Favorite holiday traditions

Thanksgiving: In this, our "mid" stage of life my wife and I leave our warm little mountainside home in the Adirondacks to drive over to see my in-laws in VT. Thanksgiving morning I'm "encouraged" to do a local "Turkey Trott" run, then spend the rest of the day working on a project, or simply grazing.

Morning duck hunt frying 3 turkeys have a big crowd over till who knows when always a great time Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!!!!!

We are going to do something a little different this year. Later this morning my oldest son and I are going to meet my youngest son and his family at a range we are both members of and teach their two oldest about firearm / range safety and shooting. They are only 10 and 8 so we'll be using .22LR and an abundance of caution I'll bring my CZ bolt action, Ruger MKIV, and pair of AR's, all suppressed. The AR's are not conversions. I change the entire upper. That way I get to keep the Geissele trigger, decent stock, optics, etc. Even though they all run Dead Air Masks we'll still insist on ear pro. I don't want them to have to deal with ringing and "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that".

The following day we'll convene at my youngest daughters place for Thanksgiving dinner. The cousins, all 8 of them, will get to enjoy hanging out together, the woods, tree house, bottom land, river (too cold to swim), etc while the parents catch up. While it's a great place to shoot, etc we won't. It's too hard to know where everyone is. Put a kid in the woods and they're all over the place

Every Thanksgiving morning me, my Dad, Uncle Mark, and son hunt together. We have killed some nice deer on those thanksgiving mornings. Then have lunch with about 30 family members at my Great Aunts and watch football.

Hunting

We hunt deer or small game in the morning with family. Then feast a 1:00 with friend's and family . Usually some will go hunt deer until dark , Then the second round of food and family games. No TV , No computers and no phones except for calls ! Being Grateful !!!!
Happy Thanks Givingb to all !

I love to cook!

I usually try to sneak away to go hunting, but always get "guilt tripped" into staying home with my lady. Though I usually do some type of firearm/hunting shopping, because of the great sales..

Chris said:

It's the holiday season. Do you have any favorite holiday traditions you'd like to share with us? I'd love to get to know some of yall a bit more, so trying to encourage great conversation within the community.

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When I was still living back home in Louisiana, we would eat Thanksgiving dinner with the entire family. Once everyone left, we'd pack the leftovers and jump in the truck, which we packed that morning, and get down to the hunting club. We did this for Christmas and Thanksgiving, because we're the only 2 days we weren't in the woods, if we weren't in school. We lived in the woods and I miss those days. Nothing like eating turkey sandwiches at the camp, with left over turkey from Thanksgiving. I hope to get my kids in the woods like we used to.

Chris said:

It's the holiday season. Do you have any favorite holiday traditions you'd like to share with us? I'd love to get to know some of yall a bit more, so trying to encourage great conversation within the community.

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This was a day for hunting rabbits when my boys were younger, for several years we would be on the move early with our 2 beagles and hunt till after noon then come home clean our rabbits and get ready for a gracious Thanksgiving dinner my wife had prepared and that also got us out of her hair while she prepared it something she was glad for,we don't have those hunts anymore but we are all still together to enjoy and be thankful to God for that blessing

Greetings everyone. Please know that I offer the following respectfully and only with good intentions. Hopefully this site will allow.

Wife and I are invited to 2 Thanksgiving dinners which we will attend. I've been asked to offer grace at both dinners. I composed and offer you the following prayer.

Dear Lord,

On this holiday, you may be looking at who you created and ask, do we still believe in you? Do we still have faith in you?

Lord……imperfect as I am…..this tired soul is asking you, please hear me.

Don't give up on us and allow me to tell you why we are grateful.

For Jesus' messages of kindness, forgiveness and loving…..those messages that fill the hearts and strengthen the will of those who worship you……..We are grateful.

For the early dawn's peace that gladdens and comforts us….we must never take a single one for granted…bestowed upon us by our veterans and those across the world who made the ultimate sacrifice……..We are grateful.

For the security and safety provided by those in uniform who proudly stand guard….in our neighborhood and around the world…….We are grateful.

For our children and their children….that You have opened the door to their brighter future……We are grateful.

We in America, Israel and our Allies…..for the opportunities and prosperity coming………that You answered our prayers and hope has returned………We are grateful.

For the loving friendships You've graciously presented us….the sharing of Your gift around this table………We are grateful.

On this blessed day of joyous appreciation, we are deeply, deeply THANKFUL…..that America may once again be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

AMEN.

This year will be a little different. My best friend and hunting partner passed away last Saturday, so no hunting this year for me. I am spending time in with my family, cooking, and just enjoying all of the things that I am thankful for.

Some hunting or sport shooting with the family and a feast of whatever game is plentiful, this year is deer steaks and fish fry with some fried frog legs as an appetizer. The whole family loves the non traditional dinner. And a huge thanks to God for his many blessings!

When I was a kid growing up there was an abundance of bobwhite quail here in NE OK, and my dad always had two or three amazing dogs. He was hardcore, and could walk all day every day which meant as a young man I was never so glad as to when we could finally see the truck again. He was a great wing shot, and I never was, but there were so many birds even I could manage to bag a few. We'd get back to the house midday, clean the birds, and have a huge Thanksgiving meal, with our family, grandparents and other friends in the community not as fortunate as we were to have a father that worked so hard to provide for his family. After lunch we would generally watch the Dallas Cowboys; to say my dad was a fan was quite an understatement and then drive a mile or two from town to a draw or hill dad knew held a few coveys of birds, and top the day off with a short evening hunt. The birds are trying to make a comeback around here, I hope they make it. Deer hunting has replaced quail hunting for now, maybe always, but that's OK because I can actually hit a deer with a rifle, if I have a good rest lol. Thanksgiving nowadays is a morning hunt for whitetail, gathering someplace large, we're having at least 35 over for this Thanksgiving meal, and spending the afternoon with family and friends and enjoying each other's company, and telling stories of yesteryear. I had no idea my kids did all the crazy stuff they did. My oldest was forty yesterday, so they now feel safe to tell of all their shenanigans. The older I get, the more important family becomes, my heart goes out to those that don't have that luxury, and each year we open our celebration to as many such folks as possible. We still watch the Dallas Cowboys, I'm not sure why, but we have a day of good belly laughs for sure. We are people of faith so we always give God thanks for all He has done, we know the abundance of blessing we enjoy as a family, and even as nation are a result of His goodness. There was an old lady at a nursing home where our church held services once a month and she used to say thank God for God. When I first heard it, I thought it was kind of funny and childish, but over the years that simple statement has overwhelmed me at times with thanksgiving for a Creator that is so good, and so kind, in our pit of despair He sent His Only Son to buy us back with His sacrifice. Thank God for God!

Chris said:

It's the holiday season. Do you have any favorite holiday traditions you'd like to share with us? I'd love to get to know some of yall a bit more, so trying to encourage great conversation within the community.

Click to expand...

Now that the kids are grown and spread out we generally celebrate the weekend after. This thanksgiving we are going to set up and call coyotes. Wife got a new rifle for her birthday. Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving.