Festive Family Feasts

Your Holiday Traditions

We shared our friends' and families' favorite holiday celebrations, and asked our readers to return the favor. Your answers were so warm, generous, inspiring and downright delicious, we simply had to show 'em off. Here are a few of our favorite stories.

With Relish

"Thanksgiving seems to bring out the best in everyone. When Poppy was alive, Mommy made oyster dressing for him. There is sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, broken glass Jell-O, red cabbage with horseradish sauce, green bean casserole, home made rolls, and of course, homemade cranberry relish with oranges, apples and the berries. It seems that just about the time we get the table cleared and the dishes done, everyone is ready to start all over." -- MariAnn, Keller, TX

Berry Good

"The girls have started hosting dinner at their homes, but the menu never changes. It has to be turkey, dressing, and cranberry salad. Mom never measured her dressing ingredients so as we make it each year, we pray it taste the same. We lost her in '05, so last year we called each other to brag that it tasted the same. Year before it was not, but we ate it anyway. Like others have stated, most of the tradition is in families being together." -- Debbielain

A Marriage of Flavors

"Our extended family has also added some of our Italian favorites to the classic Thanksgiving dinner -- which years ago meant starting with spaghetti even before the main courses were served. Now we just start with what is commonly called "Italian Wedding Soup" --not because it is served at weddings but because it is a marriage of ingredients. We call it mother's soup or the escarole soup, with chicken broth, escarole, tiny beef meatballs, egg coated fried croutons, and scrambled egg whites." -- AAWesner

A Pecan-Do Attitude

"I make cornbread and sausage dressing, and a side dish my family loves is scalloped oysters. It is so delish. I have made it for over 45 years now and Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same with out it. I got the recipe out of an old Good Housekeeping cookbook when I first got married. There's also an old Southern pecan pie recipe, not made with corn syrup -- just pecans and sugar." -- GABIEPATTIE

Game Day

"I go hunting on T-Day. I shoot birds -- dove, quail, etc. I have lots of brines for quick preps and marinades, a large ham, a beef roast, cauliflower and sauces for dipping and plenty of potatoes. I have a fireplace and plenty of sofas to take a quick nap after enjoying the great food." -- LEOPOLD7712

Cracking Up

"My mother made a dressing I have never heard of anyone else making. It is so simple, yet her daughters and grands find it hard to make it taste like hers. It is made with crackers! Of course she never measured anything, so my sister and I sat with her one year and made her measure everything so we could do it. She boiled a hen -- and it had to be a hen not chicken! She took the meat off the bones and put the meat in with the dressing to cook. She put the white meat in one side of the dish and the dark meat in other side. She made this as well as all her other dishes ahead of time and froze them -- even the gravy -- so the only thing she had to cook that day was the green beans she had canned that summer. I love this, because you don't have to be in the kitchen all day cooking and can watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade with the family." -- junecottage

Dress It Up

"I live in the South, so we have cornbread dressing, and it's my favorite dish on the Thanksgiving table. As far as green bean casserole goes, I add sour cream and tons of shredded cheese." -- junecottage

Hot Potatoes

"Try sweet potatoes made with Red Hots -- the little cinnamon candies. Gotta keep the marshmallows." -- BDiers61

Boffo Brussels

"My immediate family will usually only go for the foods I have cooked for years. There is no way I could serve anything but traditional bread stuffing. We like Brussels sprouts cooked crisp-tender with a little butter, garlic and sea salt and pepper." -- LUZENGLU