Instead of hosting Thanksgiving, I took my family to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. It’s become our new favorite tradition.

• Last year, my family traveled to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico for Thanksgiving.
• Although it felt strange to stray from our traditions, we had an incredible time.
• In fact, we’ll be spending Thanksgiving on the resort again this year.

Last year, I had a wild idea during Easter dinner: “What if we skipped cooking for Thanksgiving and went to Mexico instead?”

The room went silent, and I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

I grew up in a traditional Puerto Rican family, where Thanksgiving is spent at home with family and friends, eating an obscene amount of traditional food like pasteles and pernil.

So, when I told everyone I wanted to spend Thanksgiving at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, it blew their minds. However, I had no clue this was the beginning of a new family tradition.

Changing our traditions was difficult but worth it

My family has celebrated Thanksgiving the same way for generations, so suggesting we do something different was bold. It meant breaking a decades-long tradition.

But preparing a whole meal — and sometimes a whole weekend of meals — for a family that seems to grow every year has become exhausting. The idea of no cooking and cleaning for a week sounded amazing.

The decision wasn’t easy. We knew not everyone would be able to join us, and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy some of our favorite holiday dishes, which we look forward to each year.

But the promise of lazy days sipping margaritas on the beach, all-you-can-eat food, and not having to lift a finger was too good to pass up.

Once everyone was convinced, tickets were booked, bags were packed, and we all arrived safely (and on time) at a resort in Riviera Maya the day before Thanksgiving. There were 16 of us, ranging in age from my 7-year-old niece to my 70-year-old uncle.

We spent the day sipping cold drinks by the pool, napping after early flights, and talking excitedly about our plans for the next day.

On the actual holiday, we played games on the beach, swam in the warm sea, ate fresh tacos, and joined a pool party in the afternoon. It didn’t feel like Thanksgiving, since the day is usually spent in the kitchen trying to prepare everything for the big evening meal — but that was part of the magic.

Yes, we spend time together at home during the holidays, laughing, eating, and singing karaoke until midnight. But someone always has to cook, clean, and keep things going. Not having to worry about that gave us the freedom to just have a good time and really enjoy each other.

However, one of the hardest things about stepping away from tradition is giving up the comfort of familiar foods and customs.

There was no turkey or pernil, and instead, we had dinner at the resort’s fusion restaurant. I got a lobster risotto, my husband had filet mignon, and my parents chose the catch of the day. We had everything except turkey, and that was OK.

Still, it felt just like any other Thanksgiving. We laughed, we joked, and we shared stories as if we were home.

Although it was hard celebrating without some of my favorite cousins, I made sure to FaceTime them in.

We were even able to put a new spin on one of our favorite traditions — dancing after dinner to burn off calories. But this time, instead of dancing in la sala (living room), we went to a silent disco. Even though it wasn’t exactly the same, being together and dancing the night away in another country still felt like home.

I can’t wait to do it again this year

When I got back home, I assumed this was a one-and-done deal. It was fun, but tradition is tradition, and we don’t want to mess with that. Never in a million years did I think we’d ever do it again.

Then, this year, during our annual Fourth of July weekend get-together, my aunt asked if we were going to Mexico again for Thanksgiving.

My husband and I looked at each other and said, “I guess.”

And now, here we are, getting ready to spend Thanksgiving for the second year in a row at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. And I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last — we’re already looking at dates for next year.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The post Instead of hosting Thanksgiving, I took my family to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. It’s become our new favorite tradition. appeared first on Business Insider.