Experience Gift Occasions – Thanksgiving Gifts

Thanksgiving is many things, but above all it is a feast. Established as a national holiday by George Washington in 1789 to celebrate the end of the war of independence, and previously set as a reminder of the Pilgrim Fathers’ thanksgiving feast of 1621, it’s perhaps the strongest and oldest of US traditions.

And while it has taken different guises over time, today it’s set in stone: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November and turkey is the bird of choice.

Best of all, it’s inclusive. Every faith is welcomed to celebrate, on a day which is as patriotic as it is historic. But let’s get back to the food…

The mountains of food separate those who can cook, from those who cannot. Now, it’s not difficult to pick up basic cookery skills, but for a friend who wants to get wise in the kitchen, they could be best off with a culinary course.

Gourmet cooking may be a few years off, although there’s every chance they will turn out tasty treats along the way.

They’ll need to learn about ingredients, find their way around a market and get the hang of cutting, chopping and dicing. Cooking classes are a great help, as are wine tasting sessions, which teach the intricacies of the palate – and put a smile on the face!

The original Thanksgiving meal, enjoyed by the Pilgrims, was likely to have included rations from their ship (corn meal, fruit, nuts, goat’s cheese and eggs) as well as turkey (or more likely ‘wild fowl’) and food brought by native Indians.

Today there is much more foodstuff filling up our Thanksgiving tables, but even after almost 400 years, the centre of attention is, as always, the turkey.