I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and loved ones. My family and I actually celebrated a few weeks ago with a newer tradition we call “Fakesgiving.” This was our third year running, and I highly recommend this to everybody.
What Is ‘Fakesgiving’?
Fakesgiving is the day most of our relatives get together at our house to celebrate Thanksgiving a couple weeks before the actual holiday.
We started this back in 2022 after my sister Suzanne died. Her kids are all in their twenties and early thirties, and we wanted to be together as a family but it was hard to get everyone’s schedules to line up. They are starting their careers, or are just married, or have their own independent obligations that they need to see through, if not on Thanksgiving, then right around it.
So, I thought: Why don’t we just move it back a week or two? That way we can all be together, and then everybody on the actual holiday can do what they need to do.
The Pressure’s Off
We love it. There is no pressure. You can get a caterer (because you know I don’t cook) so much more easily two weeks before Thanksgiving than you can on the actual day. Trust me, I know. It is a little warmer outside. There are no packed airports or highways. And it also gives you the added benefit of kind of getting to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. It is a true joy.
I understand that those of who actually cook might be thinking, That’s not a joy. What are you saying? But I absolutely love it. And then when the real holiday comes around, I feel very little stress because I’ve already hosted the event.
Hostess Tip
As for the gathering itself, we don’t have a huge dining room table in our house. It seats maybe eight or 10 people. I don’t actually know the number (I don’t entertain a lot, as you can tell), but I know it can’t fit all of our guests.
We do, however, have an unusually large foyer, so we remove the front hall table and set up folding tables instead. We take four of them, put them in a big square, and then string white fairy lights around them. It is the easiest way to make a large, fun dining room table where everyone can see each other and still converse.
I am actually very proud of my little Fakesgiving plan. And trust me: If I can do it, you can too. I hope you have a great day!