgiving is the best thing ever then Friendsgiving is the bester thing ever. I often joke (not so jokingly) that I collect awesome people. 40 or so of those awesome people gather together at my home the Sunday after Thanksgiving for a feast and a celebration of thanks. We’re thankful for each other. We’re thankful for the good that has happened to us all during the past year. Most of all, we’re thankful for a chance to gather around the kitchen island and just be.
Thanksgiving is for celebrating good with the family you were born into or married into.
Friendsgiving is for celebrating good with the family you’ve chosen.
There are a lot of things about Friendsgiving that make it the bester, but here are top 5 reasons I look forward to it more than any other holiday.
1. The food is AAAAAMAZING. One of my awesome people is a professional chef, so she is in charge of the critical menu items. The rest of us focus on making what we excel at making. For some, that’s a dessert that is to die for or maybe an appetizer that delights. Others specialize in making sure the plates and napkins are plentiful. In the end, we wind up with a menu that will leave you dreaming of surgically implanting a third or fourth stomach because there is never enough room to enjoy it all.
The most important part, though, is that no one judges any of it. Grandma Norma isn’t there to make a sour face when she discovers there is goat cheese in the mashed potatoes.
2. The company is really good at picking the right conversations. While Friendsgiving is spent with the people you trust the most, you don’t have to worry about the conversations veering into those delicate areas. There aren’t any questions about when you’re going to have another baby or when are you going to get married or any of that stuff.
Your friends know that you are incredibly grateful for that baby in the family room, even if she did show up a bit later than ideal. They won’t poke at that sore spot. In fact, they’re celebrating that new life every bit as much as you are.
3. Your kids are truly free to be who they are. You are gathered with the people who are in the trenches of parenthood with you. They are the people you text when the baby is screaming, the dog is barking, the toddler is climbing the walls, and your husband is hiding in the garage “working” on something. They understand your frustrations and they know kids aren’t perfect because they are living the same wonderfully imperfect life.
Aunt Marcia might shoot you the side eye when your toddler flings mashed potatoes on the ceiling. At Friendsgiving, the conversation will be about appreciation that the mashed potatoes match the ceiling’s paint color.
4. Speaking of kids, I don’t have to wonder what they’re doing or where they are because they are also with some of their favorite friends. Alexis positively adores her multitude of cousins and enjoys every minute with them, but it is different than when she hangs out with kids she has considered besties since she was born. She sees them more and knows them better, and so do I. Everyone is comfortable and happy. If things get out of hand, there is no doubt that one of the moms will say the just right words to send the situation in the right direction. And nobody will be offended.
5. There is no expectation of a Pinterest-perfect celebration. When my crew gathers together at my home, the focus is on the food and the conversation. Nobody judges the ring of mildew in the toilet or the cat fur tumbleweed under the table. They don’t care that we’re using paper plates and plastic forks. Together is what matters.
Happy Holidays, y’all. I hope you get an opportunity to spend a day celebrating good, be it Friendsgiving or any other random day of the year.
I’m partnering with New York Life to Keep Good Going and we need your help. New York Life is donating 25 meals to Feeding America for every tweet that includes #KeepGoodGoing and #FeedingAMillion. Tweet about your favorite holiday tradition or memory using the hashtags and you’ll trigger that donation. 25 meals for just one tweet. You can also visit New York Life’s website to see ways others are celebrating the good in their lives and upload your own photo to share with others. (Through 1/9/15, New York Life will donate $2.50 for each approved post, with a minimum of $25K & a maximum of $100K. See full terms and conditions at NewYorkLife.com/CelebratingGood. Find info about Feeding America at feedingamerica.org.
As a thank you for Celebrating Good, I have a $50 Visa Gift card and a $50 donation on behalf of BlogHer in the winner’s name to Feeding America up for grabs. Just leave a comment below telling me your favorite holiday tradition and you will be entered to win.
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 12/1/2014 – 12/31/2014.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Reader Comments (177)
https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/549239071168409600
My favorite tradition is watching my daughter make cookies. I don't like to cook, so I'm a very happy she does now.
We like to get together for a huge seafood dinner or New years day!
We attend a candle light service on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning we put a lit candle in a cupcake, place it in front of the manger and sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus.
https://twitter.com/smilekisses/status/549508223116394496
My favorite tradition is decorating the tree with my son.
baking cookies with my daugher is a favorite of mine
my favorite holiday tradition is the big family holiday dinner
Trying to find a few minutes where we can do NOTHING!
I like tamales on Christmas Eve!
We have Christmas pickle ornament in my family. I sneak it onto the tree some time before Christmas. First person to notice it gets a special treat.
tweeted https://twitter.com/dmarie824/status/550054728030105601
My favorite holiday tradition is making sugar cooking with my daughter, then decorating them. Such a mess, lol but it's a lot of fun.
I love making christmas ornaments with the kids
One of our traditions is we open one gift on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning. Thanks for having this contest.
I take of the kids every year and let them make an ornament out of it!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Tweet: https://twitter.com/coriwestphal/status/550106940433371136
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Being with my six children is the best.
My favorite Christmas tradition is the Christmas Eve party some friends of mine throw. Everyone goes over to their house and we talk and eat delicious food and then sing carols around the piano for hours. It's awesome.
Christmas eve pizza
I love decorating the Christmas tree
I love having my family put on new Christmas pajamas, making hot cocoa, curling up on the couch together and reading 'The Night Before Christmas" before putting the kids to bed on Christmas Eve.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
I tweeted the giveaway as @jlsc123 (Jill Myrick) located here:
https://twitter.com/jlsc123/status/550135536338206721
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
My favorite holiday tradition is attending Christmas Eve church service with my family.
i love decorating my home for Christmas - lots of lights and decorations!
i posted a tweet here:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/550147831864909826
Our family's yearly Christmas Cookie party is my favorite!
One of my favorite traditions is always sitting with the family and making turkey every Christmas to enjoy..
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
my favorite holiday tradition is baking cookies on Christmas eve
My favorite holiday tradition is sitting with my mom and wrapping gifts with specially made ribbons and bows.
My favorite holiday tradition is going into the woods to find the perfect Christmas trr, cutting it down and bringing it home to decorate it while we enjoy freshly baked brownies.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is when we pack up in the car close to Christmas and drive around town, looking at all the lights and decorations that people have put up :)
Tweeted :) - https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/550266439731404801
My favorite holiday tradition is baking on Christmas eve
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/550292212756389889
Decorating a gingerbread house
We have a yankee swap on Christmas Eve!
POKERGRL8 at gmail.com
tweet
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/550320023542448131
My favorite holiday tradition is baking in the kitchen with my entire family of 13 people. We all stand around and give our opinions on how family favorites should be made and then we taste test the goodies together.
I like giving presents to a child off of an "Angel Tree" and donating to the local food bank.
I love baking snow ball cookies and watching Lifetime holiday movies on Christmas Eve.
My kids and I love to make a shoe box for project shoe box for kids who would otherwise get nothing for Christmas
My favorite tradition is decorating the Christmas tree. We make a big production out of it. A Christmas Story goes on the TV, all kinds of drinks, snacks, and goodies go on the coffee table, and we decorate away! Thanks.
getting together with the whole family