Author Topic: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?  (Read 5431 times)

EconDiva

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Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« on: November 06, 2015, 07:43:47 AM »
I'm going to Miami for Thanksgiving and my mom is meeting me there.

I have been looking all over for places to take her but I admit I'm a picky eater. I like the traditional southern feast of greens, turkey, Mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, and on and on.

Any who, it officially looks like a dinner out is not going to happen. It just too damn expensive. And not many buffets so not many sides are served with these expensive meals. I'd be better off going to Whole Foods and fixing 2 large plates to bring with me. I will cook 1 or 2 sides of my own and dessert to throw in the mix.

Is this feasible? Can I bring frozen meals on the plane?  Any suggestions on how to pack it? Ie, should I buy 2 compartmentalized containers or put everything in separate containers? We will have to microwave everything in our hotel room unless the concierge can help us in heating things up in their kitchen. Any suggestions on how to make this a little more festive? (For instance, I plan to borrow hotel plates and utensils so we're not eating out of Tupperware lol).


MandalayVA

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2015, 07:49:59 AM »

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2015, 01:20:52 PM »
Does Miami have Whole Foods? It would be simpler to buy the dinners after you get there.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2015, 01:37:36 PM »
I'm confused...you are meeting your Mom in Miami, then doing what?  Are you visiting anyone's house, or just meeting up and staying in the same Hotel?

Frankies Girl

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2015, 02:25:55 PM »
I just... don't even know what to make of this.

If you're just going for a visit, just go and enjoy what you can there without complicating things; no need to make a huge production out of it, just save the turkey dinner for at home and have a nice visit with your mom and eat what is available maybe?

EconDiva

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2015, 09:36:01 AM »
I'm confused...you are meeting your Mom in Miami, then doing what?  Are you visiting anyone's house, or just meeting up and staying in the same Hotel?

They do. But we're landing on Thanakgiving Day so it will likely be closed.

EconDiva

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2015, 09:36:59 AM »
I'm confused...you are meeting your Mom in Miami, then doing what?  Are you visiting anyone's house, or just meeting up and staying in the same Hotel?

We are meeting there and staying in a hotel. We have no family or friends there. We just wanted to take a trip near a beach this Thanksgiving.

EconDiva

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2015, 09:45:00 AM »
I just... don't even know what to make of this.

If you're just going for a visit, just go and enjoy what you can there without complicating things; no need to make a huge production out of it, just save the turkey dinner for at home and have a nice visit with your mom and eat what is available maybe?

What do you mean save the turkey dinner for at home? Her home is in South Carolina. My home is in Chicago.

I have tried to find a place to take her to eat out in Miami but am simply not liking any of the options. I guess because o have such fond memories of huge southern Thanksgiving dinners home in South Carolina that the best option right now seemed to be to fix a large plate and bring it with me. Most Miami places open on that day are serving prix fixe meals with one starter, one entree and one dessert..for a lot of money. I'm talking $55, $70, $95 a person for three items.

I guess I could just book at a restaurant and be done with it.

terran

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2015, 09:58:27 AM »
My step brother flew with a leftover turkey sandwich (the kind that basically has all of Thanksgiving between bread) after the Thanksgiving we hosted last year and it seemed to go fine. Cranberry sauce and gravy might be problematic unless you get 3 oz containers :-)

MrsPete

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2015, 12:34:14 PM »
Under those circumstances, I'd just go to a restaurant. 

Retire-Canada

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2015, 01:42:56 PM »
I guess I could just book at a restaurant and be done with it.

That's what I would do.

Argyle

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2015, 02:12:42 PM »
Frozen meals on the plane, a microwave in your room, eating off some kind of portable plates — boy, I cannot think of anything less festive.  Or less like bountiful South Carolina Thanksgiving dinners.  And then you have to wash up the plates and things in your shallow bathroom sink ... ugh.  It's like seedy motel living.  The frozen and thawed entrees are not going to be particularly yummy.  And that's even if you don't get food poisoning from things thawing too soon.

My advice is not to be silly.  You're paying a lot of money to fly down to Miami.  It's penny-wise but pound-foolish to get there, after all that expense, and try to do some inconvenient cheap not very tasty dinner in your hotel room.  It's not very festive for your mother, either.  If you're trying to give her a memorable time to think back on, I'd suggest a good memorable time is better than a time of how extremely cheap you can be.  Even, perhaps, of how you didn't care about her Thanksgiving enough to let her go to a restaurant.

I suspect that if you tried to import all this frozen food, she'd just insist that you'd go to a restaurant.  (That's what I, as a mother, would do.)  Then you'll be frustrated about what to do with all this food and how you spent so much trouble packing it and all, and you'll disagree, and that won't be very festive either.

Read some online reviews and pick a good restaurant.  The hotel restaurant will probably be fine.  Advantage: no long hours of cooking, no having to wash everything afterwards.  These are advantages that mothers especially appreciate.

And if you each spend $75 on the meal — that"s $150.  So what?  Presumably if you wanted to pinch pennies to the utmost degree, you wouldn't have decided to go on this trip on the first place, right?  So just do what's right and let your mother have a nice restaurant Thanksgiving meal.

kimmarg

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #12 on: November 07, 2015, 02:27:22 PM »
You can bring anything not liquid on a plane. Ice packs frozen solid when you go through security do not count as liquid.  I might freeze some other things like mashed potatoes just to help with keeping things cool. So you can bring a cooler as big as a carry on with ice, stuffing, potatoes, etc. heck bring an entire turkey. Just pick up drinks when you get there. I would freeze gravy so it's a solid not a liquid but otherwise enjoy!

EconDiva

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #13 on: November 07, 2015, 03:02:28 PM »
Frozen meals on the plane, a microwave in your room, eating off some kind of portable plates — boy, I cannot think of anything less festive.  Or less like bountiful South Carolina Thanksgiving dinners.  And then you have to wash up the plates and things in your shallow bathroom sink ... ugh.  It's like seedy motel living.  The frozen and thawed entrees are not going to be particularly yummy.  And that's even if you don't get food poisoning from things thawing too soon.

My advice is not to be silly.  You're paying a lot of money to fly down to Miami.  It's penny-wise but pound-foolish to get there, after all that expense, and try to do some inconvenient cheap not very tasty dinner in your hotel room.  It's not very festive for your mother, either.  If you're trying to give her a memorable time to think back on, I'd suggest a good memorable time is better than a time of how extremely cheap you can be.  Even, perhaps, of how you didn't care about her Thanksgiving enough to let her go to a restaurant.

I suspect that if you tried to import all this frozen food, she'd just insist that you'd go to a restaurant.  (That's what I, as a mother, would do.)  Then you'll be frustrated about what to do with all this food and how you spent so much trouble packing it and all, and you'll disagree, and that won't be very festive either.

Read some online reviews and pick a good restaurant.  The hotel restaurant will probably be fine.  Advantage: no long hours of cooking, no having to wash everything afterwards.  These are advantages that mothers especially appreciate.

And if you each spend $75 on the meal — that"s $150.  So what?  Presumably if you wanted to pinch pennies to the utmost degree, you wouldn't have decided to go on this trip on the first place, right?  So just do what's right and let your mother have a nice restaurant Thanksgiving meal.

Well it's not "all" about the expense.  My mother has a tinge of social anxiety as well as a plethora of other personality/mental related issues.  She doesn't want to eat at anywhere that "takes reservations" (she says this all the time).  For whatever reasons she thinks she's never dressed appropriately and that people are staring at her because of it so 'sometimes' she has a hard time going out.  Especially if it's a place she's never been before and sometimes just plain depending on her mood. 

So she'd actually prefer it this way.  I'm paying for everything and already had planned on taking her to some other places for dinner while there so was willing to do this on Thanksgiving Day.  I only see her usually 2 times a year and this will be our first Thanksgiving since her dad died last year so I just wanted to get her away from her dilapidated house/bleak life in SC and just get some sun, beach and a few good meals in for a few days.  The actual Thanksgiving meal itself isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things so I will just pick a restaurant like everyone is saying and leave it at that and let her know we're going out on this day because this other stuff we're considering is, well, just "silly". 

Argyle

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2015, 03:26:05 PM »
Or maybe you can get a Thanksgiving dinner via room service if she resists going to a restaurant.  I applaud you for being flexible about your mother's difficulties.  That's not always easy.

lr

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2015, 05:49:45 PM »
I'll never understand the obsession with Thanksgiving food. I guess you have to grow up with it.

Why go to the effort of traveling just to reproduce not-traveling? You're in Miami, have some Miami fun with your mom, and eat some Miami food. It's great! Maybe stop by a bakery and get a thanksgiving pumpkin or potato pie, or something, if you're feeling nostalgic.

If you must carry something heavy, how about some old photo albums to reminisce over, or limit yourself to that one particular family snack that carries meaning. The holiday is about surviving hardship, being grateful, and celebrating friends and family.

MsFrugalista

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2015, 05:55:20 PM »
You can take frozen meals as a carryon (I've never checked in). I just put the frozen tupperware of meals in a softcooler bag with gel ice packs. They last on a 3-4 hour flight pretty good.

We have been in Miami/Everglades over Thanksgiving on separate years and have found it difficult to find any place open on Thanksgiving day. I recall one year we ended up having dinner (a 'traditional' Thanksgiving one) at Cracker Barrel. That might be an option? The other year we were camping and ended up getting fixtures for sandwiches or something.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2015, 05:57:12 PM »
If having traditional Thanksgiving food isn't critical, you could go out for Chinese food, or get takeout. I'm positive there are a few good Chinese restaurants in Miami--after all, Jews from New York live there. :)
(p.s. I'm Jewish and it's a running joke)

mozar

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Re: Flying with...your Thanksgiving dinner?
« Reply #18 on: November 07, 2015, 09:20:57 PM »
Although eating in a hotel room seems sad to me I would make enough turkey for two people and make 2 plates and freeze them. So make 2 small portions of turkey, potatoes, gravy, etc. Pack it in 2 tupperwares. Freeze them, then let them thaw in the hotel fridge and microwave them in your room.