We were again blessed to have all of our offspring join us around our Thanksgiving table this year.
Preparations started early, including shopping for multiple days of meals.
Amy arrived on Tuesday.
A tradition of Thanksgiving is making fruit cakes, a project Gina spearheaded again by purchasing most of the ingredients that she pre-mixed.
Julie added a few items that Gina didn't find at Giant.
Gina poured the pre-mixed dry ingredients into the melted butter and marshmallows, and Amy stirred the pot then dropped big glops into wax paper pre-cut by Gina. We made a total of 15 this year, an easier load than past years.
Our packaging crew wrapped one batch and then another, refrigerating them to be cut into slices and wrapped in holiday paper on Friday morning by the full crew. As the Amish in nearby Lancaster know, many hands make for light work.
Wednesday afternoon, Jay, Sasha, Owen and puppy Jojo flew into JFK. Through successive Air Train, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains, they arrived at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia a few hours later, where Julie and I picked them up and took them to our house.
It seems to us that a direct flight to Philadelphia would have been easier, but they strictly fly with Delta, and PHL is an American Airlines hub somewhat shunned by Delta. Needless to say, we mostly fly American these days.
To make it less stressful for them having made that arduous trek to Ardmore, Julie and I turned over our master bedroom suite to Jay's family. That worked well for allowing them to adjust from jetlag and maintain a home away from home for their stay through noon on Sunday.
Perhaps more significantly, we substituted out all of our gluten and gluten-contaminated pots, pans and toaster in our kitchen for the duration of their stay.
Our wonderful next door neighbors Sara and Katie gave us drums and other percussion instruments for Owen to play during his stay. Owen loves music and is a terrific little drummer boy.
Hopefully they felt very comfortable and will be happy to make the trip on a semi-regular basis.
Wednesday evening, Gina, Laszlo and Emma were entertaining Gina's longtime best friend Mamta and her family, who were unexpectedly on a 22-hour layover in PHL on a flight from Cancun, and Lukas didn't arrive from work until about 9, so we had a smaller family gathering that day.
Gina, Laszlo and Mamta came by Thursday morning with a 22-pound turkey that Gina and Laszlo had generously attained and defrosted for five days in their refrigerator. With about half our crew vegan, it would obviously be more than ample for our Thanksgiving meal at four PM that day.
Gina and Mamta somehow found time to make delicious gluten-free pumpkin muffins that they brought over to share.
Dinner was indeed a feast worthy of applause.
Gina and Laszlo brought over a huge batch of vegan mashed potatoes, homemade gluten-free biscuits, and cranberry sauce.
Amy made what you might call a vegan turkey using ingredients and a recipe that Julie found in her days of preparation.
In addition to a masterful job baking the huge real turkey that turned out perfect, Julie made both vegan and non-vegan gluten-free stuffing, vegetables and lots more. Days of planning and flawless execution paid off big.
As you may surmise, we were all stuffed by the end of the delicious meal, so we delayed eating pumpkin pie that Amy made until later that evening. We played Yahtzee and Tripoley before and after the pie.
Festivities continued into Friday.
Gina, Laszlo and Emma headed to Las Vegas on Friday afternoon to visit other family members and enjoy their hotel's heated pool. A highlight of their stay was when Emma got her parents out on skates at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Ice Rink, where Gina had reserved a prime fireside spot.
The crew that stayed with us in Ardmore went on a pub crawl in nearby Havertown that night, following a vision I had a few weeks earlier when temperatures were admittedly 20 degrees warmer, and I imagined more stops and Ardmore than would be possible.
In practice, it was not so much of a pub crawl as a walk about a mile and a half to JD McGillicuddy's on Brookline in Havertown, then meandering home with a stop at Four Birds & Sophie's BBQ, followed by dinner at Al Pastor.
Our first stop was a true Irish pub, JD McGillicuddy's. On this chilly Friday evening, all of the tables in the dining area were full of people eating comfort foods, but they put us on a short waitlist. Better still, they allowed us go into the bar area with Owen in Sasha's baby carrier sling.
Owen loved that sports games were on multiple TVs. When a singer/guitarist started performing on stage on the balcony above, he led the applause.
By the time the hostess came over to tell us our table was ready, we decided to skip being seated and go to the next stop.
On the walk from home, we had briefly checked out Crossbar, a British pub that was packed with customers, but we'd also noted less-crowded Four Birds Distillery. Lukas checked it out on his phone and said they had an interesting cocktails list. We made that our next stop.
Four Birds distills vodka, rum and bourbon at a remote location and then concocts cocktails using those at their two restaurants.
We tried a round of assorted drinks, including an Old Fashioned for Amy and Rum & Diet for Julie and me. All were reported good. The rum had a very spicey flavor that reminded us of gingerbread, which was very appropriate for the season.
Sophie's BBQ smelled great, and we agreed this would be a good place to return on a later date.
Al Pastor is a Mexican Restaurant that showed sufficient gluten-free and vegetarian option in their online menu to lure us in.
It's received a beautiful interior remodel since we dined there three years ago when it operated under a different business model as Town Tap. I prefer southwest US style Mexican food, but this was good in its way. For example, my Mahi Mahi Tacos were garnished with vinegary red cabbage. I washed that down with a delicious local ale, Conshy's Ring the Bell. Everyone seemed to like their own meals and drinks.
Through the weekend and actually the entire visit, the big attraction for us all was Owen.
He introduced us to his new favorite TV series, Trash Truck, through a seasonal episode called A Trash Truck Christmas. I played football with Owen using a soft stuffed fabric San Diego Chargers football that somehow survived five moves. He especially liked having Lukas and me throw it back and forth, occasionally taking a handoff to run the ball over.
Owen was quite fascinated with Lukas, possibly because he is very tall and has a deep, resonant voice. Or maybe it is simply that human nature where we hit it off with some people more than with others.
While we had some rain and chills, Owen made the most of any outdoor time by our house, like stomping on multicolored leaves in his new red goloshes.
Julie and I walked with Owen and Jojo to parks around the neighborhood, sometimes accompanied by Jay and others.
Owen loves seeing and playing with children as much as he enjoys the slides and other playground fixtures.
We were on our way to get Owen's photo taken with Santa at Macy's.
Upon stepping off the Septa train, we passed through the festive German Christmas Market by City Hall and decided to return later.
Before photos, there was time to have lunch at Iron Hill Brewery.
Amy, Lukas, Jay and I split flights of seasonal beers, all of which were great. The hamburger and fries that Julie and I split was also delicious, as were everyone else's meals.
On to Macy's, Owen browsed toys providing clues for possible Christmas presents before checking in at the reserved time to visit Santa.
As it turned out, Owen was not ready to embrace Santa Claus this year. No efforts could make him sit down next to the jolly man in the red suit.
Macy's in Philadelphia does a beautiful job providing a notable Christmas experience for families.
The exit from Santa's photo place leads into Dickens' Village, where Sasha had also reserved space for our group.
It is a retelling of A Christmas Carol with views through Victorian building facades revealing scenes from the well-known story.
I enjoyed walking beside Sasha and Owen as she lovingly read all of the passages to her sweet baby who seemed to understand everything.
After sharing Dickens, we watched a performance of the famous Wannamaker Organ.
A light show accompanied by recorded Christmas music followed the live organist. Owen loved the music and colorful images, dancing along to the songs.
On our way to catch the train home, we stopped at the Christmas Market.
Jay, Sasha and Owen rode the tall merry-go-round that sports a vintage style but a shiny new appearance.
Julie and I passed on beverages, but the other adults said the mulled wine and other hot drinks served in souvenir mugs were delicious.
It was a taste of a European Christmas Market in Center City Philly.
All too soon, it was Sunday at noon, and Lukas and Amy drove home to Jersey City in their new all-electric Kia taking Jay's family to their next stop.
While Jay and Sasha would be working a bit in New York City, they stayed across the river in Jersey City near Lukas and Amy's home, so they could all spend several more days together. A highlight was taking Owen to Rockefeller Center to see the Rockettes Christmas extravaganza. It reportedly held Owen's rapt attention for almost two hours, and the next day he wanted to watch videos of the dancers again and again.
In preparation for Thanksgiving, Gina and Laszlo had bought Julie and me a beautiful fire ring for our house, because we had enjoyed the one in our rental house at the Jersey Shore so much. Unfortunately, a fire ban had prohibited fires until December 2.
However, a few evenings ago, Gina and Laszlo came by to help us break it in while Emma skated at her preferred ice rink.
Julie made delicious hot mulled wine and added cheese, sausage and crackers. As always happens with the conclusion of Thanksgiving, we can feel Christmas in the air.
We already have marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's Chocolate purchased for s'more fun next time.
