Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday–as a child who enjoyed helping mom prepare the feast and now as an adult who loves to prepare it for family and friends.

Preparations for the big day began three days before Thanksgiving in my childhood home.

I remember mom cutting up the loaves of stuffing bread to make her own croutons for the dressing. She’d slowly toast them on big baking sheets in the oven. I can’t remember the exact year, but dad remodeled the kitchen and mom had several GE Appliances, including the stove she toasted the croutons in!  Next came turkey defrosting which took three days. That was done in the fridge, which of course was a GE!

There was always plenty to do so mom would enlist my sister and I to do a lot of the prep chores, such as chopping onions and celery for the dressing and on the big day, peeling potatoes or mashing winter squash. We loved big feasts and were anxious to help!

Many years have passed between then and now. My mom moved back to the UK after my dad died and has since passed away. My sister and her family are there as well, so it’s only me in the USA now. My sister and family come every few years at Thanksgiving time because my brother-in-law loves our holiday. But more often than not, I am alone that particular day–but it doesn’t mean I don’t celebrate! It’s often a nice meal and a glass of wine.

And my wine fridge? That’s a GE Appliance–that my mother-in-law bought back in 1948. If that isn’t quality, I don’t know what is! It now resides in the garage.

Often I make an entire Thanksgiving feast for close friends and neighbors a bit before the real holiday comes. This year, we had a chance not only to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving–because one set of neighbors are from Canada, but to also celebrate another couple’s anniversary! It starts with another tradition–a well-set table!

And these two couples are the reason I never moved away after my husband died.  I may not be related by blood, but they are certainly like family to me.

This is why I was so inspired by one of the GE Webisodes about #OurAmericanKitchen which features the Richards family. This family proves that it’s not blood that makes you family, but the love you have for each other. The Richards’ are a multi-cultural family and they celebrate each child’s heritage with foods that are associated with the child’s origins. Frankly, I can’t think of a better way to do this than with food. Food is such a unifying force; it brings people together instead of separating them.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GE Appliances. The opinions and text are all mine.

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