All I want for the holidays is FOOD!!! It’s all gravy, keep your holiday balanced, a cookie in each hand… all of these cute and funny food quotes stir up my appetite for a delicious holiday meal.

As they say, “All roads lead to home during the holidays” I must say, your Hometown. Wherever that might be. Yes, usually, most of us find the time and commit ourselves to winding our way back to our hometown during the winter holidays. According to AAA, close to 80 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more over the Thanksgiving holiday week in 2024.

Traveling back to your hometown and gathering with family over the holiday dinner table, allows time to reconnect with those we love… and hopefully time to enjoy and explore the beautiful landscape of nature that makes your hometown uniquely special. Offering the opportunity to “feed” your soul, not the just the body literally.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays are the two biggest holidays for the cook in the family. Special meals are often served over the family table and shared with extended family members who return home from all over the globe.

Many hours of thought, shopping, prep, and cooking occur before the holiday meal is complete. Once these steps are finished, the entire family can gather together, ready to partake in the celebration of the “hometown holiday dinner”.

Whether the family is large or small, it is a process to gather together and share a meal over the holiday. Let’s include the time and journey to return home. The melding of unique personalities, coming together as one complete family. All, simply gathering around the table to “ break bread”, sharing memories of times past, and the enveloping sense of belonging, Home.

Let’s return to the process of preparation for the Hometown Holiday Gathering. The holidays are fast approaching! The clock is ticking away, it’s officially ONE week away now until Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving is one of the biggest food holidays of the year. Thanksgiving ranks as THE top food consumption holiday. Surprisingly, Super Bowl Sunday follows close behind.

Let’s just get it out there, we all have been there… do any of these holiday scenarios sound familiar to you???? Forgetting to prepare certain dishes, broken dishes, stressing over the lack of oven space, unexpected guests, slightly overcooked /burned foods, maybe the turkey did not thaw out in time for roasting… these ALL can happen and have happened during the holidays.

My hope is that IF you plan to cook over the holidays this year, success will reign supreme! Set yourself up for success before you begin cooking for the holidays. Have a definite meal plan and execute it accordingly and adjust as needed. Things will happen even to the most experienced cooks in the kitchen.

Cooking is art form. The artful cook can use ingredients masterfully, creating dishes that are delicious, and delightful in appearance. These artful hometown cooks have conquered these kitchen skills, will effortlessly make the most of the family gathering. A masterful cook can make and prepare a hometown homemade holiday gathering … a feast for the eyes. All the while, the aromatic goodness wafting through the kitchen welcoming you into the heart and soul of the kitchen, feeding your spirit. HOME.

Whether you find yourself in the master cook category or even if you consider yourself a cook still honing skills in the kitchen, having a plan for a successful Hometown Holiday Gathering can be accomplished with a few simple steps.

The perfect execution of the “roadmap of success” for a fantastic hometown holiday meal gathering can be achieved with the combination of assistance from family who might linger in the kitchen either to “sample the good stuff”. OR those in your family who wish to truly help in the effort to make the day fruitful and wholeheartedly worth the extra time and energy spent on making the hometown holiday meal a reality. Team in place, you can work together to create the ultimate holiday celebration for your entire crew.

Once the meal has arrived on the table, beautifully presented, the literal feast for your body can begin. Bringing balance and a bit of zen or comfort to your hometown holiday experience, and maybe even a good nap…. after all that turkey 😂😂. I couldn’t resist that one!

It is also worth a mention that THE BIG Food holidays can leave you a bit frazzled, stressed, and worn out even if you fall into the “expert cook” category when it comes to food preparation. Everyone wants a “true zen experience” for their hometown holiday meal. So… What can you do prior to gathering that ensures a masterful experience this Thanksgiving or any other holiday for that matter?

This is where your hometown hardware store can assist you, believe it or not!

Wilkes County Hardware, Helping You Find Hometown Holiday Success:

1. If you are having overnight guests for the Thanksgiving holiday, get your home in order, cleaned and prepare for your guests arrival. Don’t forget to make sure that you are stocked up on toilet paper, paper towels, dish washer tablets, Clorox wipes, etc! You don’t want to run to store during the holiday weekend and fight the crowds or find yourself running low on essentials with guests in house!

2. Set your menu and grocery shop. As you are planning your menu for Thanksgiving or the holiday meal, think about how each dish should be prepared. Will you have enough oven space and time??? How could these dishes be altered or prepared differently, if the answer was No… A masterful cook will explore other techniques for food preparation, like using the grill or smoker to prepare your meats, using a crockpot, toaster oven to warm up pre-made casseroles, preparing dishes ahead of time, asking others to pitch and bringing food to the gathering… the list is long! Lastly, as a masterful cook, explore our selection of sauces and rubs to enhance your holiday meal.

3. Inventory your kitchen utensils and other equipment. Make sure you have the necessary tools for your biggest kitchen day of the year! Nothing is worse than a dull knife on Thanksgiving Day to complicate the task of carving the turkey. Wilkes County Hardware sharpens knives as a continuing service to our customers. Wilkes County Hardware has a good selection of basic kitchen equipment that can help make your holiday meal plan come together.

4. Lastly, think about the gathering itself. Gathering around the table, what will it look like??? A formal affair??? Mom’s finest china, silver, and crystal??? If so, a good cleaning might be required. Stop by Wilkes County Hardware to pick up silver polish, or Brasso, or any other cleaning products to keep your beautiful heirlooms looking great on the family table this holiday season.

A more casual family hometown holiday dinner??? Stop by to find some classic handmade items to complement your decor.

Ultimately, Gathering around the hometown holiday table, enjoying each other’s company creates the atmosphere where people linger around the table, stories are told, and memories made. Glimpses and Snapshots of joy, and laughter, radiating across the table. Life simply couldn’t be better. The holiday meal has moved from pure sustenance to an amiable experience and soulfully satisfying. Nothing could be better💕! The essence of Hometown for the Holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!