Thanksgiving Weekend

Two weeks ago, we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in Shanghai. As I posted about previously, we are extremely fortunate to have a vast network of friends here who helped us celebrate. Over the course of one weekend, we managed to celebrate the holiday twice, attended a Swedish Christmas party, and even made our way to an Elton John concert.

Our first Thanksgiving was a small gathering, which included an Australian couple who were experiencing turkey for the first time. Or rather, experiencing good turkey for the first time. They had eaten a horribly dry, overcooked bird once before and stated that they weren't sure why anyone would choose to consume turkey ever again. After one meal of well cooked, moist turkey, I think they understood our obsession.

A little Elton John in the middle of our holiday

Our second gathering was a larger affair comprised of mostly Americans with a few Brits thrown in for good measure. The food at this dinner was divine. From my experience with holiday dinners, most families have one or two dishes which they excel at making while the rest are generally just average. But when you are coming to a potluck of expats craving holiday fare, you will no doubt put your best foot, or in the case food, forward. This meant we had juicy turkey which had been slow roasted in butter, gooey macaroni and cheese, and divinely crusty fresh rolls. Heaven I tell you. Heaven.

While we may have missed out on Black Friday shopping  and the Macy's Day parade, we certainly did not miss out on the things that really matter, good food and even better company.