A perfect Thanksgiving in New York

By Irene Toscano

My favorite Holiday has arrived! A perfect time to spend with family and friends, eating the big turkey, watching the parade, football games, and of course, fighting over politics. Kidding aside, it's a great time to celebrate with our loved ones giving thanks for all the great things we have in our lives. 

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Do you want to hear what a perfect Thanksgiving Day In New York sounds like? 

1. Wake-up early on (6:00 am) for a Thanksgiving-themed Family Breakfast with Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Cookies and my favorite, PBJ Sandwich!
2. Go to Central Park West & 77th / 79th Street to check the Macy's Balloons getting ready for the parade (Be there by 7:30 am / 7:45 am) 
3. Grab a Really Hot Apple Cider and a Pumpkin Doughnut to keep you warm & go find a good spot on the open Bleachers along the UWS on the Central Park Side to catch the parade (8:00 am)
4. Watch the Parade until 10:30-ish am 
5. Help mom buying any last minute necessities for Thanksgiving Dinner. Usually, most grocery stores will be open in the morning. 
6. Go home by 11:30 am & help the ladies of the family finishing up preparing the dinner. Hopefully dad won't have messed-up the Turkey in the oven. 
7. Turn on the TV by 12:00 pm, because it's not Thanksgiving without Football! 
8. Keep watching the big bird in the oven, prepare the side dishes including homemade mash-potatoes, sweet potatoes with brown-butter, string beans & almonds, chestnut stuffing & more.
9. Set the big table and wait for the guests to arrive. 
10. At 2:30 pm sharp, we seat down and start our 6-hour long dinner! 
11. Throughout the afternoon, we eat, we laugh, we agree to disagree, we watch Jets Qbs fumbling the ball on other players' derrières and we just have a great time.
12. At one point, we stop all the banters for a few minutes, and we each take a moment to say what we are thankful for this year. 
13. We keep going until we are too stuffed to even keep talking. There isn't a set time for dinner to be over, could be 8pm, could be 11 pm / 12am, who knows, we just go with the flow. 
14. When the guests are ready to leave, we take our dog Brinkley out too and we all enjoy a much needed walk in the fresh-air! 

This is my Thanksgiving Tradition, my absolute favorite time of the year and I can't wait to get started. I hope you have a great tradition like ours, and that you will have a blessed Holiday!

From our Family to Yours, Happy Thanksgiving!