I fly out in less than 6 hours

For the last two years my husband and I have celebrated Thanksgiving with his side of the family.  They have a lot of fun with it.  Lowering the turkey into the deep fryer is always a big event.  The turkey only takes about 45 minutes to completely cook, so I say they're onto something.  They then cut potatoes into curly fries and fry those in the deep fryer too.  It's a lot of fun, but it's over in about 2 hours.

This year for the first time, I get to bring my husband to my home for thanksgiving.  Every year for as long as I can remember my mother's thanksgivings have involved a week of preparation, resulting in ironed tablecloths in fall colors, polished silver, china plates, crystal stemware, a traditional roasted turkey with stuffing, gravy made from the drippings, cranberries, peas, home made rolls, whole sweet potatoes with butter, mashed potatoes, martinellis sparkling cider, and at least 5 different kinds of pies, all enjoyed by a group numbering no less than 20, and often rising to over 30.  I guess not everyone enjoys cooking as much as I do, but the preparing for the feast was a huge amount of the fun of the final moments.  The feast would spread over about 5 of the final hours hours as guests arrived early to help, eat, visit, digest, and dessert.  You dress as if going out to a fine resturaunt.  Dinner includes toasting to what you're grateful for with the fancy stemware.  Guests and family members stay until 10pm catching up with eachother and dozing on couches to recover from the turkey coma. 

Not that either one is better than the other, but can you tell that I'm excited :)