Thanksgiving is a holiday that grows on you. My first year in college, I didn’t even really know what it was. I just saw it as 2 days off from school, and elected to stay in the dorm and watch anime, despite my family friend’s warm welcome for me to join them for Thanksgiving. We did the whole turkey thing at the dorm, but with the meager people left, it wasn’t exactly festive. I didn’t even know about Black Friday, except that Walgreen’s was going to go on crazy sale in the morning – which did not motivate me to get out of bed in the freezing cold.

A few year makes a huge difference. This year, I searched all over the city looking for a ready-made turkey meal to bring Thanksgiving to Hong Kong (few people here have big enough ovens at home, not to mention know how to cook…). I finally found one at Dolce 88, at the JW Marriott. It even came with a delicious pecan pie and many sides. The turkey was also surprisingly succulent and juicy!

Doesn’t the Santa bread look too cute to eat? He’s from the MO Bakery. We had a whole ceremony where we mourned his passing, before we ate him. It was a fun night of friends just hanging out, ending with our eyes glued to TVB (the local TV channel of mindless TV). It reminded me that sometimes a meal is not about the ambiance, the food nor the crowd, but simply about spending time with people you love and enjoying each other’s company.

Of course, this Thanksgiving I also kept a close eye on Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals from across the ocean. I ended up with an Aqua cashmere color block sweater dress (one can never have enough sweater dresses in winter. And this one is cashmere!), and an Add Down shiny puffer jacket. The Moncler shiny puffer thing has finally grown on me. I only hope that it’ll fit. The smallest size they had left was 42, but this is Italian so they usually run small anyway. My ideal would be 40, but I reckon that puffer jackets are like boots. You always buy a size bigger to accommodate the layering. Wish me luck!

Image source: Shopbop, Bloomingdales