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Vote of the week: Holiday traditions and cranberry sauce

By Robert Niles
Published: November 20, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Next week brings the Thanksgiving holiday to the United States. More than any other time of year, it seems, the holiday period between Thanksgiving and New Year's causes people to fall back into family and personal traditions.

One tradition now seems to be jumping the gun. Most theme parks that remain open for the holiday season already have put up their Christmas trees and holiday lights. But no one seems to mind. Crowds pack the parks during the holiday season, encouraging some regional parks to reopen for these weeks, such as Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which will run its Christmastown event this season.

Individuals have their traditions, too. One for me is a particular reader vote that I run every year on the Friday before Thanksgiving. (Long-time readers will recognize it, I am sure.) This tradition is so old that, this year, it has outlived the publication where I began it. Denver's Rocky Mountain News, on whose website I worked in the late 1990s, folded last winter. (If you hail from the Denver area and are missing the more popular Thanksgiving tradition from that newspaper, here's a link to Gene Amole's stuffing recipe.)

So here it is:

poll by twiigs.com

From a can, or from the stove top? You tell me, in the comments.

By the way, notice something missing from this picture?

Turkey dinner at Holiday World

Consider this an escalation of my campaign to persuade Holiday World to add cranberry sauce to the turkey meals at Plymouth Rock Cafe. Whether you prefer cranberries from the can or the bag, I hope you'll agree that cranberry sauce makes a great addition to a Thanksgiving meal.

Have a great weekend, and I'm thankful for you reading Theme Park Insider!

Update: Holiday World tweets: "Sorry, dear, you're in the minority on that one. Haven't offered cranberry sauce since '07. Just didn't move. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Nooooo! I need a black-market source for cranberry sauce next time I'm in Santa Claus, then. Help!

Readers' Opinions

From Robert Niles on November 20, 2009 at 11:15 AM
By the way, making a whole-berry cranberry sauce is about as easy as opening a can, and tastes much, much livelier and fresher!

Here's all you do: Bring a cup of water to boil in saucepan on the stove top. Stir in one cup of sugar. Dump in the cranberries from a 12-ounce package. Reduce heat and simmer until the berries burst. Then, stir, cool and serve.

That's it.

From 162.95.216.222 on November 20, 2009 at 2:28 PM
I suggest you make a side trip to Holiday Foods -- you can see it from the parking lot -- free parking lot -- of Holiday World.
From Erin B on November 20, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Definitely whole-berry sauce. It has so much more flavor and punch than the canned stuff! My parents & I have been in charge of making Thanksgiving dinner for the past few years and we make ours the way Robert suggests, but with some added orange juice & zest, and spices [cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove]. It's sooo delicious & super easy to make.
From Gareth H on November 21, 2009 at 9:10 AM
Yuk, disgusting stuff. Wheres the "Gross" option?
From 97.119.209.153 on November 21, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Gareth H you are out of your mind!!! Cranberry suace is an excellent addition to any thanksgiving meal; not only because it tastes good, but it is loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C. If you are not a fan of the taste of just cranberries, you can always add pineapple or any other yummy fruit to your sauce to make it appealing to your pallet!!!!

Thankful for open minds!

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