There's Nothing Wrong With Having A Small Thanksgiving Dinner
Sometimes less is more - especially during the holidays.
The smell of turkey and ham seep into my room on a very special Thursday Thanksgiving morning. I can hear music playing as my mom moves around in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. I am instantly filled with joy as I think about how happy my stomach will be as I eat my all-time favorite dishes, and I mentally prepare myself to make space for dessert even though I know I will be full after stuffing down at least two plates all by myself.
Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite holidays. There is nothing better than eating great food with people you love.
My mom always decorates the dinner table, making it look fancy even though we still won’t eat on real plates. We always start off with going around the table saying what we are thankful for and then praying before we dive into our plates.
But unlike a lot of families that I have seen, we have a small family dinner. No aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents sit around the table.
We usually go visit them afterwards. It is always just me, my mom, my dad, and my two younger brothers. We enjoy an intimate dinner every year and it warms my heart. Especially now that me and my brother no longer live in Miami, Thanksgiving is one of the few times we actually get to come home and enjoy each other’s company.
We get to catch up, reminisce about old memories, and talk about our future plans. I wouldn’t trade the time we have for the world.
Some might think that it is weird to have a dinner without the whole family there, but there is nothing wrong with it. Having a small family dinner is all I have ever known, it has become a tradition.
1. Small dinners allow you to fully engage with those around you without any distractions.
The room isn’t too loud because there aren’t a bunch of people having multiple conversations. No one is talking over each other, and no one feels left out. Everyone gets to enjoy the same laughs and contribute to the topic being discussed at any given moment.
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2. When there are less people around, the atmosphere feels safer.
You may not always open up as much as you’d like when the dinner is big, for fear of having the eyes and ears of family members you may not regularly confide in on you. A small dinner allows members of the family to openly share without having to give people the backstory of any given situation. More than likely since the people at this small dinner are in constant contact with each other, it makes it easier to truly be yourself.
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3. Having a small Thanksgiving dinner also means less preparation and more leftovers.
The person cooking has an easier time preparing the meal because they have less food to make overall. This is a plus because there is no long wait for food since dishes don’t have to be passed down from hand to hand. Even better, since there are less mouths to feed, this means there is more food to eat. No one has to fight over the last piece of cake because there is more than enough to go around.
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4. A small dinner on Thanksgiving Day allows the family to build a stronger bond with each other.
The family is reminded that they can always count on each other and that they don’t need an abundance of people around to have a good time. The level of intimacy that comes with a small Thanksgiving dinner is something that the family will forever cherish. They are less likely to lose sight of what is important to them.
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If your family is a family that always has a small Thanksgiving dinner or if you simply have a small group of friends who get together for friendsgiving, don't feel bad about it. Just because you're having dinner with a small group of people doesn't mean it has to be a lonely thanksgiving. You're not missing out on something, and it doesn't mean your family or friends are less functional because you don't all get together for a big gathering.
Look at the benefits of having a small Thanksgiving dinner and embrace how it makes you feel getting to spend time with the people you love most in an intimate setting. Be thankful.
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Alexis George is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.