For my final story, I wanted to document the traditions my family does every year for Thanksgiving. After going home, I realized that not every Thanksgiving is the same and it made me want to include the new traditions as well. I really had fun with this story and capturing the joy of all that is food, holidays, and companionship.
For the Messicks, traditions begin at around 12:00 p.m. with cooking on Thanksgiving day.
Stacey Messick Sauer, my mother and real estate agent, always has the house in tip-top shape for the family.
During the midst of cooking, the Messicks partake in watching some TV, especially the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
This is a unique close up shot of my mother relaxing, which can be seen without her face.
It wouldn’t be a holiday if Stacey wasn’t on the phone at one point or another. Here, she is laughing on the phone with her friend Suzie.
My stepfather, Jim, prepares most of the food including the best part: the turkey.
The first new tradition shown is these biscuits. They are a replica of the biscuits at Red Lobster. It was an interesting addition to the normal food we typically eat.
Here’s another close up of the turkey.
My sister, Nicole, is feeding the dogs a little turkey before we eat. This is always a tradition in our family; the dogs get to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal too.
This photo focuses in on Stacey looking at her phone while simultaneously chatting with Nicole, which is nothing unusual holiday or not.
I included this photo as a part two, depicting Nicole as the subject this time and Stacey in the background.
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without our dachshunds. Another Messick tradition is owning wiener dogs. So far, we’ve owned about six or eight throughout our entire family. This is Sheamus, my dapple dachshund, sleeping on the couch.
Here Nicole and I are having a little fun with the camera and the dogs, which is typical for us on Thanksgiving.
I took a close up of my makeup because the entire family always dresses up and looks our best, no matter if there’s four of us or eighteen.
Nicole, 25, says that, “My favorite part about Thanksgiving traditions is usually seeing all of our family and step family. It’s weird to come home and they not be here, but it’s also nice to have a small Thanksgiving every now and then.”
The best part of any Thanksgiving tradition. This is a gorgeous photo of my plate.
Here’s a picture of my wine in the foreground and food in the back. Typically, we eat in the afternoon around 2:00 or 3:00 p.m.
Stacey and Jim sitting at their end of the table enjoying the meal. Our normal tradition would include many more of our family members, however, due to the last minute planning, not many of us could make it.
A close up of Jim’s food with a subtle thumbs up.
My personal favorite tradition, watching movies after the big meal.
Before the movie, Stacey had to grab some wine. Again, this is definitely an old tradition.
Stacey laughs, “I really enjoy drinking wine and eating good foods with my family.”
Stacey glancing away from her phone to look up at Nicole and Jim.
One of our oldest traditions has always been to watch Home For the Holidays on Thanksgiving day, even if it gets tiring. Here is Nicole and Jim trying to figure out how to turn on the film.
After having Thanksgiving with my family, I always follow it by inviting my friends over for a late Friendsgiving. Here is Katie Adams, Skyler Smith, and Joshua Good laughing and having a good time.
Ryan Smith and Alyssa Stucki cuddling up on the couch and listening to all of our friends telling funny stories about their day.
Caylin Garcia and Kelby Harrison enjoy a quick photo. Kelby explained, “I love coming to Mady’s house every year for the holidays. Whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even New Years, she’s always having us over and we’ve made so many good memories.”
My friends Nina Allahverdi, Chris Slack, Caylin Garcia, and Kelby Harrison pose for the camera.
As any other holiday, a big tradition for Thanksgiving is the alcohol overflowing on the table being enjoyed by friends and even my family.
Here’s a quick snapshot of myself with Alyssa and Ryan, enjoying the true importance of Thanksgiving traditions, which is surrounding yourself with friends and family and having a time to remember.
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