As of the day before Thanksgiving, the only thing Susan and I had permanently mounted to any of our walls was the living room television. All of a sudden, twenty-four hours before the big meal, Susan decided it was officially time to make our house look like we had decided to stay. The two of us traveled in tandem throughout the house, she with a level and pencil in hand, and I close behind with a drill and pocket full of screws and plastic wall anchors. Within an hour or two, the coat rack, entryway mirror, inspirational chalkboard, and mail-tray-shaped-like-a-bicycle had all been affixed to sheet rock.

Thanksgiving was the first day most of our family got to see our house since we moved in, and we wanted everything to look nice. To seat everyone, we put the leaf in the main dining room table, and a second table in the “technically the formal dining room but we’re not using it as one” room. While unfolding metal chairs and setting out decorations, I couldn’t help but think how much smaller our new home is than our old home. Our old home was built for entertaining. We’ve had 40 people over for holiday parties before and it didn’t even feel crowded. This Thanksgiving we set places for 25, with TV trays on standby in case more arrived.

The open design of our new house allowed the holiday scents of baked and cooked ham to waft through the entire house. As I sat in the living room watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (my own tradition), my stomach rumbled from all the smells coming from the kitchen! An hour or two after the parade ended, our family began to arrive. Some people sat in the front room and some people sat in the back room, but nobody was isolated from the gathering (as sometimes happened at the old house). The kitchen island worked pretty well as a serving area while the bar between the kitchen and living room was a natural place to stage desserts. Things were different, and things were the same.

Thanksgiving isn’t about how new or big your house is. It’s about getting together with the people you love, sharing your time, and making memories. That could happen in a giant mansion or the tiniest shanty.