My favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

It's a list entry!
As Thanksgiving gets ever closer, it has made me think about a lot of things. Mostly memories. I've thought about all of the things that I've enjoyed over the years about Thanksgiving, and all of the things I now miss. It's made me want to come up with the things that I found most memorable about the holiday, so that is what I've done. The following is a list of my five favorite traditions from Thanksgiving. The thing that has to be considered is that this list is fluid. It can change as soon as this Thursday. The items on this list may not be a "tradition," but rather just an occurrence from Thanksgiving. With that said, here goes.
5. Playing cards after dinner on my father's side of the family.
There was a tradition that carried on for probably ten or more years at our Thanksgiving dinner. Every year my Dad's side of the family would gather at my Grandparents' house and have a big Turkey dinner. It was always awesome and well attended. My Dad had three brothers and two sisters, and all six siblings had at least three two kids. There were times when there were 15 or more kids under the age of 16 there. Well, after dinner we would play a card game, usually called Pass the Ace. I won't go into the rules and details of the game, but it was ALWAYS fun. There was a small amount of money involved, but that wasn't the point. We had a blast, and the thing is, we are a LOUD family. I miss hearing my Grandmother, who has now passed, call someone a dirty name. Something you can only do in a family without starting a brawl. I miss being a teenager and thinking I was grown up because I got to play cards with the adults. I miss having the entire side of the family in one place. I looked forward to that card game as much as I did anything else. I always thought it was the competitor in me, but it was really the family man in me.
 4. Thanksgiving 2003!
Let me just set the scene. I am with my soon to be wife, and not with my family for the first time ever on Thanksgiving. I am at my in-laws house outside in the driveway with my father-in-law, and brother-in-law. Now remember, those titles are not official yet, so we will call them J and K. At the time J and K liked to drink a little. They had decided to deep fry the turkey for the first time that year. I had never been around anyone who was deep frying a turkey. I had heard A LOT of horror stories about people burning down houses like this. Well, in their slightly altered state of mind, J and K put too much oil in the fryer. As they dropped the bird in, I watched in horror as oil ran like lava from a volcano down the side of that fryer! I thought for sure the house, garage, block, city, ect. was going up in flames! Nothing happened. In fact they thought it was a little odd that the oil would run over it like that, but they never panicked, and everything went fine. We had an amazing tasting turkey and a great overall meal. I was afraid that at some point in my life I was going to have to learn how to use a fire extinguisher in order to spend the holidays with my in laws, but all is well!
3. The food!
Let's just be honest here, I like to eat. It is one of the main reasons I've ended up like this. First, there is the turkey. I'm not sure how someone can not love to eat turkey on Thanksgiving. I understand some people just don't like it, but it makes no sense to this guy. Secondly, there is the mashed potatoes. I would eat mashed potatoes every single day. When you add turkey gravy to it, well damn, that's just good. You can add all sorts of sides from there, but really all you NEED is turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy. That's my entire meal if need be. Sure, I can eat some pie later, but I don't have to. Just more turkey and potatoes. I can't wait until Thursday!
2. The Detroit Lions!
I think that is says a lot about me that I have put this "team" this far up on the list. I have a deep, sick love affair with the Lions, and it is never more on display than on Thanksgiving. We all know that the Lions play every year on Thanksgiving, and that it drives some people crazy to have to watch the Lions play. Including ESPN anchor Mike Greenberg. Greeny has campaigned openly to get the Lions removed from the annual Thanksgiving game, and I want to dismember his head for it. I hope that somehow he gets his hands on this tiny little blog and hears what I have to say. Greeny, leave my Lions alone!!! I get to see them play on national TV once a year right now, and if you have your way, that will go away. What do you care really? Most people are busy during the time that the Lions play and don't even really watch the game. Leave the suffering to us Lions fans. We know what we are getting into going into the game, so it's our own fault. You on the other hand Greeny are the one with the problem. If you don't want to watch the Lions, then don't. Just shut up about getting my team off from the TV. Otherwise, I really like Greeny Plus Greenies team, The Jets, should have lost to my Lions this year.
1. My wife and kids!
As I said before starting the countdown, this is my list and it's fluid. Seeing how I have been a family man for only a portion of my life it may be hard to consider this a tradition. However, the three people that have touched my life in unexplainable ways will ALWAYS be there on Thanksgiving. I don't know what the future holds for my family and I, but I do know that the plan is to make the most amazing memories on Thanksgiving every year. I want my kids to look back on Thanksgivings from their youth and have great memories of it like I do. I hope they get as much joy from spending time with family members as I have. Even if Thanksgiving 1988 was the last time I seen my uncle, it is a great memory. Thanksgiving is of course a time for thanks, and as it approaches, I give thanks for the opportunity to make memories with my wife and kids.
With that, I ask, what are your favorite Thanksgiving memories or traditions? I would love to know of any cool ideas that my family and I could try and make new memories with.
Thanks, have a great night and see you tomorrow!