In an attempt to simplify our Thanksgiving celebration, I tried to sell my kids the idea of Thanksgiving sushi. My intention is to have a joyful, stress-free and effortless Thanksgiving. I want to enjoy time with my family without the hard work. To be honest, I'm not that into turkeys, and just plain not interested in spending hours cooking one. I'm specially not fond of the experience of having turkey leftovers for weeks (since none of us eats much turkey). I figure, all four of us LOVE sushi, and it's simple and low in fat. Why not?

We actually had sushi for Thanksgiving one year. We went to an all-you-can-eat Japanese sushi and seafood buffet and had a wonderful meal. However, when we got home, we were surprised to find that the power in our neighborhood went out. It was a frigid cold night with severe windchill. It was obvious that we couldn't stay warm at home without electricity. Luckily, we have a good friend living nearby, and when we called her, she urged us to join them. They were just getting ready for their Thanksgiving dinner, which was authentic Chinese beef noodle soup. So, thanks to the unexpected power outage, we had great food, great friends, and a great time!

Fastforward to this year. As I offered sushi as an alternative to turkey, I was surprised by their response. My daughter doesn't care that much, but my son actually was looking forward to having a traditional turkey dinner with ALL the trimmings. He also really loves sushi too. So, when I offered sushi, he wanted BOTH sushi and turkey for Thanksgiving! I thought, oh, great, I was trying to simplify and you want MORE. LOL

So, my husband and I decided we'll still have a traditional turkey dinner, but, since I don't want to cook one, we would just order the dinner.

Then, another pleasant surprise. When I called my little sis the day before Thanksgiving to chat, she asked me if we had any plans and invited us over. Her in-laws and her husband's aunt's whole family were coming to have Thanksgiving dinner, so we found ourselves a part of this big Thanksgiving feast.

I'm not joking about a "feast". On top of a golden-roasted turkey, my sister's mother-in-law brought a full Chinese dinner including prawns, lobsters, fish, Peiking duck, etc. We also had crab cakes, quiché, mashed potatoes, salad, and my nephew's birthday cake. I LOVE seafood, especially lobsters and crabs. I was in heaven with all these great foods, enjoying great company and wonderful conversations. We chatted and laughed, and the kids had a blast with their cousins too!

Remember my intention? I got more than I asked for! My Thanksgiving is joyful, stress-free AND effortless. I'm SO grateful for my dear family, my sister, her family and her in-laws.

Labels: fun, holiday stress, holidays, intention, relationship