Guest blogger  Mom De Plume: When is it time to start your own family traditions?

Every Thanksgiving for the last 30 or so years, I have been at one place and one place only: My parent's house. Every year, the same relatives show up ... the young, the old, and the really, really old. Every year, I eat my own weight in my dad's amazing stuffing. (But, I admit, I pick out the celery.)

My parents live for Thanksgiving. Even though they are well into their 70s, they've continued to host the event every year for decades. Their house is always festively decorated to celebrate fall, their favorite season. They look forward to it all year.

So how can I suddenly say: "Next year, I'm outta here"?

I have this crazy idea that this year I'm going to broach the subject of having Thanksgiving 2009 at my house. As a new parent, I have my own family now. I think it's time I try my hand at this Thanksgiving thing. But I don't want to hurt my parents' feelings. I would, of course, invite them to my feast -- but the rest of the extended family? I'm afraid some of them wouldn't make the cut. It's not that I don't love all of my relatives (OK, I don't), but the sheer number of them would make it impossible to accommodate. Unlike my parents, we live in a teeny house. That means it would be a small affair ... which I think is all I could handle. I'm not renowned for my cooking. I'd be a nervous wreck. While my parents can put together a Thanksgiving bash in their sleep. I'm sure I would lose sleep hosting such an important family event. (Unless my Thanksgiving tradition included Swanson's Turkey Pot Pies.)

It seems daunting to start my own tradition when doing so would mean dismantling my parents' Thanksgiving legacy. Then again, how am I ever going to get good at cooking and carving a turkey if I don't start now?

Am I not allowed to host my own Thanksgiving unless my parents are too old to do it themselves?