I adore Thanksgiving! I love a day when even whinny, selfish me is reminded how much I have to be thankful for and believe me I have much to be thankful for in my life. I love a day that is about family, friends and counting our blessings. Ok, so the food isn’t a bad thing also. Yes, Thanksgiving for me ranks up high for me! .
This year, not only was my sister-in-love (my little play on law) kind enough to host Thanksgiving for our family, but she hired me to document the festivities. Score for me! A great meal, family and a photo gig!
The Thanksgiving decoration photos are a bit of a departure from my normal portrait sessions, but I was excited to get in and see what I could do with still life! As you can all see, my sister-in-law Alison did an AMAZING decorating job! I felt like I was photographing a table for the Martha Stewart magazine.
Every place setting was adorned with a little pilgrim hat with each of our names on it so we knew just were to sit. By the end of the meal, my son had collected all of them and announced he was going to put them all on his stuffed animals at home. These hats are now hanging on my Christmas tree, as my two year old thought they would make perfect ornaments for the tree. Hey, at least they can’t break, which is more than I can say for 5 of our Christmas ornaments this year.
My favorite part of Alison’s table was the placement of her Bible. A reminder to all of us about the true nature of Thankfulness!
My sons got to sit at their own “kids” table and each got a full size pilgrim hat that they could wear. Part of me was a little jelouse that I didn’t get a full size hat to wear.
Our host and hostess: Erik and Alison!
There wasn’t one aspect of Alison and Erik’s home that wasn’t decorated for the holiday. Such beauty and warmth their home offered us.
I could not resist taking a close up of Alison’s Bible. A book that Alison walks and lives by.
This was the first time my brother had ever craved a turkey. He took the job very seriously as you can tell by his expression.
My poor son Kaleb had never seen meat in its original shape. He was a bit traumatized and said that he wanted his turkey alive and happy.
The little stars of the night sporting their 1600’s styled hats, mixed with a touch of 2010 flair.
Uncle Erik knew just how to get Konnor to stop crying. Up, up, up he went.
As the evening wore on, my boys somehow thought it was acceptable to jump into their aunt and uncles bed. So glad that our hosts were not upset by this and actually found it endearing.
Thank you Erik and Alison for a wonderful Thanksgiving and for allowing my carmera into your home to document this amazing evening of love and laughter!
A Wee Bit of History:
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770’s) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.
In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November
as the holiday.