Thanksgiving conversation starters

Since no one wants to spend thanksgiving arguing with your uncle Bill about politics. And sitting in total silence while your family shovels yams and cranberry sauce into their mouths is really awful. Here are a few fun facts to break the awkward silence.

Turkey legs


According to Disney it's estimated that guests consume more than 1.6 million turkey drumsticks every year at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Unfortunately, there is no data from the other hotbed of turkey drumstick consuming the renaissance faire. No food goes better with both waiting online for Splash Mountain or watching the joust.

The champ is here

World-renowned hot dog eater Joey Chestnut is also the record holder for turkey eating. In 2014 Chestnut ate 9.35 pounds of turkey meat, off the bird, in 10 minutes. He also holds the world record for shrimp cocktail, matzoh balls, deep fried asparagus, pork ribs, and hard-boiled eggs.

 Not as old as you think

This is not the 396th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving. Nope. Yes the surviving pilgrims from the Mayflower did have a harvest banquet with the Native people near Plymouth Rock in 1621. But it did not become a federal holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln established it.

Add a side of pigskin 


Since the NFL started in 1920 there have been games on Thanksgiving. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have played home games on Thanksgiving since 1934 and 1966 respectively.

So are turkeys from the country Turkey? Aka a mistaken identity 


No. The wild turkeys that are native to North America, were brought back to Europe. Where they were mistakenly called Turkeys. They looked like a bird that had originally been brought into a Europe by the Ottoman Empire from East Africa, which was known as the Turkey Cock or Turkey Hen.

The wrath of the Turducken™

While you would think stuffing a duck and a chicken into a turkey was invented over a case or three of beer. It was actually invented by chef Paul Prudhomme in the 1970s. He trademarked the name on 1986.

Thanksgiving around the world 

With the exception of Canada who celebrates Thanksgiving in October, this holiday is strictly and uniquely an American holiday, so there are not traditions from around the globe. See also the Fourth of July.

Now, if these facts don't break the awkward silences that we often associate with spending time with extended family, there is always wine. Lots and lots of wine.

Bonding over muddy boots and hot coffee

“When is this coffee going to be ready?” A slim man who kind of looks like a shaggier Tom Skerritt, paces around a damp picnic table at Camp Alpine. He is wearing the same beat up Jets t-shirt and gray sweat pants he always wore on those Sunday mornings as we prepared to break camp. Soon he would take the blue enamel coffee pot off of the propane burner and pour himself what would be the first of many cups of coffee he would drink that morning.

My old scoutmaster Lee wasn't tired, he just loved the taste of a hot cup of coffee on a cool fall morning. Or a frigid cold winter morning. You get the drift. To him it was part of the camp experience. And for me it was a rite of passage. At home my mother was, and is, an enthusiastic coffee drinker. But I never wanted to drink coffee at home. But I could picture myself, standing around in muddy boots with the men enjoying a cup of coffee with the crackle of last night’s fire still audible.

We had a rule back then, and still do now, that only adults are allowed to drink coffee on Troop outings.

Soon after my eighteenth birthday, our troop was at the annual Trailblazer District Wint-o-Ree. It was cold with a little bit of snow on the ground. I was, and am, an early riser at camp. When I woke up, Lee was already awake making his morning coffee. He told me to grab a camp cup. He poured me some coffee. He had milk and sugar on hand, because he drank his coffee regular, and apparently so did I. Now, that I use higher quality coffee like Folgers® Coffeehouse Blend, as opposed to whatever we had left over from the pancake breakfast, I skip the sugar so I can enjoy the smooth yet bold taste.

Without the distraction of the boys and the day's competition. We talked about a lot of things. What he expected of me as an Assistant Scoutmaster. That morning I got so many words of wisdom that #shouldbeonacoffeemug probably enough to fill an entire kitchen cabinet with coffee mugs. And then we just shot the breeze, until he made a loud proclamation that the entire cabin could hear, about when was breakfast going to start. After that day, when a future marine would be dragged underneath a sledge that was being pulled by his fellow scouts as he yelled at them not to stop till they passed the finish line, my morning cups of coffee were just part of camping. I wasn't getting words of wisdom on how to be an adult scouter.

As the years went by and I rose in the ranks of our troop’s hierarchy, I remember many times sitting by the fire talking to a newly minted Assistant Scoutmaster and passing along my “wisdom” over a cup of coffee. For some it went in one ear out the other. Others took it to heart. It was in those moments that scout leaders become friends. No longer kid and adult, but two adults talking as equals. Just I like I was that morning with Lee.

Flash forward a few years, and I am that Scoutmaster impatiently waiting for a pot of Folgers Coffeehouse Blend to percolate in that same coffee pot, as the scouts slept, in their tents, leantos or in the cabin. Coffee at camp was never about getting a buzz or cstaying awake, it was about savoring the flavors and the moments. Those quiet moments when you can hear a woodpecker in the distance, or see a few deer walk by, you look at them, and they look at you.

These were the times that camping is perfect, and despite being a few minutes away from “civilization” you can be one with nature. You, your thoughts, and a steamy cup of coffee in your mug.

For more information and ideas on ways to enjoy Folgers Coffeehouse Blend be sure to follow Folgers on Twitter and like them on Facebook


This is a sponsored post on behalf of J. M. Smucker Company. I received compensation for this post; however, all opinions stated are my own.

The making of a responsible drinker

Earlier tonight I was at the supermarket with my son. It was pretty late, if you were there without kids it would be fair to judge me, running around with a six year old at nearly ten o'clock. 

After we picked up a few needed items we went over to the beer aisle. They do a mixed 6 pack thing, so I was looking forward to trying a bunch of new beers. My son asks me what I was looking at. I told him it was beer and was for big people. He then asks "so I can try it after I go to college and take driving lessons?"

I turned to him and said "sure" he then went on to ask if he'd have to come back to this store to buy beer. I assured him that when the time came I would buy beer that we could drink together. I know it is unreasonable to assume my kids won't try beer until they are out of college. But its nice to think that even at six, my son wants to be a mature adult before  drinking any beer. 

He went on to look at a six pack of watermelon beer from Fat Tire, while I filled out my six pack. Knowing my own hectic schedule, I decided against the six pack and bought a jumbo bottle of Long Trail Ale's Double Bag. If I can finish my house stuff early enough, I may fire up the grill and try that beer.