Garage-Giving

The whole gang

Since we've had kids, Mike and I decided that we will go north for either Thanksgiving or Christmas - but not both. The people up north have unanimously agreed that they want us there for Christmas (which is good, because we like being there for Christmas). So we make a turkey at our house. I announce every year that whoever would like to come is welcome. I am so thankful that this year, everyone took me up on that offer! We had 16 people at our holiday table(s) - my parents and sister, Mike's sister and her family, Mike's dad, and Mike's mom, her husband Bill, and their friend Val. 

Serious ball hockey players

As Thanksgiving loomed nearer, I looked around our house to try to figure out where I was going to seat 16 people. We have no area that is big enough to fit everyone. And while we could spread between rooms, it felt more festive and welcoming to all be together. So I proposed to my dear husband that we eat dinner in the garage. However, we live in Minnesota and November is not known for its unheated garage-friendly temps. Mike is the owner of several propane and electric heaters, so I knew we could heat it up if we tried.

While not entirely onboard with the plan (as it was my brainchild and his labor), Mike gamely hung plastic on the rafters to keep the heat in, hung Christmas lights because I wanted it to be "pretty," and set up the garage for dinner. We had a beautiful, snowy day with pretty mild temps and the garage held the temp very well. We jokingly referred to the meal as "garage-giving" and all agreed that it was a wonderful success. We were together and it was wonderful to share our meal with so many loved ones! 

The best part of garage-giving: a rousing ball hockey game as soon as the meal was over! Perfect way to keep the big, medium, and little boys - and the blondes - busy during clean up. The only downfall was that we had the food set up in the dining room inside and I don't think people overindulged as they may have if it was right in front of them. Although we didn't have too many leftovers ...

We also took advantage of the snow and lovely balmy temps and went sledding once dinner (and the ball hockey game) were done. More on that coming up in the next post!