This past Thursday was Thanksgiving in the U.S., but for the first time in our lives we spent it in another country. Since it’s obviously not a holiday in France, Matt unfortunately had to go into work. However, as he was working the late shift that day, we managed throw together a little festive lunch (turkey breast, potatoes, veggies and French bread) and watch a Christmas movie after we ate (Christmas with the Kranks).

As Matt got ready to go to work, I decided to see if I could stream the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s a tradition of mine to watch it on Thanksgiving as I start prepping dinner (a tradition that started when I was a child). Thanks to Unlocator and NBC.com/Live, I was able to stream it! So, instead of going to the gym, I watched the parade and made mini chocolate chip pumpkin muffins and prepped our pie dough to make mini pies on Friday.

On Saturday, Matt had to work again so I did the shopping for our meal after he left for work. I picked up a couple of rotisserie chickens and some potatoes from our chicken guy (no turkey unfortunately). There are many places to get rotisserie chicken in Toulouse, but we always go to our guy at the vegetable market on Boulevard de Strasburg. He is the last rotisserie stand on the right as you walk through the market. His chickens are perfectly cooked and seasoned and his potatoes are divine!

I also grabbed a couple of baguettes (what dinner party in France is complete without a baguette?), a block of Emmental cheese and some haricots verts. Shopping complete, I went home to finish cleaning up and prep for our party.

Our guests arrived close to 7:00 and the evening was a lot of fun. Our friend from Indonesia brought an amazing chicken soup (that I have to get the recipe for) and many bottles of red wine were cracked open. We represented four nations (Indonesia, China, UK and the U.S.) and for some, it was their first Thanksgiving.

Dinner was delicious and the company was wonderful.

Haricots verts and cranberries

Roasted Brussels sprouts

We followed it up with mini pumpkin and apple pies baked in our mini cupcake maker (not having an oven, we’ve gotten pretty creative with our cupcake maker). Everyone left full and a few (not to name names) may have had a sore head in the morning from the wine.

Our first Thanksgiving overseas was very different than ever before. We definitely had some moments of homesickness and nostalgia throughout the day, but we are thankful we had each other and friends willing to celebrate with us over the weekend.

Fortunately Matt didn’t have to go in to work on Sunday, so we spent the day watching Christmas movies and decorating a gingerbread house.

We also took a quick look around the Toulouse Christmas market, which is now open. It is AMAZING! I don’t know why there aren’t more month-long Christmas markets in the U.S. I’ll get some pictures of it and write about it soon.

Here’s to the most wonderful time of the year!