Shrimp Tree Memories

Thanksgiving is full of memories around my house. My mom has memories of the last Thanksgiving before her mom died. I have memories of the last Thanksgiving before my Pa died, not to mention some of the Thanksgivings since then. There are lots of memories associated with Thanksgiving in my family. But more than Thanksgiving day, we remember Thanksgiving Eve.

When my Grandma was still alive she would spend the day before Thanksgiving prepping a lot of the food for Thanksgiving. You have to remember that she had 8 children, plus their spouses or girlfriends and they’re kids (and most of them had little to no problem with fertility). So there were always a TON of people over for Turkey day. And she would go a little bit elaborate on some things. (My mom, to this very day still brings up my Grandma’s love of a shrimp cocktail Christmas tree. Which is a Styrofoam cone covered in some green leaf and then covered with cocktail shrimp stuck on with toothpicks, just in case you were unsure.)

We don’t get that fancy. But we have (and probably always will) make a plan for the night before Thanksgiving as much as Thanksgiving day. We fix dips, and little appetizers to munch on while we do a lot of the prep for Thanksgiving. We’ll drink a little eggnog (and if I’m a good girl some kind of liquor) and end up staying up WAY too late, and laughing about some of the stupidest things. And through all our differences we’ll make memories that will last, and traditions that we’ll pass on to our kids one day.

That’s my favorite Thanksgiving memory. That along with looking over to my sister while we do something mundane (read: peeling sweet potatoes) when my mom starts to tell us about the last Thanksgiving before Grandma passed away, and the infamous Shrimp Cocktail Christmas tree.

These memories were inspired & brought to you by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop