WIN Your Thanksgiving Turkey & Tips for More Meaningful Holiday Photos!
Turkey Winners! Congratulations to: Tracey Bentley, Tiffany Schmidt, and Sally Rector Patterson!
Only thing I hate about giveaways is that everyone can’t win! I really need to be Oprah one day…
Please email me your mailing address at ichristy@ymail.com and I’ll send them out tomorrow!
When it comes to Thanksgiving and turkey, one name instantly comes to mind: Butterball! Not only are they known for their ever-juicy birds, but also for their famed Butterball Hotline that allows consumers to call in with all of their turkey questions and have them answered by seasoned professionals. The butterball hotline began 29 years ago and received over 11,000 calls in it’s first year. Today, Butterball employs more than fifty college degreed home economists who answer over 100,000 questions each year in November and December.
Got questions? They’re here to answer them! Whether it be how to impress your in laws or how to feed a large gathering, Butterball experts are ready to help. Just call 1-800-Butterball (1-800-288-8372) and get ready for a less-stress holiday!
Now on to how to enter to win a Butterball Turkey Certificate AND how to better preserve your family history this holiday season. I’m sure the two are related somehow.
As I sat down to type up this post, I had just finished going through a box of old photographs from my childhood. It’s amazing how many of my special memories are caught on film. But one photo in particular stood out to me. It was one of my Grandaddy pushing us around in the wheel barrow on Thanksgiving. We always arrived at my Grandmama’s house early so that Mama could help cook the meal. The house heated up awfully quick and all of the kids usually spent most of the time before the meal playing outside. Grandaddy, who dearly loved kids, joined us whenever he could and never turned down our requests for rides in his wheel barrow around the yard.
Grandaddy, Me, my sister Patti, brother Bill
Finding this picture meant the world to me, not that I didn’t have the image etched firmly in my mind, but now I can see it tangibly and share it with my children as well so they can “remember” along with me. I was fortunate to find that one but I also learned some things while going through the photos, aside from the fact that I come from a long line of very bad photographers! I thought I’d share a few tips with you to help improve the value of your holiday photographs.
Tips for Remembering the Holidays Through Photos
- Remember what really matters. Food is important, so is atmosphere, but ten years from now are you really going to care that you have a photo of Aunt Sue’s casserole, or a photo of Aunt Sue? Whenever possible, put people in your photos. You’ll be glad you did.
- Take a “hungry” camera. I know this sounds morbid but we don’t know how long our loved ones will be with us. An opportunity where we are all gathered together is a precious one, take photos of everyone present both casually and smiling directly at the camera. Make your camera “hungry” for everyone. Be sure to hand it off to get a few photos of yourself as well.
- Be Considerate of your subjects for better photos. I think everyone in my family has had at least a few photos taken right as we put a bite of food in our mouth. Not very flattering, believe me. Warn your subjects ahead of time so that they can look their best and you can get a photo everyone will be proud of. “Okay, everyone look up!” will suffice, provided you wait a second until they look up and see the camera.
- Take a few posed group shots with assorted groupings. One of the photos I came across was my dad’s grandparents, Mama Pearl and Papa Cleve. There was a photo of my dad, his mom, Mama Pearl and Papa Cleve, myself and my siblings. It was a very nice photo. However, whoever took the photos (most likely my Mama) also placed each of us individually with Mama Pearl and Papa Cleave, which makes for an even more intimate photo as a remembrance of our relationship. I’m glad we have it both ways.
- Have prints made. I am the world’s worse at this since digital cameras have taken over. Looking through all of these family photographs though, I’m going to make it a point to change that and have photos printed at least monthly. While I don’t have time to properly scrapbook them like I used to, I can at least place them in an acid free album using a safe adhesive. I want my kids to be able to thumb through their memories one day, too.
I’d love to hear your hints and tips for preserving the memories of the holidays. I’d also love to hear about your favorite Thanksgiving memory. Did your Grandaddy to ride you around in a wheel barrow like mine did? Did your granny make a special dish just because you liked it? What memory do you try to recreate for your children and grandchildren today?
Share a little with me in the comments below and be entered to win one of THREE Butterball Turkey Certificates, just in time for Thanksgiving!
I’ll draw winners at random next Monday and notify the winners on this post and on the Southern Plate Family Page on Facebook.
Good Luck!
For additional entries, do one of the following:
On Twitter: Tweet “Win a Butterball Turkey from @butterball and @southernplate! http://snipurl.com/t5snz “
Facebook: Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page and let me know you did on the Southern Plate Family Page!
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns;
I am thankful that thorns have roses.
~Alphonse Karr. Submit your quote here.
My good friend (and flea market buddy!), Lara alerted me to some great deals on Turkey at Wal Mart. She has a great deal finder blog if y’all are interested. She’s a great friend, too!
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Nov 9 2009. Filed under Misc.
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I grew up in the 50′s and 60′s. Thanksgiving was always at my dear precious Granny’s. She had 7 children and all their children there. I don’t know how we all fit into her house, but it was the best memories of my life. The men and children always ate first. The men all around the dining table and the children would grab a plate and usually eat on the front porch or living room. The women waited on the men, then they would all sit around and talk and eat. The meal was unbelievable. So many have passed away. How I would love to have them all together again. Thank God for precious memories.
I love Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorites. I have only recently been a dressing eater though. But I have to have green bean casserole. It just isn’t Thanksgiving without that. My husband’s family has never had it and when I mentioned it to him, he had no clue what I was talking about. I then explained to him how deprived he had been his whole life.
Every year we go to my Meme’s house for Thanksgiving. While the adults did all the cooking my cousins and I would play all sorts of games and get in trouble together. My Grandfather and our fathers would rake leaves into a big pit until it was filled to the top. We would take turns running and jumping into it and our grandfather would hold onto a rope so we could climb back up. It was so much fun and one of my fondest memories. But perhaps it wasnt the safest thing I don’t think I would be able to watch my kids do that. That probally explains why our mothers were never in sight. lol
Thanksgiving was ALWAYS a big deal at our house. Although we, in no form or fashion, could have ever been in a Norman Rockwell painting, our house was THE place to be on Thanksgiving. I was one of 8 kids, so there was a lot to prepare for the big meal. Mom was the best cook in the entire family(She was one of 12!).The week of Thanksgiving, she would go on the hunt for the biggest Butterball that could be squeezed into an oven. Even though our family life was sometimes chaotic, a magic spell was cast upon us all on that day-the magic was the smell of that big bird and all the fixin’s. It always seemed to draw extended family and other straglers in for the warmth of a real family feeling. It was a day that we really felt like we we family with the whole world.
My grandparents lived on a farm. After dinner, we all went outside to play a game of softball and then a game of who was brave enough to ride the donkey to burn off all those calories.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. Family, food fun. I like your idea of having pictures printed from your digital camera at least monthly. I too take pictures then don’t get them printed. Thank you also for the turkey giveaway. Butterball never fails at having the best.
Thanksgivimg is a wonderful time of year. It seems to get overlooked between Halloween and Christmas these days, For me ,having my family together is very special.I enjoy making memories with my girls each and every year. Thanks for all the great recipes and tips.They can use them and make their own memories with their children in the future.
Thanksgiving is one time all my 3 sons with their wives and childred get together. We eat, laugh and have a good time. We also watch a movie of the boys when they were young decorating the Christmas tree and the cat climbed up it and made it fall. My grandchildren see what their dads were like at there age. Itl nice to look back once in while.
I’m having Thanksgiving this year for the first time with more than just the family that lives here!!! My parents and my husbands parents are coming to eat some turkey and ham!!! It would be a wonderful surprise for me to have a butterball from you on the table!!! I already have the menu planned and we will be decorating for Christmas next weekend so it will be all pretty for all to see!!!
[...] forget to enter to win your Thanksgiving Turkey from Butterball by clicking here. Winner announced November [...]
thank you for the chance at winning a turkey. I love turkey.
Thanks for the contest. Love all the tips on cooking turkey.
I can hardly wait to begin cooking for Thanksgiving.
Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/5603455257
Thanksgiving was a special occasion at my home as far as setting the table with the special(company) dishes and silverware. There was the traditional turkey(a nice big fat one) with all the side dishes to go along with it. A shrimp cocktail was the starter. Now you have to understand that up North shrimp was a luxury and therefore only as a treat. As far as the meal, giblet gravy was what I always remembered as the last item to pass around to go over the mashed potatoes, turkey and dressing. Also, no one started eating until every dish had made the rounds. Then there was silence as everyone stuffed themselves. When all was said and done, the table was cleaned off and we patiently waited for the call for dessert. I will say my Mom and grandmother were excellent cooks.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving even though my Dad is no longer with us. He would want us to be happy.
Tweeted at
http://twitter.com/whopperman13/status/5603455253
Thanksgiving is a memory of us using the formal dining room for our meal instead of the kitchen. The table was always full of food and all the leaves were in the table so all of us could fit around it.
MY WHOLE FAMILY LOVES TO COME TO MY HOUSE FOR MY BUTTERBALL DINNER. WE HAVE 36 IN OUR FAMILY AND LOTS OF FRIENNDS ALSO. YUMMY TO MY TUMMY
I love turkey! Thanksgiving is my favorite. We roast two 20-25 lb turkeys to fee our crew. Can’t wait to try your method this year.
I’ve made the best holiday memories the past 2 years. Tried for almost a decade to have a baby & little Tony has been making holidays better than anything I can remember! This year, he’ll try deep fried turkey for the first time!
My favorite Thanksgiving was the year my son was in the army stationed in Germany and flew home for Thanksgiving. We picked him up in Nashville. They had an ice storm a few days earlier but the interstate was clear. The trees were still covered in ice and it was like driving through a wonderland. It was so beautiful. I had baked an extra pecan pie (his favorite) and he and his brother sat up half the night talking and eating pecan pie. The simple things in life truly make the best memories and I cherish this one.
My fav memory of Thanksgiving is of my grandmother in the kitchen cooking away for the whole family…..she prepared the whole meal and we all arrived around noon and stayed all afternoon – grazing and grazing on all Grandma’s goodies. She made the best cornbread dressing and giblet gravy in the world. I sure do miss her but I’m thankful for all the love she bestowed on her family.
Thanksgiving 2007 because it was the last Thanksgiving that I will ever spend with my sister. We always all come to my home for Thanksgiving and then all go to my brother’s home for Christmas.My sister suddenly passed away October 2008. I am so glad to have the memories from the year before.Take time to spend time with the ones you love.
This Thanksgiving we will be celebrating not one, but two special birthdays. Our granddaughter Lilly will turn 4. Lilly was born the day before Thanksgiving weighing only 1 lb. 13 ozs. She is a healthy, lively little girl now. Her little sister Lucy will celebrate her 1st birthday this year. She was born the day before last Thanksgiving, weighing 5 lbs, huge compared to her sister. We are so blessed!
I love Thanksgiving, but my husband is a manager for a retail store…which means he works late the day before and has to be there before dawn the day after. That wouldn’t be a big deal except that we live 5 hours from my family and 8 from his! Thankfully my parents are coming up to our place this year! Our daughter was too little to eat the meal last year, so I’m really excited to be able to feed her turkey!!
I have always loved fall and Thanksgiving, right down to the little acorns falling from the oak trees. Everything about it reminds me of my beloved grandmother, Nanny. She always cooked our Thanksgiving meal, and yes, she served the canned, jellied cranberry sauce in a beautiful little crystal bowl with a curved handle. She called me her “little butter ball”, so of course butterball turkeys remind me of her too. I miss her every single day! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Well since I am 65 years old I have many memories from past Thanksgiving’s and it is hard to pick out just one. I can remember a very bad one which out of all of them just having one bad one is a lot to be thankful for. All of them invovled having family together and no matter if there is no money or a lot of money-family is the most important !!!!!
My Thanksgiving memories all center around a sumptious table of Southern foods prepared by my mother. She prepared meals fit for a king and there was enough food to feed any extra people who might show up, plus she would also wrap up plates of food to send to elderly neighbors, absent family members or people she knew would be alone. Everyone made a “to go” plate (or two or five…LOL!) because her food was legendary and was as good, if not better, as leftovers that night or the next day…they rarely lasted longer than that! There was always laughter, jokes and music and our family would sit around after eating recalling memories, playing games, singing songs (with piano and guitar to accompany us), watching football or just “being.” I learned to cook from my mother and I consider her recipes rare treasures that have been handed down for so many generations, we can’t count back that far! I can’t possibly list all the wonderful foods she cooked…the bounty seemed endless. But, a few of the ones we had were: turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with pineapple, cornbread sage dressing, giblet gravy, green beans, “fried” corn, deviled eggs, Parker House rolls, cranberry sauce, a relish tray, purple hull peas, fried okra, coleslaw, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie (this recipe I won 1st place in a pie baking contest), pecan pie and banana pudding (yes, all at the same meal and I’ve left out some of them!) She was always afraid every year she wouldn’t have made enough and I asked her if she was trying to feed the entire town! My mother canned and froze most of her vegetables, so every meal was a treat…but Thanksgiving was always special since all the family was gathered around and it was truly an event. I wrote a poem honoring my mother and father (and mentioning my mother’s cooking feeding not only our stomachs, but our souls) for their 50th Wedding Anniversary…and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, including mine. This year, my husband and I will be moving from one state to another during Thanksgiving. My parents are still living (my father is 81 and my mother is 76 and still cooking) and I’m trying not to think about it, but I will miss the Thanksgiving I’m so used to having every year to the point it will break my heart. But, most of all, I will miss being with my family and reliving and making more wonderful memories.
I have a funny Thanksgiving memory. My grandmother always makes the Thanksgiving Feast, and she was sick one year, so my aunt made the turkey. First, she called my mom to ask her how to clean the turkey, and if she could use Dawn dish liquid to do it! After my mom told her to do a rinse with water only, she confirmed the baking time and temperature.
We arrive to Thanksgiving dinner,and my mother asked “Where is the stuffing?” to which my aunt replied “It came with the bird.”
My mom’s face turned white, and they looked inside the bird. My aunt had cooked the innards in the plastic bag inside the turkey!
It was a good thing we had a Honeybaked Ham that year.
She will never be allowed to cook the turkey again!
I have a sweet memory from last Thanksgiving. I had all my family plus in-laws at my house last year. I had a pen and paper for everyone to write down what they were thankful for and told the story of Maya Angelou and how she was challenged to use a yellow writing tablet to write down her blessings as a reminder that once you count your blessings things don’t seem so bad after all. Well, my sweet Mother wrote ” No matter how dark things may seem there is always light” We understood that to mean the Hope she had in Jesus because she had just learned of a recurrence of brain cancer the week before. That was one of the last things she wrote before she died in the Spring. She always, always used a Butterball turkey to cook for Thanksgiving, nothing else would do. She always cooked it in brown paper bag that she buttered inside and out. It was delicious. So this year I know I’ll write that I am blessed to have a mother who taught me many things, thankful for the past 9 years that we had her since her first diagnosis, and the blessed hope that it was not a good bye but a see you in the morning!
Eternally grateful,
Becky
What a wonderful giveaway. Southern Plate Rocks….thanks Christy for all your hard work. I wouldn’t know what to do if I couldn’t visit Southern Plate daily. Posting on my FB page now!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving memories.
Sharing the day with loved ones is the best part!! Growing up we would go to my Aunt & Uncle’s house. Aunt Merrille would have Thanksgiving and my Mom would have Christmas dinner. It seemed like it would always snow on Thanksgiving and my Dad would be called in to work. We lived in MN and he worked for the county and he would have to go plow, salt and sand the roads. So a Thanksgiving with it not snowing was a cause of “thanksgiving” for us to be all together.
Thanksgiving reminds me of all the blessings God has given me and I am very thankful.
I made my adult son a photo album for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I was surprised how many of the photos were of family meals, picnics,reunions, etc. His grandparents & great-grandparents are all deceased now, so it was a good way to help him remember them. We lived on the west coast & our family lived in the mid-weat, so it was especially good to be able to be together for the holidays.
I have so many wonderful thanksgiving memories,but the best one I can think of is last year when my grandson Tristan was born.
I tweeted for you!
I recently visited my aunt and we went thru Grandma’s recipes – which included photos from a thanksgiving turkey being carved by my Grandfather. The days of spending the holidays with my grandparents are the best memories I have.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it always has been. It was a time when my mom went all out with not only the meal, but putting out the good china (you know the kind that all has to be handwashed) and although we had 8 people in our family and not a lot of money, my parents always invited one or two of the neighbor families to share dinner with us.
Now, as an adult, I can see how special it is to have other people into our home on Thanksgiving, people who don’t have relatives in the area, people that are alone, etc…it’s about being thankful and knowing where our blessings come from.
Southern cooking is the Best! I’m almost 60 – honor those in heaven who taught me to cook by cooking Grandma’s Heavenly Hash and Mama’s Dressing for the holidays.
Awesome site and awesome recipes. Keep up the great work. We truly appreciate you.
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because I will have my family (immediate and extended)around me. I like to have a big sit-down dinner and use my nice dishes and the good silverware! I think my husband and grown sons also appreciate the fancy table setting too, they just won’t admit it! I like to stay home for Thanksgiving, like my mother always did.
Thank you, Christy, for a chance to win a turkey. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love turkey, sweet potato casserole and fresh pumpkin cake. I still miss going to my grandparents house, even after 18 years. I hope my kids will have wonderful holiday memories of their grandparents.
I have special memories of making cornbread dressing with my Mom. She didn’t use a recipe so I had to “eyeball” all the ingredients and take notes along the way for future reference…so glad I did. The recipe continues to be a favorite family tradition.
Thank you Christy for all you do…you have been a blessing to many!!Special Thanksgiving wishes to you and yours!
Bountiful Blessings !:)
(Thank you for another great giveaway!)
We always have Butterball turkeys. Turkey is something we had twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas so we must have the best! Although the turkey is always the good, the “star of the show” was the dressing that my mother used to make…no one can make it like her. The recipe was in her head and as much as I’ve tried, I can’t seem to make it like Mamma did. I sure miss that turkey and dressing and Mamma.
As you grow up, memories area formed. Holidays have certain traditions connected with them. I wish things could always remain the same, but time changes things. You have to evolve and create new traditions. I wish I could somehow visit the past and go to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving and enjoy that wonderful Butterball turkey she always cooked with love!
I love Thanksgiving! I can’t wait to try the cranberry relish. The first year of marriage I made a turkey and my husband was going to throw away all the dark meat because his family likes white meat. I happen to like the dark meat.
I love your website–have baked two of your cakes and received rave reviews!
I have been cooking the family Thanksgiving feast for several years once my mother was unable to continue–but she still enjoys eating all of the goodies. She always brings the homemade pies and enjoys visiting with the family.
Thanks for your wonderful, family oriented website. Have a blessed holiday.
Thanks for the chance to win a turkey!! Your giveaways are super thoughtful~! Lacy in Cullman, Al
my fondest memories of Thanksgiving were when my moms extended family all got together and had our holiday feast. It was always in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and was always at one of my aunts and uncles homes. I loved this as a kid and I wish we could all still do this and hope to get us all together this year if possible. Its much harder now as my uncles have now all passed away. They were such treasured memories.
My favorite memories are of Thanksgiving with my whole family at Thanksgiving. We went to my aunt’s house, and had a huge feast. (The family came to our house on Christmas Day, and my cousin’s on New Year’s Day). We all ate too much, and had a great time.
I already tweeted about the giveaway before even reading the post!
I have been thinking the same thing about photos lately, I want to have them printed so my children can go through them like I did, too. There is just something special about feeling the different papers and you can see the history of printing and photography through them, as well.
The picture of you and your granddaddy with your memories really hit home.
As always, a great post! Thanks!
Now, I’m off to Facebook to put the giveaway up.