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Mary Halperin is a grandmother of 2 beautiful grandsons and lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She loves writing about the joys of grandparenting and all the simplest things about grandkids that bring such delight.

It seems that for most families holidays are always stressful times…times when tempers can flare or old resentments can come to the surface. This can be a recipe for disaster and a miserable holiday.

You may remember the scene in the movie Avalon when the uncle got so mad when he was late and they had already "cut the turkey" without him. All hell broke loose and he was so insulted that he left the party. And the kids were sitting at the "kid’s table" wondering who would have to die in order for one of them to get to sit at the adults’ table. There have been numerous movies centered around holiday celebrations because the interaction and conflict within families at these times is so rife with drama.

I remember holidays when I was a child in West Texas. All my aunts would crowd into the small kitchen and take nips from a whiskey bottle (stashed in the kitchen cabinet) all day as they prepared the food. The cabinet handles would all be smeared with oyster dressing and sweet potatoes. There would be arguments throughout the day due to the "stressful" food preparations (and of course, the whiskey). My dad would play his fiddle "three sheets to the wind". My older brother would sing in pretty much the same condition. My little brother and I, getting into the "spirit" of the holiday would get sick drinking the eggnog.

Ahhh…the "good ole days".

This year at Thanksgiving our family was determined to have a good time and enjoy each other instead of getting on each other’s nerves. Maybe it was because I had just had a complete hip replacement surgery 10 days before Thanksgiving and everyone was on their best behavior. If my family can get through the holidays in good humor, any family can.

HOW WE DID IT

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays and I wanted nothing more than that our family could be together. I plotted how we could do it as I lay in my hospital bed. I was not allowed to travel. I was limited in what I could do. Thanksgiving was also my son’s birthday and we wanted to make him feel special. My daughter was trying to figure out if they could make the trip to Pennsylvania from North Carolina.

It made sense to have the holiday celebration at our house since it’s the largest and best location for the big holiday get-togethers. I decided that I’d make it as easy as possible for everyone.

So I ordered our dinner from Boston Market. It came with all the fixin’s, including a hot dip and only the turkey needed a long time in the oven to reheat. With the addition of cheeses, crackers and grapes, we had our dinner. Maybe not as traditional as in years past, but the main focus remained on family getting together and enjoying the camaraderie without the work. Pretty paper plates cut down on clean up. (Another thing to give thanks for!)

Everyone pitched in and my son-in-law Sam accomplished the amazing organizational feat of getting everything to the table warm using only one small working oven and a microwave. It was quite a sight to see everyone marching to the table with the casseroles and platters.

Having my children and grandchildren made this the best celebration ever. Our grandsons, Logan -5 ½ and Maddox 2 ½ were full of fun and we all laughed at their antics.

We celebrated the surprise birth of our niece’s baby girl (a month early but in good health). She and her husband decided to stay close to their home. But we had them with us in spirit with their photos displayed on 21" monitors. My 87 year old mother-in-law was with us again this year, in good mental and physical health after her hip replacement last December. We never know if we'll have her next year so I always make sure to savor the good times with her.

So Thanksgiving 2007 gave us all much to celebrate. We’ll have to use lessons learned at this holiday to make Hanukah and Christmas great also. With enough care and consideration for each other, holidays will always be the best times of the year.

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