I vote for the formal dinner. We host the dinner every year for two reasons. One, we have a central location, and two, we inherited the family dining table with the stipulation that we would hold the annual family thanksgiving. Each year we get out the good family china and silver and polish and clean. We get the extensions out of the closet for the table and the white lacy tablecloths are sent to the cleaners if need be. We get up early to start the turkey. The turkey decides if we will eat at noon, or at one, or at two. When it is time to eat, everyone is called to the table and a picture is taken. We rotate head of table duties each year. Whoever is at the head of table is responsible for choosing a short Bible reading concerning giving thanks to God, and then he/she offers the thanksgiving prayer. Then we go around the table and each person is allowed to comment on something for which they are thankful. Head of table carves the turkey, and the eating and conversation begins. A few hours after the meal, we have the unusual custom of gathering again to exchange Christmas gifts, since we will not be able to gather again for that purpose. When the gifts are finished, it's pie time. At least five kinds of pie, and nobody cares if you take a sliver of each, in fact, I recommend it. Before we go home, we gather around the piano and sing a favorite thanksgiving hymn or two. The family members in attendance change, but thanksgiving remains the same, the family carries on. After Aunt Judith passed away from cancer, her daughter, cousin Sandy, began bringing her family favorite bean casserole that she had brought for 25 years. The kids have grown up and moved from the kids table to adult table, some have brought boyfriends and girlfriends, and now husband and wives, and soon there will be a kids table again, with grand children. The years go by, we lose some family members and gain some new ones, but our family thanksgiving remains the same, a symbol of and a tribute to our family strength and survival. May it always be so.