Thanksgiving | London Relocation Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Thanksgiving’

Relocation to London – Thanksgiving Dinner Out

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Relocation to London – Thanksgiving Dinner Out - Image via Wikipedia

You might have found the perfect pad thanks to the dedicated efforts of your London relocation agents, but it might seem a little strange to prepare a big Thanksgiving meal at home, especially if this is your first time in London. Many Americans moving to London prefer to take advantage of the magnificent themed restaurants that offer an authentic Thanksgiving dinner in the week of the event.

It might seem odd to go to a restaurant for your thanksgiving dinner, but it’ll serve a couple of purposes. The first is that you don’t have to try and squeeze a massive turkey into a small British oven. The second is that you don’t have to clean up a thing. Remember that it isn’t a holiday weekend here, so you might find yourself rushed off your feet if you try to prepare a feast while juggling work obligations at your new job.

You’ll also be able to hear the familiar patois of home if you attend one of the bigger thanksgiving celebrations held in London for the expat community. It might not feel exactly like home, but it will be nice to get out and celebrate with your countrymen in style.

The Reading Room at Claridges is offering a Thanksgiving dinner menu on 24 November that is guaranteed to fill you up, but it might seem a little odd to be holding a family celebration in such a quintessentially English establishment. It’s quite pricey as well, starting from £85 per person.

Bodeans will feel more like home and won’t put a dent in your wallet. A traditional BBQ Smokehouse, Bodeans is completely geared up for Thanksgiving with a menu that includes traditional fare, with a Southern barbecue style. It’s only £20.95 per person and the atmosphere is fantastic. It gets full, so make a booking through the website to secure a table.

There are a host of American style restaurants and over the next three weeks we’ll be letting you know just where you can find the best taste of home, authentic thanksgiving feasts and the places that’ll help you overcome your bout of homesickness after your relocation to London.

Tags: Americans moving to London, London, london relocation agents, Moving to London, relocation to london, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, United States
Posted in Americans Moving to London, London Food & Beverage, Relocation to London, Relocation to London With Family | 1 Comment »

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving in London

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Relocation to London – Thanksgiving in your New Home

November can be an oddly disconcerting month for Americans moving to London. If it’s your first thanksgiving away from home, it might feel strange that it isn’t a public holiday. The rest of London will be getting up for work and merrily going about their day and you could be left feeling a little empty wondering where you can find a decent pecan pie and lamenting the fact that there isn’t a ‘big game’ on while you cook your turkey.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving in London - Image via Wikipedia

You’re going to have to start a little earlier than you normally might after your relocation to London, if you’re planning on having a big meal. Because it falls on a Thursday, and it is very definitely NOT a public holiday, you may want to wait and have it over the weekend following the big day back home. You will find though, with the number of Americans moving to London each year that you can get all of the ingredients for a proper Thanksgiving dinner quite easily.

You probably won’t find many themed decorations available in the shops around Thanksgiving time. The Christmas crush has already started in London so you’re going to have to make your own decorations (there is no shortage of fall foliage out there) and improvise.

Big Bird for Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey is big in the UK over Christmas, so you’re not going to have any problem at all when you go out to find your bird for dinner. It probably won’t be as big as you’re used to but I’d get it early as there is often a shortage in the run up to Christmas. If you’re looking for stores that stock everything you need to make an authentic Thanksgiving dinner in London then check out Partridges, an online grocery store that has free delivery to many parts of London and knows just you feel about spending your first Thanksgiving in a foreign country after your relocation to London. They sell pumpkin pies, a large selection of turkeys and other American goodies that you’ll want for your Thanksgiving table. The deadline for Thanksgiving orders is 15 November so book early if you want to enjoy a great Pecan Pie after your relocation to London.

Tags: Americans moving to London, London, Moving to London, relocation to london, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey, United States
Posted in Americans Moving to London, Moving to London: Tips & Culture, Relocation to London | No Comments »

Descend into the Dark Depths of…..BLACK FRIDAY!!!

Friday, November 27th, 2009

(photo from http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com/)

Americans, you know what I’m talking about: Black Friday, the dreaded yet most anticipated day after Thanksgiving when the stores do their most outrageous price-slashing, thereby drawing the sleep-deprived and–I’m convinced–mildly insane masses to line up at their doors at 3am in order to be the first to charge forth into the discount extravaganza. They race, they pillage, they conquer at the cashier when they pick up that 40-inch flat screen television for less than 300 USD. The kid is asking Santa for a Wii and the latest must-have videogame that you just know will be absent from the shelves within hours and you don’t want to get stuck trying to win an eBay auction at absurdly elevated asking prices? Done, and done.

Shop on, Black Friday Shoppers, shop on. (actually, you are all probably already home and napping amongst your shopping bags; in which case, sweet dreams. No sticker-shock to alarm you when you awake.)

If you’re a die-hard about this post-Thanksgiving spree and moving to London, so sorry to tell you that you will enjoy no such exploits here. They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, remember? So how could they have post-Thanksgiving sales?

Ah, but never fear. You can simply do what those Americans already living in London can do today: Black Friday Online! The deals are still within reach of your credit card when you click this link: http://www.blackfridayonline.com/. Sure, shipping might be a costly nuisance, but have you considered that you can actually live without the stuff for a period of time? Truly, scientific research has proven the hypothesis that if you have thus far survived without the Snuggie prior to your point of purchase, you will, in fact, be able to sustain life for a modest amount of time afterwards. So, with this empirical research behind you, why not just have it delivered domestically to a family member or friend’s U.S. address and pick it up next time you’re home? Even if it’s for Christmas gifts, if you return home for the holiday a few days in advance, you’ll still have time to wrap it all. I’m just sayin’…

London Relocation Ltd. wishes you a, er, “happy” (???) Black Friday and supports your single-handed endeavours to resuscitate the U.S. economy!

Tags: after Thanksgiving Day sales, Americans moving to London, Black Friday, London, london move, London Relocation, London Relocation Services, Moving to London, Thanksgiving
Posted in London Recreation, Moving to London: Tips & Culture | 1 Comment »

Giving Thanks, American Style

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Thanksgiving-703525

Sitting at my desk, I am now realizing what a huge bummer it is not to get Thanksgiving off of work outside of the United States. This is my first Thanksgiving without a visit home, so I am inwardly *sighing* a great deal as I think of all that I’m missing out on…in about 3 hours, my mom will probably be loading up the oven with the big bird and dashing about the house with last-minute preparations before my siblings and their spouses and children arrive. The lunch-time gorging will ensue before those that need to attend dinner at their in-laws’ homes leave and those that stay slip into a drowsy tryptophan-induced coma (lest we forget the Turkey chemical that makes us sleepy), trousers unzipped to allow a bloated belly some breathing room while a marathon of American football plays on in the background. After the naps, somehow the stomach is ready for more, and the Thanksgiving feast reappears in its second incarnation for the day: Turkey sandwiches and pumpkin pie. Ahhh, good food in good company is something to be thankful for indeed.

Hmm, I might not be helping to encourage Americans to move to London talking like this, but I do have a point. First of all, purchasing a roundtrip plane ticket is not outrageously difficult to do in order to be home and experience abovesaid delights firsthand. Costly, perhaps, but it’s up to you how worth it it is. Second, just because it isn’t a UK holiday doesn’t preclude you from celebrating it here; in fact, the city is gracious enough to hold a special Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral (it was at 11am this morning) as well as offer bounteous traditional Thanksgiving feasts in assorted locales. Visit the ViewLondon.co.uk link below for establishments serving in your area:

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/restaurants/thanksgiving-at-london-restaurants-feature-1534.html?utm_source=VenueSiteStats&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=VenueSiteStats

Third, if you’re looking to prepare the feast at home, you might check out Partridge’s store, which stocks its shelves with oft-missed American goods like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Pop Tarts. I, for one, think I’m going to check out the one on Gloucester Road in South Kensington for Stove Top stuffing.

And fourth, regardless how you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving in London, there is a wonderful new invention called the telephone–you’ve undoubtedly got a good international plan going for you (if not, try the Talkmobile SIM card for calls to the States for 4 pence a minute), so give those loved ones a call tonight! If you want to take it up a notch and demonstrate your technological savvy (and have somehow already convinced your family members to invest in web cams…no small feat, admittedly; baby steps, baby steps…), might I recommend Skype as an audiovisual means of feeling closer to those at home.

From us here at London Relocation Ltd., Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: Americans in London, Americans moving to London, London Relocation Services, moving to London England, Partridge's, Skype, TalkMobile, Thanksgiving, www.viewlondon.co.uk
Posted in London Recreation, Moving to London: Tips & Culture | 1 Comment »