We had our annual Friendsgiving yesterday and per usual, I did not take one single photo of the event, and apart from the kids, no one had their phones out at all, so there is no virtual record of the evening. We invited 28 people and ended up with 24, which turns out to be pretty much the perfect number, actually. With two long tables filling up the living/dining room, and everyone talking, it made for a very crowded, loud space, but it was so fun! Lots of laughter, and non-stop talking, and even after the buffet was opened, everyone carried on talking.
We had lots of help from Ola carving turkeys, which was nice, because Anders really outdid himself cooking literally ALL day to get the turkeys done on time, and then the gravy and mashed potatoes on top of that. When I went turkey shopping last weekend, I ended up having to go to NINE grocery stores trying to find whole frozen turkeys. I’ve never had so much trouble before, and was starting to panic before I found ONE at the fourth store I went to, and two more at the SEVENTH. We had planned for 4 turkeys like last year, but we ended up just buying some extra turkey breasts, and I think that was a good idea, which we need to remember for the future.
We had two newbies: Suzanne’s new boyfriend Johan, and Kathryn’s boyfriend Musti, and I have to admit both of them looked pretty overwhelmed the entire time 😀 Suzanne’s kids ended up not coming, and Emily and her daughter were sick, but Debbie picked up Emily’s cornbread, so we still had that for the menu. This was the full turnout and buffet, and everything was SO good:
Anders & Liz, Martin, Karin, Olivia, Claudia: turkeys, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, black olives, sodas
Debbie & Ola: sweet potato casserole with and without pecans
Angie & Kristian, Alex, Rebecka, Kaisa: green bean casseroles
Barbara & Paul, Kathryn, Mustafa, Eva, Nicky: dressing, lemon cookies
Lisel & Martin: pumpkin pies, whipped cream
(Emily and Pema: cornbread)
Suzanne & Johan: cranberry sauce, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting
Camilla: berry crumble pies, vanilla sauce
The whole day was lovely, really: bright sunshine, solid blue skies, and very crisp cold temperatures. Anders had picked up the tables and chairs Friday after work and we had all of that set up and the tables set before I went to bed. In the morning, I cleaned house, and did some final prep. When Karin and Olivia got home, I went to pick up Martin at the bus stop, and then he and I went to get Claudia and pick up a few last things at ICA. Both he and Karin had done most of the grocery shopping that was needed, which was very helpful.
I love our Friendsgiving, even if I dither about it sometimes, since it is a lot of work, especially for Anders having to cook so much, and pretty expensive, but honestly it’s worth it to fill our home for an evening with people whose company we really enjoy and who all really appreciate our annual fest.
And of course, because of the leftovers! Turkey sandwiches, here I come! Yum yum!
Mood: relaxed
Music: Ellis Paul—The World Ain’t Slowin’ Down