Plan for a Terrific Thanksgiving

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you enjoy Thanksgiving?

Are you ready for some new experiences?

Would you like to improve your Thanksgiving experience?

Are you interested in adding more thankfulness to Thanksgiving?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this blog post may make your Turkey day.

Most people celebrate Thanksgiving in the same ways . . . year in and year out.

That's a missed opportunity.

When I went away to college, I was sure that Thanksgiving could not be improved. That is, I was sure until I was invited to join the Thomas H.P. Whitneys for Thanksgiving. Then, my world was enlarged . . . for which I am very thankful.

Mr. Whitney was the business head of the alumni publication where I had a part-time job. He knew that my family lived in California, and that I was unlikely to make it home for Thanksgiving from Boston (we only had four days off and Thanksgiving was the first day). He kindly inquired if I was free on Thanksgiving and would like to join his family for the day. Knowing that the alternative was dorm turkey, I gratefully accepted.

On the appointed day, I put on my best suit, clutched a small gift for my hostess and took the trolley into Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. I had been through Chestnut Hill before, but had never stopped there. Strolling through the unexpectedly warm autumn weather, I was immediately impressed by the large homes I saw. As I neared my destination, I realized that I was in some sort of mansion row. The homes just kept getting bigger. Pretty soon, I arrived at the Whitney's home . . . and it was bigger than any house I had ever seen before.

Feeling a little awed, I nervously walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. I soon got over my nervousness as I was warmly greeted and treated like visiting royalty.

Everything I saw fascinated me. The home had paintings of sailing ships that Whitney ancestors had owned and captained. Mr. Whitney pulled out some 200 year-old port to sample. The crystal would have made Marie Antoinette envious.

In addition, the Whitneys had other guests including their minister. We had lively conversations as we developed a gentle glow from the wine we were drinking.

The aromas from the kitchen were mysterious and amazing. I had never smelled anything like them. We ate mid-afternoon, and I was pretty hungry by then.

When we sat down to dinner, I was astonished to see that there were more types of food than I had ever thought possible to see on Thanksgiving. After all these years, I'm not sure I can remember all the details correctly. But I believe that there was turkey, roast beef, ham and lamb for meat. There were three kinds of turkey stuffing (chestnut, traditional bread crumb and one made out of something like date nut bread). I couldn't recognize what all the vegetables were. I did yeoman's service to that food. It was all amazingly good!

Feeling like a stuffed turkey myself, I was pleased when everyone agreed to let the food settle for a few hours before having dessert. Naturally, there were five or six kinds of pie and lots of other pastries and other wonderful goodies. Massive amounts of clearing and cleaning began. I offered to help and was shooed out of the kitchen.

By dessert time, everything was put away. I complimented Mrs. Whitney on being so organized. She smiled and uttered that sentence that I've never forgotten. "Well, you have to clean up after Thanksgiving right away when you serve two Thanksgiving dinners."

The extended family was going to arrive at 6 p.m., and the Whitneys would start their second Thanksgiving meal of the day. Can you imagine that? I couldn't. I was floored. The meal that I had just enjoyed must have been the result of weeks of work. Then, imagine doubling the effort along with two clean-ups. Amazing!

To this day, Thanksgiving at the Whitneys has influenced my preferences. After years of effort, I finally learned to produce a wonderful chestnut dressing. I also learned that someone has to peel the chestnuts (a tricky and time-consuming task) and became quite adept. I also learned that it's great to have lots of variety to choose from. Enjoying rare foods and wines can make the event special. After several years of practice, I can also carve a turkey pretty well. But my wife does it better, so I defer to her.

But most importantly, I learned that it's sharing your Thanksgiving with someone else that makes the day most special. As a result, our family is always on the look-out for people to invite to join us.

I always feel concerned about the less fortunate, and make donations to food shelters and other organizations that provide Thanksgiving meals.

The main drawback of such amazing feasts is that those who prepare the meals disappear into the kitchen never to be seen again for the days before, most of Thanksgiving and sometimes part of the day thereafter.

From that, I learned that you can experience a little of what it's like to visit the Whitneys if you take your family out to dinner on Thanksgiving. I favor a location that's consistent with colonial times. Many of my happiest meals since then have come at various inns in the Boston countryside.

I was recently meeting someone at Concord's Colonial Inn and picked up their menu for Thanksgiving. I found my mouth watering as though Pavlov had rung my bell.

Your choice of appetizers includes a shrimp cocktail, Amish style corn and turkey soup, fall squash bisque and sage gnocchi. Appetizers are followed by a fall green salad tossed in maple sherry vinaigrette. Entree choices are traditional turkey with herb stuffing, prime rib with red wine au jus, mushroom and herbed cheese spanikopita, salmon filet on cous cous, and Maple glazed roasted pork loin. Dessert choices include individual pumpkin pie tartlettes, chocolate pecan pie with spiced cream anglaise and traditional baked apple pie a la mode.

The price is $45.95 per person ($18.95 for children under 12) before taxes and gratuity. If you are interested, call 978-369-9200 for reservations.

The advantage of going out to an inn is that no one has to spend all that time in the kitchen and cleaning up.

Another approach is to take turns hosting your family and friends. In that way, you don't have to do all the work. If each person brings a few of their favorite dishes, you have a great set of choices . . . but no one has to spend days on the effort.

After years of letting me pursue Thanksgiving in these ways, the women in my family rebelled. They wanted to spend days in the kitchen with one another preparing the meal. The results have created much joy among the women, but haven't always been as successful foodwise. One year I awoke to a house that smelled like a brewery. Someone had decided to baste the turkey in beer. It didn't taste any better than it smelled. Another year, we were treated turkey cooked in too much garlic. That unpleasant taste lasted for days. I did find that this approach to preparing meals at home was quite good for not gaining weight on Thanksgiving though. I eat minimally and savor the parts that I do like.

If cooking at home is your thing, I do suggest practicing new recipes in small quantities before the event.

I have a number of friends who also volunteer to serve hot meals in shelters and to shut-ins on Thanksgiving. I've tried to interest my family in this idea . . . but so far I haven't had any takers. But if your family is more into sharing, this can be a wonderful idea.

For those who want some sort of intermediate experience . . . great food at home but not too much work, many restaurants, caterers and stores offer to prepare the food for you in take-out form. If you are only two people, the take-out choices at Boston Market are very reasonably priced and tasty. For a larger group, you can use someone who offers a more extensive list of choices. If you combined food from more than one inn, you could even hope to match the splendor from the Whitney's wonderful Thanksgiving all those many years ago.

May God bless you and yours on Thanksgiving.

Please share your ideas for a unique and delightful Thanksgiving. I'm sure other readers will appreciate your ideas.

Can any billionaire do better? I doubt it.

Billionaires aren't likely to prepare their own Thanksgiving meals so they lose that opportunity to participate. If they have a lot of guests, there will be servants intruding into the dinner experience at home.

Billionaires also aren't likely to go to a colonial inn to savor a historical experience. That wouldn't be fancy enough.

Is there any meal that a billionaire can order prepared that you cannot match? I doubt it.

And I doubt if many billionaires go to soup kitchens and ladle out mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Here are some upcoming subjects:

Tomorrow, I'll describe my fantastic visit to the University of Michigan-Penn State game in Ann Arbor and advise you on even more ways to enjoy college football.

Saturday, we'll sit back and relax with our favorite music . . . and gain new benefits in the process.

On Sunday, let's listen to some great spiritual music to soothe your soul.

Monday, you and I will have a heart-to-heart about how to enjoy being with your siblings better than a billionaire.

On Tuesday, we'll take a look at historic New England to locate fabulous historic homes there.

Wednesday will provide a chance to look at how you can enjoy professional football games more.

Thursday, I'll share with you how you can create a more beautiful environment around you to truly enjoy beautiful living.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted on November 2. The table of contents will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

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Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

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May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell