Many Thanks! Celebrate Thanksgiving With Whimsy, Style, and Grace.

What a whirlwind year this has been! From economics to politics, the United States has had few dull moments in 2008. With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, it’s fair to say that Americans are due for some peaceful reflection, relaxation, and gentle time with friends and family.

BuyCostumes.com offers all kinds of great ways to keep things fun and lively, as well as simple solutions to lighten the load of holiday entertaining. Do you like turkey? Do you love to make folks laugh? Imagine the reactions, as you answer the door in your Turkey Costume! Then maybe Cousin Dave arrives at the door, also wearing a turkey costume. It could be awkward, but it will definitely be funny! If you like costumes and holiday themes then you’ll definitely want to see what BuyCostumes.com has in store for Thanksgiving. Aside from Turkey costumes and hats, you’ll find pilgrim and Native American costumes for adults and children that are great just for fun and celebration, or for use in school plays.

If you’re not in the mood for washing dishes and napkins, check BuyCostumes.com party supplies, and do it picnic-style! The Give Thanks Fall Deluxe Party Kit is the perfect solution for keeping your Thanksgiving casual and laid back, so there’s more time for catching up and watching the game.

Need some ideas for decorations? Turn your dining room into an Autumnal Landscape, and sprinkle your table with Foil Leaf Silhouettes. Hang the 12’ Fall Leaf decoration from your ceiling for even more beautiful foliage. The colorful display will warm the room and the spirits of your guests, and it’s something the entire family will have fun taking part in!

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What I Am Thankful For This Thanksgiving...

I no longer have to sit at the kid table:

In my family, until you are 18 years old, you have to sit at the dreaded “kid table”. Usually seated between your brother (Billy – who receives much joy and delight from the constant torture he bestows upon the smaller children) and a whiney third cousin twice removed. Oh what fun it is to be in this uncomfortable spot. And then it happens: Billy breaks the ice by laughing so hard that mashed potatoes fly out of his nose (you knew he was good for something!). Whether it’s Billy’s starchy snot or the topsy turvy nature of the rickety card table (Seriously Aunt Agnes, in nearly two decades you couldn’t have upgraded – Do you recall how many times I had gone home with wet pants from “accidental milk spillage”?), Thanksgiving becomes a whir of Tryptophan-induced traditions. So on my first Fall Feast at the Adult Table, I found myself a bit sad as I watched those misfits in the kiddie corner creating quite a clatter – that is until I examined the scene further. I will never miss having candied yams smashed in my hair! Besides, Great Great Grandma Ertle has claimed fame on the whole mashed-potatoes-coming-out-of-her-nose thing at the Adult Table…so all is not lost.

Grocery Stores:

I am a bit OCD when it comes to planning the family feast at my house. The menu is put together, the invitations are sent, and the ingredients are purchased and placed carefully in the pantry. IT NEVER FAILS that I will forget something - be it poultry seasoning, crescent rolls or cream for the potatoes. Frazzled and rushed, I plead for my husband to pull himself away from the seemingly endless football game and head off to the early-closing grocery store. Armed with only a good sense of humor, he encounters the mass amount of other boyfriends/husbands/girlfriends/wives that are on the same mission. He looks right. He looks left. He ambles down the barren aisles (playing it cool), and there in the distance, he can see it: the last bunch of crescent rolls. The woman on the right looks determined. The young man on the left looks desperate. But they are no match for my former linebacker hubby – he’s a seasoned veteran in Thanksgiving Day grocery-getting. Blue 42, baby! Blue 42! I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to get me the missing ingredient. Oftentimes returning a bit more disheveled than when he left - but full-well knowing that if I don’t get the requested Crescent Rolls upon his return, he will be eating his dinner at the “kid table”.

Black Friday:

No, no, kids! This isn’t just the day when retail stores perpetuate the “gathering of greed” (that is associated with the modern day “most wonderful time of year”) with ridiculously low priced items and free gifts with purchase – it is the day when sweet grandmas and twinkle-eyed new daddys come together and battle for the last Nintendo Wii! Finding a parking spot will be a pain, but the spectacle of mock holiday cheer is enough to entertain you for the afternoon (what else are you going to do when all of the relatives are crammed into one house?). “No you take it. After all, this is more than likely the first holiday that you plan to be sober!” Followed up by, “No I insist you give this to your grandson – if he looks like you, he probably doesn’t have a lot of friends to play with as it is.” Thank goodness for mid-mall snack bars – This bitter banter becomes “Dinner and a show”!

My monster (I mean, Mother)-in-law found happiness in a far away state:

In all seriousness, I am completely grateful for my family. We still all gather together on the holidays and try to keep the traditions alive that I have known my entire life. From Grandma Ertle to my big brother Bill, each person brings a sense of comfort and warmth to our family table. From our home to yours: We wish you the Happiest Thanksgiving!

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