On Thanksgiving we have a huge feast. We invite guests and I help my mom cook the meal. My mother is from Ecuador, a small country in South America. Although they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in South America, we try to combine traditional dishes from both cultures and have loads of fun at the same time. Our tradition is to make a Latin dish (like rice and chicken with Ecuador's secret sauce) in addition to the traditional American dishes. Also, my mom prepares the stuffing with a South American modification. We try to make each Thanksgiving one to remember.
Elizabeth Endicott, 12, Colorado Springs

   My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is getting the wishbone from the turkey. Every year, my little brother and I break the wishbone. Whoever ends up with the biggest piece gets to make a wish. I also enjoy making the food for my family and friends. Most of all, I enjoy eating the food, especially the pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream. Yum yum !!
Britney Fairchild, 10, Buena Vista

   My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is to wake up on Thanksgiving morning, watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, enjoy a fresh batch of orange rolls with my family, rip the bread to make stuffing, and pig out on Thanksgiving dinner.
Cydne Pope, 10, Highlands Ranch

   My favorite Thanksgiving tradition involves a big mess and a whole lot of fun. My Mom and sister and I bake a ton of pumpkin pies. This usually takes a couple of days. I love to crack the eggs and roll the dough. Then, the night before Thanksgiving, we sneak out to all of our friend's houses and ding-dong ditch them. We leave a pie on their doorsteps. The best part of this tradition is baking with my family. The hardest part of this tradition is trying not to laugh while we are hiding in the bushes watching our friends get their pies. We have never been caught.
Michael Condie, 9, Monument

   One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is eating cranberries. When I look back at Thanksgiving pictures from when I was little, I see my face stained with cranberry juice from ear to ear each year. I still like to eat them, but I stay a lot cleaner now.
Ashlyn Stewart, 9, Salida

   My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is our annual family gathering. We also include family friends, but it amounts to the same thing. Everyone brings a dish to my grandmother's house in the afternoon, and nobody leaves until mid-evening at the very earliest. My mother, my aunt and I usually get there extra early and spend hours talking with Grandma and preparing the meal while we wait for everyone else. We have a lot of excellent cooks in my family, so we can always count on a great meal accompanied by games and a HUGE political discussion. I don't know why the conversation always ends up that way, but it happens every year. It may sound kind of boring, but it's actually a lot of fun.
Vero Lecocq, 13, Longmont

   Every year, my family has a Thanksgiving Dinner. We start with a huge cook fest. While the guys kick back and watch football, the girls (not including me) cook up a storm. They make a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and cranberry sauce and I couldn't forget the endless bowl of black olives followed by a large desert display of pumpkin pie, apple pie, blueberry pie and occasionally my mom's famous apple crisp. What am I doing? I'm chasing my unruly two-year old cousins! I actually keep them from hitting and spitting on each other long enough to shove a bite of stuffing in their screaming mouths. After pretending to eat the gross food, I go stuff my mouth full of candy when no one is looking(shhh!!).
    When the babies finally go to sleep, I get to watch my Grandma, mom, and aunts play a game. It starts out okay but when it's obvious that someone's winning, they'll start getting competitive and that's when the game gets action-packed! Then one of them will huff off and then the rest will complain about the other person's attitude. It's not very pretty, trust me! While my mom cleans up and my aunts prepare to leave, my grandpa falls asleep and my grandma changes the channel to old western movies.
   Then we go to my other grandparent's house. It's also action-packed there because I have a lot of cousins and it's always a loud buzz with everyone yelling at each other. Then I dig into the second dinner that day and I have to pretend that I like my Grandma's cooking - after all she made a turkey AND a ham! (My aunt makes really good orange rolls by the way.) after that, I usually go outside and jump on the trampoline with my younger cousin and a couple of my older cousins (I'm the second youngest, my little cousin is exactly a year younger). After I open some early birthday presents ( my birthday is really close to thanksgiving and my grandparents live kind of far away so we just do presents then - score!) then we leave when it's really late at night. That concludes our Thanksgiving. I think I'll need all of the time to recover until next year! Even if my Thanksgiving is hectic, I'm still looking forward to it because I get to be with my family and, lots of yummy food …and candy.
Emily Westover, 11, Littleton

   We have a lot of wonderful Thanksgiving traditions, but my favorite out of them all is eating mashed potatoes. I love everything about mashed potatoes, the smooth, creamy feel they leave on your tongue, the luscious smell that they leave in your kitchen, and especially when they are first set down in front of you and opened to reveal the best Thanksgiving surprise there is. My mouth is always watering when my mom makes a small dip in the potato pile and pours in the gravy. Mashed potatoes are always most special on Thanksgiving because it always feels like a special tradition.
Kayla McIlvaine, 11, Pine

   One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions would be to get to see all my family because to me that's really special. Because most of my family like my uncle lives far away in Florida and my cousins are both in college in California. So to my family sounds like a good family tradition to me.
Emma Neal, 11, Rifle

   My favorite tradition for Thanksgiving is when the turkey gets carved. the mash potatoes are smooth in my mouth. I love cranberry sauce because it's red and slurpy, and I always put 10 black olives on my fingers.
Erin Walters, 10, Centennial

   My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is making and eating the turkey and candied yams we have for Thanksgiving dinner. I like the turkey because it is very juicy and I love putting gravy on the turkey. The candied yams are also very good. Candied yams are made up of yams, apples, juice, brown sugar, and marshmallows. They are very sweet..
Maddison Burroughs, 12, Lakewood

   My favorite tradition at Thanksgiving is the family getting together and spending the whole day at whomever's house is the sponsor. It is always hard to figure out a sponsor since we have so many family members. My grandma always brings the pie and turkey. Aunt Janet always brings the ham. The rest of us, well, we bring salads and beverages. We pray for everything we have and for those we miss, then we eat. All the kids play the day away. While the kids play, there is the ever-famous T.V. war in the house. Our moms try to watch the TLC Trading Spaces Marathon while the dads want to watch the traditional football game. While the Dads get a chance to watch the football game the moms go on a walk. Finally , dessert. All of a sudden, the kids come herding into the kitchen to see what type of pie is brought by Grandma. There is always, of course, pumpkin pie, but lately there has been an extra flavor; so far French Silk has been my favorite. I eat my fill, lots, then back to playing. With it being the girls turn on T.V., the dads sneak in the other room to watch the game or to play pool or ping pong. After Trading Spaces is over, the girls start to chatter. About this time I leave, wanting to get a go at the tramp. I love when the weather is crisp and warm from the autumn air. Soon I'm sailing among the clouds bouncing as high as I can go. Shortly the day is out and it is time to go home and sleep away our stomachaches.
Rachel Moore, 11, Arvada

   What I like about Thanksgiving is being with my family and sharing a nice meal with them. My taste buds go crazy when I smell the scrumptious turkey and the mm-mm-mashed potatoes with gravy piled on top, and then the corn. Best of all...last but not least...the PUMPKIN PIE! But NO stuffing, please!
Carrie Weisshaar, 10, Burlington

   Thanksgiving is one of the only days that our Mom lets us have pie for breakfast. My favorite pie is blueberry. Even last year when our kitchen was too damaged to cook in, we still found a way to make pies. I like eating the pie dough before it's cooked. My mom only lets me have a bit. On Thanksgiving Day, I can smell the grated lemon rind and the cinnamon. Having pies for breakfast is one of my favorite things to do. Let's give thanks for pie.
Indianna Price, 9, Denver

   The snowflakes drifted outside, lost in the wind, and the plastic wrap under our feet sounded almost like the crunching of snow. Half-painted walls covered in construction materials surrounded us. For the first time ever, it would not be an ordinary Thanksgiving night. We gathered in the kitchen talking about what to do for dinner. The construction from the snowstorm left us with no more than half our house still alive.
   Our stomachs begged to be fed as seconds ticked by. What was to be had for dinner? We could barely cook and the fridge was full of junk. But worst of all, it was a holiday so all the restaurants were closed.
   "What about the food in the fridge?" someone suggested. We all looked at each other with rather disgusted looks on our faces.
   "OK, scratch that idea." We sat and munched on bits of salt that had spilled all over the table.
   "Wait a minute," I said. "Can we still use the microwave?"
   "Umm yeah, I think so," my mom responded.
   "Well then why don't we go get turkey TV dinners? Safeway's got to be open still."
   We rushed outside with the thought of food in mind and stomach. We didn't even realize how cold it was. We bought five turkey TV dinners for under $20. When we got home, we waited in line for the microwave. We then gathered around our living room coffee table and ate. It was good. Mmmmm… stuffing...
Tori Price, 10, Denver

   Don't you love it when your family comes over, you eat all the food, and you know your family is safe? Don't you love the juicy turkey covered with rich gravy, and those tasty cranberries, the wonderful cornbread dressing and the buttery rolls, and last, the sweet, sugary taste of pumpkin pie? I love Thanksgiving with its joy, friends, family, food and love.
Elaine Ptaskiewicz, 9, Golden

My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is when my family gets together , and they bring different dishes for the Thanksgiving feast. While the adults are getting the food ready, I get to hang out with my cousins.
Rheanna Gimple, 9, Arvada

My favorite thanksgiving family tradition is going up on the gondola to Sun Spot in Winter Park. I love the mashed potatoes and the turkey.
Marina Koepke, 10, Fraser

My family's traditions are that everybody in our family (adopted family, too) comes over to our house and has Thanksgiving dinner. We usually have so many people it is hard to count! Grace is always an important tradition. I always say grace right after we sit down. I also make the place settings. They could be anything from pinecones that I turned into a turkey to a leaf that has fallen off a tree.
Katie Levine, 10, Arvada

At my house, food is not the only highlight of the day. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is to be with my family and friends, and take a mountain sleigh ride together before dinner. We go to the Vail golf course and Cricket drives our sleigh with his two horses, Lefty and Poncho. I usually help drive. We plan this months ahead and get excited for the highlight of our Thanksgiving. We ride around the golf course under the stars and talk about what we are thankful for. It is a fun and special tradition.
Coco Wham, 10, Denver

   Thanksgiving is coming! What do you do to celebrate? Go out with the family? Stay home and watch movies all night? Eat, eat, eat? Thanksgiving should be a fun time for everyone. No matter what you do to celebrate, it's a time to give thanks for being Americans!
   We first start off the day when my parents get up early, and my mom turns on the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. My mom makes a whole mashed potato and gravy, giant turkey, and pie dinner, even if it's just the three of us. My mom makes the most delicious stuffing in the world! She puts onions and sautéed mushrooms in it. Then she makes a pumpkin pie along with an apple pie . I wake up about an hour later and spend all morning watching the parade in my pajamas. It's always a cheerful morning in our house.
   Then, later (when I'm out of my pajamas) my dad and I make home- made whipped cream! We can never have pie without homemade whipped cream in our house. Later, when all the guests come over... we stuff our faces! In the end, we watch a movie or play a game, barely able to sit up!Time to celebrate... and eat!
   Umm, umm, Yum, Delicious!
   Rumble, rumble in my tummy.
   Key lime pie?
   Eat nine pounds of food.
   Yummy!!!!!!!!!!
Kendra E. Clark, 10, Westminster

My family usually stays home for Thanksgiving because my dad has to go to work early Thanksgiving morning checking cattle. We usually have my Grandpa and Grandma Smith for dinner and any of my aunts and uncles and cousins that might have come to Burlington for Thanksgiving. We have turkey, potatoes & gravy, salads, dressing, and pumpkin pie with cool whip. My mom also fixes cheesecake for those who do not like pumpkin pie. We usually play games and have a good time with my family.
Cord Carlin, 10, Burlington

My favorite Thanksgiving tradition has to be the Hoopla and excitement that my family puts into getting "Our Perfect" Turkey. My Mom and Papere make our plan of attack (checking out all grocery ads) the whole family gets excited as we approach and surround the unsuspecting frozen fowl. The hunt is on our hearts racing as the search begins. Soon someone screams "I got it!" the biggest turkey ever - or at least the biggest one this year!
Ashleigh Townsend, 13, Thornton

My mom and dad and my sister and I go to Lafayette, to my aunt and uncle's house. They have a daughter who's 10 just like me. They cook up a big ol' turkey with lots of stuffing and some mashed potatoes and gravy. We usually have corn, cranberries, sweet potatoes and, of course, pumpkin pie. We always eat way too much. Then we hang out in the living room and visit and watch movies. My grandpa lives with them too, so it's fun to be with him. We spend the night and maybe do some shopping the next day, and then we go back home.
Justin Schreiter, 10, Burlington

I actually celebrate two Thanksgivings, the Jewish Thanksgiving and the American Thanksgiving. The Jewish Thanksgiving is called Sukkoth (soo-coat) and the American Thanksgiving is obviously called Thanksgiving. My favorite thing about Sukkoth (soo-coat) is we make a Sukkah (soo- ca) which is a sort of tent that has no roof, it only has branches on the top. You decorate it with fruits and vegetables. Lots of people decorate it with squash, pumpkins, and apples. Then you get to eat in the Sukkah to give thanks for the food.My favorite American Thanksgiving tradition is that we invite many people from different countries to celebrate with us. We ask them to bring a type of food that they know how to make from their country. We make Kasha (kash-ie) which is a Jewish food that is made out of bow tie noodles, buckwheat, onions, chicken broth and salt.
Micah Ohno, 10, Golden

If you followed my family on our last Thanksgiving vacation, you'd have been in for a bumpy ride! We visit relatives every year, which is our most important Thanksgiving tradition. Last year, we hit the road and headed for Colorado Springs, where we spent the night. The next day, we drove to Pueblo. We found the area, but not the road to my cousin's new house. We searched and searched for the right road until we finally found it. Meanwhile, my cousin was driving from Pueblo to Denver and back just to get the perfect pie! It took some effort-and good attitudes-but in the end it was fun doing all that driving and stopping, especially when eating my favorite food, pumpkin pie, as the reward.
Emily Vavra, 10, Burlington

When I think of my favorite Thanksgiving Tradition, besides all of the feelings of gratitude and love that overflow, I think HONEY BAKED HAM! I know what you are thinking...but it's Turkey Day! You see, I happen to be allergic to turkey, all poultry in fact. I know it sounds crazy but it is true! Every Thanksgiving that I can remember, my Mom has made a special trip to the Honey Baked Ham shop to pick up a ham in my honor. Our Thanksgiving dinner includes both a turkey and a ham. My family always makes me feel included even though I cannot share in the traditional turkey feast. Now that's something to be thankful for!!
Ashley Wilson, 9, Highlands Ranch

On Thanksgiving I can't wait for all the turkey and mashed potatoes. I really like how they taste. It's really hard to wait because they smell so good while they cook. Last year my brother and sister named the turkey - Spike! The taste of the fresh food makes me think of all God has done for us.
Justin Wahl, 9, Highlands Ranch

Most of these paragraphs start out talking about their Family Thanksgiving Traditions. Not this one. I don't have any family that lives close by so we don't have any specific Thanksgiving traditions. We often ski on Thanksgiving Day!
Emma Goddery, 10, Littleton

When I think of Thanksgiving I think of a feast, watching football, being with my family, and fire engines. Most of you are probably thinking, "What does fire engines have to do with Thanksgiving?" Well, let me explain.
   My dad's a firefighter and almost every year my dad works on Thanksgiving. It's hard to spend Thanksgiving without all of your family so we came up with a great tradition. Every year all of the firefighter's families come to the fire station. When they come they bring turkey, mashed potatoes, or any other Thanksgiving food. This reminds me of the first Thanksgiving. Everyone came, brought something, and had a big feast.
   This tradition is important to me because I get to be with my dad on Thanksgiving. I think the firefighters enjoy this tradition because they get to be with their family on this special day.
Leslee Smith, 11, Golden