Thanksgiving

For the first time we have decided not to travel this Thanksgiving and stay home to do our own thing. I was just home for a week in October with the kids and we will spend time with both families the week after Christmas. Not to mention the price of gas. Part of me is so happy to prepare the meal. The other part is thinking how fun can this be? To fix this huge feast and then sit down to a table full of children who would more than likely rather have chicken nuggets and potato chips. Regardless, I will "do it up big." I just like to. One day they will love the tradition and appreciate the work. I will think of ways to include them each in the preparations. We will have turkey, of course. I am thinking of smoking it to keep my oven free for side dishes. For the potatoes I will do parmesan mashed potatoes. I love this recipe because you can make it up to three days prior to serving it and it still tastes great with gravy. I just found this recipe for my cranberry sauce. I think I will try it. I am undecided on the italian stuffing with sausage I usually do or a mushroom stuffing I found in a magazine. Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without my mom's corn pudding or Bruce's mom's green beans. There will be sweet potato casserole and rolls with honey butter. For dessert I will have Bruce choose between this Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle or a Maple Pecan Pie. I would do both, but with my kids being so little it would never all be eaten. I am up for changing any of my dishes if yours looks better. So, what are you planning?