New Holiday

Years ago, I viewed Thanksgiving as a silly holiday (which it is) that I did not want to participate in. A couple of years ago, I managed to talk Heather into boycotting with me. We sat at home by ourselves and had a meal without turkey or dressing or anything with cranberries. It was pathetic.

Thanksgiving is a dumb holiday, but it affords a chance for friends and loved ones to enjoy a big dinner party. It should be called "national dinner party day".

Who among us is not sickened by the actual events which led to this annual celebration? Don't we all wish that we could stop recognizing the formal holiday but still have the 2 days off work, along with the big dinner party?

Dinner Parties seem to be on the decline, and it is a shame. Perhaps this is due to laziness. Hosting a dinner party (or Thanksgiving meal) is a pain in the ass. There is a whole afternoon of cooking combined with and followed by making sure that all of the guests are having a pleasant time. Hopefully the hosts can relax a bit during and after the meal, only to be confronted with an hour of kitchen cleaning at the end of the night. Let us not forget all the television programming that could be missed that evening.

It would be much easier to just go out and grab something. Perhaps meet a few friends at the pub. Still being social and all. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the pubs. A fact evidenced by my monthly receipts. It simply is not as rewarding an experience as an evening in ones home with many friends and loved ones.

There was a restaraunt in Portland that began as a regular "Family Supper" in a young couples home. They were gourmet chefs and excellent entertainers. The list of people who desired to attend grew out of control. The couple rented a commercial space in North Portland and began charging a lot of money for the meals. Guests had to be invited in order to attend. The space was one big open room with a nice commercial kitchen and two long tables. The guests mingled with drinks in the kitchen while the meal was prepared, then sat down and were served family style. I was fortunate enough to have dinner there on a New Years Eve. It was a great evening with great hosts. This couple eventually opened two traditional restaraunts before their relationship imploded. I leave their names out because I really don't have many nice things to say about them. I honestly don't know them quite well enough to have a valid opinion one way or the other.

Point is; they had a great concept that worked. People love dinner parties. We should all host them more often. I am not trying to put restaraunts out of business, just trying to help build a bit more community.

Other point is; I am not content with celebrating Thanksgiving traditionally. A change is in order. Maybe if we give up the days off work for Thanksgiving, we could trade them for the day after the Super Bowl. Please. Pretty please. With candied beers on top.