While Thanksgiving is already one of my favorite holidays due to the mass quantities of food that are consumed, this year was extra awesome for quite a few reasons:
1. We have a Christmas tree in our apartment! Last week a few of my roommates and I went to check out the Christmas market at Nyhavn. After sampling some hot wine, or "gløgg," we saw that the kiosk was also selling cute little Christmas trees. On impulse, we decided to pool our money and take one home! We successfully transported it down the super crowded main walking street without incident. Later that night we picked up some lights and ornaments, and we even crafted some decorations of our own courtesy of the colorful cans of Tuborg "Julebryg."
Carrying trees down the street is normal.
Decorating complete!
2. MY PARENTS ARE HERE!! They got to Denmark on Tuesday, so all week I've been showing them around the city. I hadn't seen them since August, so I was so excited for their visit. I went to the airport bright and early (except now that Denmark darkness is setting in, it was still pitch black at 6:45am when I left for the Metro station) and greeted them with a Danish flag, which is pretty customary at the arrival gate. Despite an encounter with customs and the confiscation of the condensed milk my mom attempted to smuggle into the country, all went smoothly!
3. My housemates and I were the lucky recipients of a generous stipend from DIS to buy lots of Thanksgiving necessities! We were all so excited to bring Thanksgiving to Denmark. Originally, only about 6 of us were going to be around; however, as the excitement grew, so did our guest list. At the beginning of this week, our count was 18- me, my parents, my Danish family, my roommate Carrie and her friend Sarah, Matt and his mom, dad, and sister, Russell and his "visiting" brother, Jamie, Anna, and her friend. As the title of this post suggests, we were in WAY over our heads.
...however, everything went perfectly, and it turned out to be one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever!!!
4. We didn't burn our house down! On Wednesday night, Jamie, Carrie, and I stayed up late to get a jump start on cooking for the next day. Everything was going well, until the stove was accidently set to the highest possible setting. It turns out that "b" for "boil" resembles "6" for medium heat. Go figure. Anyway, we noticed that something wasn't quite right when Carrie's carrots were cooking way faster than normal and producing quite a bit of smoke. We took them off the stove right away and thought the crisis had been averted; however, about two minutes later, the smoke reached the smoke detector, and it proceeded to go off for the next 5-10 minutes.. which doesn't sound like a long time, but when there is a shrill beep going off incessantly after midnight, it seems much longer. In our efforts to make it stop, we tried waving towels, swinging the kitchen door back and forth, and opening every window in the vicinity. Finally, it stopped, and the cooking continued.
Bad news.
5. Our turkeys defrosted in time! Like I said, we were expecting 18 people- much more than we originally thought. Two days before Thanksgiving, Jamie and I were concerned that the 10lb turkey we had picked up just wouldn't be enough. All online estimates we found suggested at least 24lbs for the number of guests we would have. Something about our ratio didn't seem right. On Wednesday, Jamie and Carrie went out to the store and grabbed another 10 pounder; however, it was frozen solid. Thursday morning, in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations, we defrosted is successfully in an ice bath. Win.
So much went into preparing everything, but like I said, it was one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember. All of the food that everyone contributed was delicious, and we had the perfect amount. When we sat down to eat, everyone was happy and talking and enjoying themselves, which was a success in and of itself.
Turkeys. Check.
Dinner table, complete with food and festive decor.
Action shot.. my dad, me, and Jamie consuming massive amounts of food
Mission accomplished.
I'm so glad my parents could be in Copenhagen for the holiday, because not only was it great to see them, but we couldn't have prepped/cooked/served the turkey without them! Matt's family was here too, and they did so much to help us out too! Having moms in the kitchen was definitely a life-saver. Everyone played such a huge role, from Carrie's carrots and sweet potatoes, Matt's pumpkin pie, Jamie's stuffing, and Russell running to Netto to buy celery and parsley! We even had decorations!! This was the first time any of my housemates have hosted Thanksgiving in our own home, and having 18 guests counting on us was pretty intimidating, but it was so nice having everyone together. Having my Danish family there was really special too because it was their very first Thanksgiving, and I'm so glad I could share it with them! I was also so excited that they were able to meet my parents, and my mom and dad were thrilled to meet my "second family" in Denmark.
Ah, so many warm and fuzzy feelings. So much hygge. ..So much food.
Doesn't get any better than that.
:)
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