Thanksgiving is usually celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. In the United States it’s an official holiday but, if you’re planning to invite family and friends to a meal and you live elsewhere in the world, give them plenty of warning – many people don’t expect a slap up dinner on a work night! (And if you invite a Canadian, keep in mind they celebrate Thanksgiving in October.)

What’s really great about this very America tradition is its focus on your nearest and dearest sitting round the table to celebrate friendships, family, good fortune and nature’s abundance. And it’s becoming increasingly popular outside North America.

Do keep in mind that Thanksgiving is also about sharing and so its usual for everyone to contribute to the meal by bringing a dish. Also think about serving all the dishes in one go, rather than the European tradition of different courses. It’s very traditional for Americans to mix sweet and savoury dishes with gay abandon.

A great de-stresser for us Brits is to worry less about getting everything to the table ‘piping’ hot, particularly if other guests are bringing dishes.

On the site Make it and mend it have got some great recipes old and new for you, such as…

Cornbread for stuffing a Thanksgiving turkey
In America they call it dressing and cornbread forms the base of lots of traditional stuffing for your Thanksgiving dinner turkey. First make cornbread…

Caramelized shallots and green beans
Green beans are traditional Thanksgiving fare and we’ve got tips for serving them with a twist. Plus this Californian recipe using shallots.

Thanksgiving cranberry chutney
A slant on that British Christmas favourite, cranberry sauce. Cranberries play a big role in Thanksgiving dinners and this recipe is through and through American.

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows
Sweet potatoes with marshmallows is unrelentingly traditional Thanksgiving dinner fare and will be unfamiliar to many (most?) non-American palates. Try it – it’s absolutely delicious!

Indian pudding – a colonial recipe
Indian pudding is a fantastic alternative to pumpkin pie and its history goes way back to the early settler days.

Turkey and gravy
And of course there is simple recipe for roast turkey and gravy.

Jamie Lehrer, New York says, “Thanksgiving for me is caught up in childhood memories from Texas: turkey (that I no longer eat), dressing(stuffing), gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie with marshmallow topping, macaroni and cheese, collard greens or green beans, cornbread and pumpkin pie.

Autumn leaves thanksgiving decoration idea. Scattering autumn leaves on the table along with miniature pumpkins and squash gourds always looks festive.”

Presentation and decoration
You can’t go far wrong with Jamie’s autumn leaves mentioned above. But here are some other ideas:

    * Thanksgiving table cropuse berries and autumn fruits as table decoration, even small pumpkins can look really effective
    * go for a natural look rather than formalised centrepieces
    * pick up the Autumn theme using napkins and serviettes in golds, browns and rich reds
    * candles give soft light and gilding can make them look spectacular.

How it all started
It was first celebrated by the Pilgrim Fathers in New England in 1621. It celebrated a successful harvest but also recognised the extraordinary hardship the settlers had been through.

The meal itself was based around what the pilgrims had grown – including corn or maize. The wild turkey was native to the United States and was written about in the ‘History of Plymouth Plantation’ by William Bradford some 22 years after the first known celebration.

As more and more of the new American states adopted the idea, President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863 .

And for those of us who aren’t American…
We may not have the tradition of Thanksgiving – but this is one celebration that has to worth adopting. What could be nicer than dedicating a day to simply saying thanks for all the good things in life – when so much of the time we’re moaning about the bad ones? And the lovely thing about Thanksgiving is it doesn’t involve an orgy of gift-giving and commercialism – just a great excuse to spend time with friends and family and reflect on how much we have to be thankful for.

Anne Caborn

Make It And Mend It website