Thanksgiving was officially on Thursday, November 22, but we celebrated on Friday. In the past, we have spent a long weekend in Yangshou. This year we gave up our adventure Thanksgiving to stay in Shanghai.
On Thanksgiving Thursday, Emersyn and Avery had a fun filled teen day. Our driver, Mr. Nie, drove them to Puxi to a new Shanghai store, Forever 21. It is 4-floors of shopping heaven! The girls had fun trying on clothes and being silly. They both purchased a two tops and a sleep shirt. From there, Mr. Nie drove them to Wisk. Wisk is the perfect girls lunch…a place known for their chocolate. After a delicious meal of pasta or pizza, dessert is the main attraction. Avery had not been to Wisk!
After lunch, the girls and I went to check out a new “find” going around the schools – Lululemon. After finding the very Chinese building, we went to the 12th floor to find the hidden location. The girls had fun trying on Lululemon items that looked very cute on them. Most of the items were sized smaller so the girls were just the right size. Most of the items were priced at about 120-150rmb ($20-$25). The exchange rate is down to 6.2 and dropping. When we arrived in China, the exchange rate was 8.3 – our dollars went a lot further!
Eleri was off with her friend, Alison, all day at a play date – a perfect day for both the girls.
Friday morning, the girls and I went to Wisk for lunch – it did sound good!! After lunch, we went to buy Nutcrackers to add to our collection. In the past, the Nutcracker man has been at the Concordia bazaar. His shop didn’t open until 12:30pm which is why we went to an early lunch. He told us his family has been making the Nutcrackers for 17 years and ships them to America and Europe. The same Nutcrackers we see in the States. Both girls picked out their Nutcrackers for the prices of 215rmb ($34) & 258rmb ($40). A bit cheaper than America as we saved on shipping costs…the man brought them in his van.
It was time to get back home to help Jim with the last minute food for our Thanksgiving feast. This year, we were going to our friend’s, Lisa and Mark. They are the parents of Emersyn’s friend, Kaitlin. They have a 3rd grade boy, Will, but Eleri doesn’t play with him.
Lisa and Mark are hosting a gathering of 62 people (adults & kids). Everyone is bring sides and turkeys. The Jenkins and the Bishops went in on a turkey with us. We ordered our turkey from the Funky Chicken. It was 873rmb ($140) including sausages, stuffing and roasted potatoes. However, our Funky Chicken people got our time wrong. We went to get our turkey, it wasn’t ready – they were off by 2 hours. Lisa was starting her gathering at 3:30pm with dinner to be served at 4:30. Our turkey wouldn’t be done until 5pm, but they would delivered it to us (they don’t normally deliver).
Lisa had arranged for 6 turkeys, 2 chickens and a ham. Everyone brought sides, appetizers and desserts. She had card tables set up which was a big “aahh” from everyone…no one has card tables here. She found a friend with FOUR including chairs. The kids ate first followed by the adults – everyone was able to find a seat. Jim and Eleri left at 4:15 to go to fencing. Jim enjoyed watching the fencing as Eleri is loving it. They returned to fill a plate for themselves after most people had finished. The food was all delicious. The sharing of the meal with friends was the best part of the Thanksgiving meal.
The kids disappeared downstairs and kept the chaos downstairs. Mark had taped the Tigers football game as most people are from Michigan. However, the game went into over time, which was not recorded! It was a fun night!