Thanksgiving in Sandbridge

Thanksgiving in Sandbridge

If your family is anything like mine, by the time August comes along and the school year approaches, an unspoken question lingers in the air: Who will host Thanksgiving this year? As the family member with the smallest house, but likely the one who enjoys hosting most, I always struggle to figure out the dynamics of hosting a holiday. However, this past year, I discovered a solution to the lingering question at hand: let’s have Thanksgiving in Sandbridge.

As soon as I started throwing the idea around, it didn’t take long to get the rest of my family members on board. This solution offered both a vacation and a “get out of jail free” pass on hosting Thanksgiving at any one person’s home. We rented a home with a hot tub and plenty of sleeping space so we could spend the week as a family, enjoying each other’s company and the luxury of being in a neutral space at the beach. Win-win!

The unpredictable Virginia weather performed in our favor with warm sunshine afternoons perfect for walks on the beach and chasing crabs with the kiddos on the beach. At night, we enjoyed themed family meals, each family taking turns on who was responsible for dinner that evening. The hot tub and game room provided late night entertainment and friendly family competition. At the end of the night, no one had to worry about driving home as we had ample room to accommodate grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins alike.

On Thanksgiving day, the younger generation of Thanksgiving hostesses awoke early in an attempt to time each item on our Thanksgiving menu just right. The three refrigerators and two dishwashers in the house really came in handy (of course, with family, we had one completely full of beer, wine, and juice boxes!). My brother in law and nephew fried a turkey by the pool and grilled beef tenderloin on the grill, while the hosting ladies enjoyed charcuterie and wine in between baking, mixing, and inquiries such as “what do these potatoes need?” and “did you bring extra butter?”

When our Thanksgiving meal was ready, the tables in the home provided enough seating for us all to enjoy our meal  together and the dual dishwashers allowed for easy clean-up. My family was so pleased with the new tradition on the horizon. Everyone has been talking about it since and we are already planning for next year. My  only regret is we didn’t do this sooner!