A New England Thanksgiving

Normally, my Thanksgiving includes collards, weirdly warm Virginia weather, and at least one trip to Talbots with my grandma. I spent this Thanksgiving with H’s family in Connecticut. Although it was different from my usual Thanksgiving, I was excited to visit New England and spend some time with H’s family.

The Train

We took the train from DC to New Haven, which kept us out of Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving traffic and added a delightful old-school vibe to the trip. The train station was bustling—a local news station was even filming B-roll for a boring “there are a lot of people traveling the day before Thanksgiving” piece.

I knew I would take the metro to the train station and didn’t want to lug a huge suitcase with me, so I packed as lightly as possible for a winter trip to New England, during which I would run a 5K and meet H’s extended family. I wore my outfit from work on the train: a pink cable-knit sweater, light-wash jeans, leopard-print flats, and a mid-length camel coat. I packed in my Madewell weekender (that I talked about in this post and finally bought) and the Madewell transport tote I take to work. I was proud of myself for packing lightly, although I thought I would get heatstroke wearing my coat on the packed metro.

The train wasn’t too crowded for us to find seats together, and we settled in for the trip north. I immediately tore into one of the Agatha Christies I packed, which made me start speaking in a British accent and suspect everyone on the train. I looked up when we were going by New York City to see the skyline at night, but aside from that I was absorbed in my book. We arrived in New Haven late and fell into bed, since we had a Turkey Trot to run the next day.

Thanksgiving Day

This was my first Turkey Trot, although I’ve run 5Ks before, and I was looking forward to running a relaxed, family race. The course was through a flat suburban neighborhood. I’m so used to hills that I ran too fast during the first mile and couldn’t beat some runners I would have been able to pass at the end otherwise, but I beat my best 5K time, so I was happy. It was frigid outside, around 30 degrees, so I bundled up in leggings, a long-sleeved tee shirt, and a quarter zip, with gloves and a headband to keep my extremities warm. I regretted the quarter zip during the second mile, though, since I get so hot when I run. We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts, which was open even on Thanksgiving, after the race and headed back to the hotel to recuperate.

After a shower and a nap, we explored the hotel and surrounding area. I had stayed at our hotel in downtown New Haven before, and every time I spend as much time as possible lounging around the stylishly bookish lobby, with its wood floors and bookshelves and big leather chairs. We wandered through the tall brick and stone buildings of the Yale campus as well.

Thanksgiving dinner with H’s family was at a big house in the Connecticut suburbs. The gathering was relaxed and there were a lot of people there, so we could roam around the house and backyard. I wore my most comfortable festive outfit: a red plaid skirt, a blue-and-white striped collared shirt, and the famous pheasant sweater. I finished my Thanksgiving outfit with loafers and, of course, the camel coat. After dinner our host let us choose records to play from his enormous vintage collection, which I really enjoyed.

The Trip Home

The next morning H and I lolled around, enjoying the view of the New Haven skyline from our room. I ordered eggs from room service and stayed in my New Girl-esque pajamas until the last minute. We finally packed up, bundled up, and headed to the train station. I wanted to be cozy on the train, so I wore a navy sweater with my light-wash jeans, plus a black watch scarf and loafers. The train ride home was quiet. The trip was a fun way to spend Thanksgiving, and I managed to not overpack, run my best 5K time yet, and thoroughly enjoy myself.

What was your Thanksgiving like? What’s your go-to outfit for holidays with your family, or your significant other’s family? Let me know in the comments!