"Happy Thanksgiving back"

I've talked to a couple of people over the past few days about their Thanksgiving experiences. From what I gathered, many people...
a) Drive for hours to spend the holiday at someone else's house
b) Experience multiple fights between family members
c) Don't do anything at all.

I felt very sad for everyone who had to deal with any of the above things. You're all invited to my house for Thanksgiving dinner next year.

Here's how things go at the Gruntner house:
1. My mom's brother and his wife drive up from Wisconsin. They have 6 kids. One of them happens to be just a few months older than me, and one of them happens to have been born on the exact same day as my sister Amy. Needless to say, the foursome has a lot of fun together.
2. We always see a movie at some point during their visit. I can't remember what it was last year, but I do remember that we rented Home Alone a few years ago.
3. My Uncle Harold makes rolls. A ton of them. Us kids (sorry for the horrible grammar, but how else can I put it?) are usually hanging out outside or in the basement, but we make continual trips upstairs to snitch rolls.
4. We have these felt turkey napkin holders that Mom, Amy, and I made when Amy and I were really little and my Mom gotten a sudden (and fleeting) crafting streak. We also made pink rabbit napkin holders for Easter, but we realized a few years ago that they look suspiciously like Playboy bunnies. Our napkins go solo for Easter now.
5. All the cousins always camp out in the living room on the pullout couch and the floor. The annoying part about this setup is that when Mom and Aunt Sue wake up early to start cooking the blinding kitchen light wakes us up.
6. We (the foursome,) always get the card table to ourselves. We get little dishes of everything and lord it up with sparkling grape juice in wine glasses. Amy is teased, as usual.
7. There is always a game of touch football in the front yard. No matter what. Even if it's below zero and snowing (as it was a few years ago).
8. We always feel like we're going to explode after dinner. However, pie a few hours later is not something that is skipped.
9. We always go shopping on Black Friday. Hard core shopping, too. We wake up at four a.m., stumble out to the car, and head to the Mall of America. We arrive just as the stores are opening, and split up so the parents can shop for the kids and the kids for the parents. A few rides are crucial, also.
10. We always just have an amazing time together. No one in my family really fights or anything. We tease each other mercilessly, but that's what makes things fun. My extended family has so many inside jokes that a stranger looking in would be fairly bewildered.

Thanksgiving is not my absolute favorite holiday, but I think it's special because it's not about gifts or material things. It is probably the one holiday that is solely about spending time with family.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Some things you should know about me:
1. I hate shopping. I just have no patience for it. Every so often I'll be in the mood, but very, very rarely.
2. Despite my name, I do not have a Christmas birthday. My birthday's in September.
3. I love to sing. I'm not good at it, but I do it around the house and in the car a lot.
4. Even at my age, I honestly love to sit on the floor and play Barbies with my little cousins. I think it's mainly that I like making up edge-of-your-seat dramas for the dolls to carry out. Will Ken leave Barbie for Stacey? Can Barbie own up to the fact that her gorgeous pink plastic car does not really drive?