Thanksgiving prep seems sooo much easier since my sister and I decided years ago that each of us would make half the meal. We alternate hosting the gathering, and somehow, having to make only half the dishes seems like a piece of cake (or pie, in my case, since Daddy brought a cake this year). But one thing I have never been able to get exactly right is how to label the pitchers of sweet and unsweet tea. For a few years, I had chalkboard labels about the size of a business card that I tied to the pitcher handles, but those were clunky. This year, I just used some pretty place cards a friend of mine gave me years ago. Still, the cards eventually got lost in the kitchen shuffle, and I got asked, "Now which is sweet and which is unsweet?" Not a huge deal at all, but I keep thinking there's got to be a simple solution to this that I'm missing. Pitchers with "sweet" and "unsweet" printed right on them would be perfect, but alas, I've never seen such a thing!
For those of you who've kept up with my nieces and nephew over the years, I thought you might enjoy seeing a family update. I always take a picture of them opening their new Christmas ornaments at Thanksgiving, and here Amelia, now 16, gets an ornament featuring a stocking full of animals since she's the big animal lover in the family.
Cari, 22, who adores all the superheroes, got a Wonder Woman ornament. (I was tickled when she texted me on Thanksgiving eve to ask whether I had made the chocolate chip pie she loves—and I had, of course!)
Matthew, who just turned 13, got a Spider-Man ornament and has quite a few of them.
And Madison, 25, did so many fun things this year that I got her a picture frame ornament that says "A Beautiful Year" so that she can choose which photo to feature.
It was definitely a blessing to have everyone together again this year, and I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving too. (And if you have a sweet/unsweet-tea-identification solution, I'd seriously love to hear it!)
Beautiful family! Tie a ribbon on handle of only one pitcher...rely on memory sweet or unsweetened! Lol.
ReplyDeleteThey are growing up so fast!
ReplyDeleteMaybe a fabric tag?
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving photos with us! That is always fun.
ReplyDeleteYou could do a search on Etsy for a "sweet tea" labeled pitcher. They have a least one.
Oh, the ribbon on only one handle is a good one! I was thinking just use the place card idea again, only jot down somewhere (maybe even on the card) what color pitcher is which tea. That way you could say, "Sweet tea in amber pitcher'; unsweet tea in green." But the ribbon idea is even better and easier.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you could just serve unsweetened tea and then have a small pitcher on the side with simple syrup.
ReplyDeleteI love your tradition with giving the ornaments. I did give my grandson a dove I picked up for him at Mount Vernon. I try to give him a bird ornament every year for their nature focused tree.
Maybe get some grosgrain ribbon and stamp "sweet" or "unsweet" on it several times (with pigment ink so it won't run if it gets wet) and tie a strip to the handles of the respective mugs? I enjoyed seeing the ornaments for your family - I gave my granddaughter a Harry Potter ornament and my grandson a "Thomas the Tank Engine" one. I was disappointed that Hallmark didn't have a tea-themed ornament this year but I really don't "need" any more of them. :-) Enjoy the season.
ReplyDelete