Well, Halloween has just ended, and as the time changes and the weather becomes colder, the calendar shows that there are only a few weeks remaining until the end of another year.

However, before we ring in that “Auld Lang Syne” and say “hello” to 2025, we still have some pretty big holidays to prepare for, and they will be here before you know it.

Thanksgiving is next on the calendar (although retailers will make you believe there is nothing left but Christmas).  There’s plenty of cooking and meal prep to get ready for, and depending on the size of your family, it’s one of the most stressful dinners of the year to prepare (just ask anyone who works in the kitchen on that “holiday”).  So many expectations, so many traditional favorites.  I’ll soon be putting up my world-famous “cooking timeline” on the cabinets in my kitchen, which has my whole morning planned out for prep and cooking, which helps guarantee that everything is ready and on the table for the big event.  My one holiday tip?  Spatchcock (basically, take out the backbone of the bird and flatten it out) and prepare your turkey on the grill, if you have one.  It saves valuable oven space, ensures an even cook (white meat vs. dark meat), and reduces the overall time to get that beautiful bird ready for the table.

Thanksgiving comes “late” this year (Thursday, November 28^th), so as soon as we’re done pushing away from one glorious holiday feast, it will be time to break out the Christmas decorations and start the flurry of activities that make up the holiday season.  There are Christmas cards to make and send, trees to trim, presents to buy, packages to wrap, and parties to attend.  There are stockings to hang, lights to put up, and of course, I’ll be pulling out all of my holiday DVDs to watch, as what would a Christmas be without at least one viewing of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, or “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” (the animated one, not that Jim Carrey garbage).

A special treat for us this year is the fact that my brother and his family will be joining us for the Christmas holidays.  It will be the first time all of us have been together in twenty years.  My mother is absolutely over the moon with excitement, and we’re all looking forward to a boisterous household full of family, food, laughter, and love.

Of course, I’m also wrapping up my working career and heading for retirement as of January 1, 2025, so it will also be an extra special New Year’s holiday for me as well.

So, the next eight weeks or so will be a whirlwind of planning, shopping, and activities.

Make your lists, have a plan, and hang on.  It’ll be a wild ride.

I hope you enjoy the holiday season, no matter how you celebrate it.