Thanksgiving Cocktail + Give Thanks Dinner Card Idea+Your Holiday Movie List
“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new”
We are headed to Houston for Thanksgiving for a week with our two pups today. Zoë flies in from OKC on Wednesday and I am over the moon about that. We have not shared a Thanksgiving together in many years so I am really feeling that gratitude.
We typically go to Lin's sisters house or every other year that is flip-flopped and we go to Lin's sister's husbands family house. It's always a huge affair with about 65 people. (not even kidding) I am so grateful for the invite but it's simply over whelming.I have social anxiety so I feel like I cannot breathe in this situation. I keep telling them I need a family tree diagram and everyone should wear name tags because I seriously cannot keep up. My Thanksgiving growing up involved two different families as my parents were divorced. And my fave part of the holiday was spending time with my dad's side of the family having an intimate made-from-scratch dinner for 6 where we shared stories of what we were thankful for and then trimmed the Christmas tree with pie and egg nog and Christmas music. We would then fall asleep watching a holiday movie. And the next night we would drive around looking at all the Christmas lights in the fancy neighborhoods that loved to put on a show. And eat more pie and play Yahtzee and work on puzzles. This is my kind of Thanksgiving break.
This year we have decided at the last minute to keep things intimate and tiny, especially since I have my daughter, and do Thanksgiving at Lin's mom's house with just us---meaning, Lin, me, Zoë, and Lin's mom Jan with the rest of the immediate family joining later for coffee and pie.
It's going to be lovely. And I just cannot wait for the week head in Houston. (minus the humidity) I plan on hitting all my Houston faves and cannot wait to get in a good dose of rhythm rides in at Soul Cycle.
So today I wanted to share a simple delish seasonal whiskey cocktail, and a super inexpensive give thanks dinner card idea, as well as my favorite holiday movie list. I really hope you enjoy all of this!!
Let's start with the drink recipe, shall we?
Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour Recipe
Meet the best whiskey sour recipe—it’s full of bourbon and fresh lemon, sweetened with maple syrup and includes a hint of cinnamon (spice is optional). Feel free to multiply the amounts given below by up to four, if you’d like to make a bigger batch in your cocktail shaker all at once.
INGREDIENTS
Per cocktail
1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) Bulleit bourbon or your bourbon of choice
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice
2 to 4 teaspoons maple syrup, to taste (I like 3 teaspoons, which is the equivalent of ½ ounce or 1 tablespoon)
Pinch of ground cinnamon, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker or mason jar about two-thirds full with ice. Pour in the bourbon, lemon juice, maple syrup and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Securely fasten the lid and shake well.
Pour fresh ice into your cocktail glass and strain the cold whiskey sour mixture into the glass. Enjoy!
Great Holiday Movies To Watch That Everyone Will Love
I seriously watch every single one of these every year.....
The Family Stone
The Holiday
Love Actually
Elf (never ever gets old)
Home Alone
Gremlins ( many associate this with Halloween and I have no idea why)
Bridget Jones Diary
Sliding Doors (my favorite movie and for some reason no one knows about it)
Meet Me In St. Louis
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Die Hard
The Polar Express
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
It’s a Wonderful Life
Christmas with the Kranks
A Very Murray Christmas
And now for your adorable give thanks dinner card idea.
I found some leftover MERCI stationary in my desk and decided that I would carry them to Houston.Thanksgiving activity is the perfect time for your loved ones and you, to reflect back on the year and to appreciate all of the things in life we have to be grateful for. I will also be making these wonderful little mulled spice jars to give to everyone so they have a takeaway from the holiday with their card. Super inexpensive and super thoughtful.
Safe travels my dears! Stay tuned for some easy DIY table-scape ideas, amazing Thanksgiving recipes, and my annual gift guides will be launching this week too here on the blog. There is so much great info in store for you!
What are your favorite festive cocktail recipes and what movie am I missing from my list?!!
Tell me in the comments below.
And shop the story here. Loving my new pieces from West Elm Tulsa and am so excited about my collaboration with them. Look out for that soon in a future post.
They gifted me the brushstroke salad plates and the glasses.
