Friendsgiving!

The Author...and Friends!

Hello again friends! This post doesn't have anything to do with toys or collecting. This may make some of you happy, and it may make some of you unhappy.

Still here? Ok then! A few days ago Dawn and I hosted our second annual Friendsgiving Dinner. What is Friendsgiving you may ask? It's like Thanksgiving where you get to pick your own family!

Let's be honest, many of us spend holidays with at least one family member or inlaw that is basically a chore to be around. Some people have many. Now let me preface this by saying I don't hate anyone I spend any holidays with, but if some of these people weren't related to you by either blood or marriage, you would never be friends with them.

The older I get, the more honest I get and the more my time becomes precious to me. On the other hand I do love holiday traditions, so not celebrating with these people is not going to happen.

So last year, I had a coupon from Giant Food Stores, my Evil Employer, for one free turkey. I didn't want it to go to waste, and my mother-in-law, who I should point out IS someone I would gladly celebrate holidays with, already had a turkey. So what to do with a turkey? Dawn and I decided to make a Thanksgiving Dinner for our close friends. The Official Poole Family Friendsgiving was born!

The First Friendsgiving!

(Tara, Stacie, Dana, Alex, Peyton, Nate and Sam. Not pictured: Dawn and Matt)

So about a week before Thanksgiving we prepare a Turkey with all the traditional sides, and we gather some of our closest friends and share a meal and some good and non-awkward conversations! It was so much fun we just did it again for the second time. This will most definitely be a tradition for us.

Growing up I'd watch all the holiday specials and holiday themed episodes of my favorite shows, and one thing I always noticed was that on each holiday friends would always stop by. Now to be fair, this was most likely done so that all the cast would have a role. For example, the classic Cheers episode where all the gang ended up at Carla's house. I always thought these gatherings seemed so warm and so much fun. On the holidays, why wouldn't you want to spend time with the people who you normally would choose to spend time with?

Speaking of holidays, Nate Paro gets this and hosts his annual Natemas Party.

In the real world, it was never really like this. You'd leave school or work and go shut in with the family. You'd answer boring questions about school or work from aunts, uncles and grandparents who were just making polite conversation.

On Christmas you'd open that bright shiny whatever that you and your best friend kept talking about for months, only to not be able to have your friend over to share in that joy. It always seemed like a shame to me.

This is why I love to work on Christmas Eve. Just not too late. I enjoy seeing co-workers. Many times they are like a family that we spend more time with than our real family, so sharing in some holiday cheer with them seems natural,

 See? Christmas Eve at work can be fun!

The Author with friends Devin and Leah.

This is why I love my annual Halloween Party. This is why I now love Friendsgiving. So many people have just one day with family, now thanks to me, some of you have a chance to have two. One with our traditional family, and one with our non-traditional one.

So now with Thanksgiving just two days away, let me give thanks to my family who continues to love me, even though I'm a bit of a black sheep who doesn't call as often as I should. Thanks to my wife's family who accept me into their homes even though I can swing from loud-mouthed and opinionated one minute to quiet and moody the next. Thanks to my friends that are family, the most fiercely loyal people I know. You know who you are, Thanks to my immediate family, Dawn and Clark, who love me and straddle all three groups.

I am a blessed man, and I am SO very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

- Paul

Second Friendsgiving!
(Devin, Dawn, Clark, Stacie, Tara and Rich. Not pictured: Tim)