Thanksgiving at a Lake Resort
As nostalgic and fun as having everyone to your house for a large feast can be, it can get taxing, too! There’s the cooking, the entertaining, not to mention the simple fact of having to make sure your house is ready to host everyone. Enter: a holiday getaway.
In 2019, my family left the Twin Cities the day before Thanksgiving, set for the North Shore. It was the first year we hadn’t gone to my grandparent’s house or hosted it ourselves. The year had been tough, and doing everything we normally did for Thanksgiving was nothing we could even remotely fathom, so we booked a cabin, bought a turkey at the last grocery store we passed, and had our holiday, stress-free, by the shores of East Bearskin Lake.
Most people can’t fathom not having a huge event for Thanksgiving, and I can’t blame them. One of the biggest American holidays, Thanksgiving has solidified itself as the time to gather everyone possible together. Our preparation for that trip was surely steeped in second-guessing. But what happened when we did it? We were able to enjoy the holiday more, relax more, and actually feel like our break was a break. Besides that, just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t still have more people join and still let the holiday be calm and fun. If this concept is at all interesting to you, I’m glad you’ve found this post, and I invite you to walk through all the ways a lakeside Thanksgiving can help you to celebrate the holiday on a deeper level.
Travel
Depending on where you choose to go, this could be the most stressful element, or it could even be less stressful than driving a town or two over to Aunt Cathy’s. Between traffic and possible impending family drama, driving 30 minutes can be rife with stress and discomfort. Driving to a getaway, however? Just knowing the destination can ease a good chunk of that stress. If you have young kids, there’s the whole thing of preparing them for a longer drive (which isn’t too bad when you have coloring sheets, car games, and even a book on tape). If you’re all upwards of ten, then the only drive-time limit is your own sanity. And maybe the gas tank on your car. However, you always get the beautiful scenery as you get farther from the city and closer to your lakeside Thanksgiving destination.
Set Up… and Clean Up
When you’re the one hosting the holidays, some of the biggest stressors can come from making sure the house is clean, the linens in the bathrooms are fresh, the table is set, and so forth. One of the big positives we discovered with our stay over Thanksgiving was that the stress of cleaning was gone. All we had to do was show up, set our table how we wanted, and cook the food. No worrying about decor, about fresh linens, about anything beyond the table runner and the food that was going to be placed on it.
Even if you have a bigger group, it’s very easy to keep things simple. Spread out the duties of setting the table. Decide who is bringing what food and what drink. Suddenly, it’s a lot calmer and a lot cozier. And when it comes to clean-up? You don’t have to worry, at large, about the towels in the kitchen, the bedsheets, the bathroom. Just take what’s yours, wash the dishes before you go, and housekeeping staff takes care of the rest.
Space
Depending on whether you have a big family or are planning on a smaller gathering, you can always find a place to suit your needs. Hop in a cabin for a smaller group, or rent out a gathering space with your stay! There’s much more flexibility than trying to decide between three different 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom homes that vary only slightly in living room space. Now, you get the option of a one-family, 2-bedroom place, or something that can accommodate up to 16 of you overnight!
Family Time
During Thanksgiving at a large family event, it can be easy to fall in to the typical after-meal fun: sleeping on the sofa, watching football, chasing the dogs or kids, and so forth. And honestly? I can’t remember one specific thing we would do at various Thanksgiving gatherings from my childhood. Everything falls into a turkey-and-cranberry haze. Most of the time, you’re too exhausted from the prep and meal to do anything beyond power through a single card game. But what I do remember from my family’s lakeside Thanksgiving trip? Reading by the fire after dinner. Playing card games that morning over coffee. Going out for a hike through the snow on a frozen, silent lake.
Now, this isn’t to say that the usual family time experienced during the holiday is incorrect in any way. I simply offer up the concept of having a few days to relax and rejuvenate as a family, allowing for meaningful, present connections; be it over a pickleball net, or a cup of coffee. No longer do you have to cram all your bonding into a night. Now, you get to spend time together over a few days, and make it more intentional as you do so.
Traditions
Of course, the topic that’s been on everyone’s minds this whole article is undoubtedly family traditions. Perhaps your grandma always makes a specific pie, or you go on a walk after dinner, or you sit around and have cocktails and play cards. Linking in to what I said about family time, you don’t have to cram your traditions in and make it work. You can space them out, engage with them intentionally instead of just letting them pass by because “we always do this!”
On top of that, you can create new traditions. Instead of rushing around the table, forcing everyone to say one thing they’re thankful for, you can space it out. Have a discussion over coffee. Bring up your gratitude by the light of a fireplace. If you’re a person of faith, you can take time out in nature to thank G-d for everything over the past year. Traditions are beautiful and important. But that doesn’t mean we can’t let them grow and change to be even more meaningful.
As classic and comforting as a meal at your grandmother’s long dining room table can be, sometimes it’s good to switch things up! There’s a certain peace and level of connectedness a lakeside Thanksgiving getaway can bring to a family, no matter how big or how small. Hopefully this blog has helped you think through some options for your Thanksgiving so you can choose what’s best for your holiday. And if you do like the sound of traveling, why don’t you consider stopping by? We’d love to host you here, at Campfire Bay! Over the years, a myriad of families have hosted their holiday gatherings here, and we always love watching new memories get made.
