We have finally finished eating the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Hubby has been a wonder, turning that bird into more creative recipes than I thought possible. We have had turkey soup, turkey casserole, turkey sandwiches, and turkey quesadillas. He made Turkey Shepherd’s Pie, by replacing the beef with turkey.

It was delicious.

Turkey tacos were a hit, with taco seasoning, although there was enough cheese, sour cream, tomatoes and onions to completely drown out the taste of turkey. One evening, humorously wearing his white chef’s coat and tall white hat, Hubby made Turkey Fried Rice like a hibachi chef. The added egg and noodles completed the scene.

Of course, as a pizza lover, he had to make a turkey pizza, complete with a premade crust, tomato sauce, and enough mozzarella cheese to counteract the turkey taste.

It was oh, so yummy.

Turkey Alfredo was another favorite, where he also added mozzarella cheese to the Alfredo sauce, which smothered the egg noodles. Not a scrap of turkey went to waste, and I suspect he enjoyed the culinary challenge of hiding its taste a little too much.

My kiddos thought Hubby must have attended culinary school to cook so creatively. He just smiled modestly and said, “Something like that!”, even though his only “professional training” consisted of flipping hamburgers at the Newport Creamery when he was a teenager. Apparently, all those years of scooping Awful Awfuls and grilling cheeseburgers have now blossomed into gourmet turkey wizardry.

After Turkey comes Black Friday. Having purchased most of my Christmas gifts for our family through various sales on the Kohl’s and Walmart websites, I had them mailed to our son Steven’s house. In addition, at Amazon, I found myself gleefully scooping up a large variety of extremely discounted gifts to donate to Project Christmas Angel at the Open Table of Christ in Providence.

I was absolutely tickled to see the unbelievable prices: children’s smart watches marked down from $59 to $12, Hispanic Baby Alive dolls were only $9, marked down from $25, a complete art kit was 90% off for only $12, and remote-control cars slashed from $45 to $10. I mean, really, how could anyone resist that kind of bargain? Sure, my own family did not need these items, but the kiddos will appreciate them. Nothing warms my heart like knowing some lucky little boy or girl will wake up to a gift that normally may have been far out of reach.

This morning, however, was almost a catastrophe. Yesterday, I asked my son Steven to please deliver the boxes of gifts purchased for the church, since he has a van large enough to hold half of Santa’s workshop. He did so faithfully before I even woke up. When I finally rolled out of bed and checked my phone, I discovered several text messages and more than a few missed calls with the urgent question, “Mom, do I bring ALL of the boxes from my basement?”

The moment I saw that, my heart stopped. Only the Amazon boxes were meant to go to the church, the ones filled with the smart watches, toys, and discounted treasures for Project Christmas Angel. The other boxes, ordered from various other websites, contained gifts for my own family. The thought of my family’s Christmas presents being accidentally donated had me practically leaping out of my pajamas. While I enjoy helping those sweet kiddos, I can only imagine the confusion if a six-year-old opened a sweater size XXL-tall, or a travel mug adorned with fishing lures.

Fortunately, Steven had figured it out himself by opening a couple of the boxes. He knew that the expensive infant walker I had purchased for his new daughter (upon his request, I might add) was definitely not meant to be donated. Thank goodness.

In the end, everything turned out just fine. My family gifts will stay with my family, the church gifts made their way to Project Christmas Angel, and Hubby is still inventing turkey recipes like a culinary mad scientist. At this point, I have learned that the secret to Christmas preparation is simple: laugh often, label your boxes clearly, and always marry a man who can turn poultry into a two week long adventure.