What’s not to love about Thanksgiving? Family, friends, the Macy’s Day Parade, and food galore! We all have our own traditions and favorite parts of the holiday, so we asked Skidmore readers what they love about this special day.
“Every year we end up hosting Thanksgiving, whether my mom likes it or not, and we always end up with the oddest assortment of people—some family, some friends, girlfriends and boyfriends and a few stragglers who need a place for Thanksgiving. It is wonderful!” – Elizabeth Reisen, Summit NJ
“My whole family when we are together always participates in the local 5K turkey trot.” – Emilee Bell, Phoenix AZ
“Eating my aunt’s sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows!” – Cara Stuka, Medfield MA
“My favorite thanksgiving tradition is cooking with my mom and my grandma.” – Nikki Cox, Burlington VT
“My favorite thing is cooking at home with my family for thanksgiving.’ – Danielle Suchman, New York NY
“When I was younger my favorite Thanksgiving tradition was going to my grandmother’s house. She always insisted we just stack the dishes in the kitchen and that she would do them in the morning.” – Cindy Ford, Director of the Skidmore Equestrian Program
“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is watching football all day with my family while waiting for the meal to be served. Especially since starting college, I also love just being home with my dogs and sneaking them table scraps whenever I can!” – Audrey Nelson, Nashville TN
“The past three years we have done a road race on the morning of Thanksgiving. This year my old riding instructor, her stepdaughter and I are all dressing up as the three little pigs. Then, after I have a sleepover with my high school friends, the next morning we wake up at the crack of dawn to go black Friday shopping.” – Julia Mazzarella, Columbia CT
“We go to my aunt and uncle’s house and I like to sit on the couch with my dog, Fat Lu.” – Kiira Lizza, Millington NJ
“We always go to the movies the day after Thanksgiving and I love it!” – Meredith Mayer, Berwyn PA
“We go to Vermont every year. My mom’s family is huge (around 50 people). We have two turkeys and 8 pies. We go to the turkey trot every Thanksgiving morning, cook all day, and then play charades.” – Olivia Cameron, Washington DC
“My grandmother makes the driest turkey and it’s the bomb! She tells everyone she makes the driest turkey and it’s true! Killer dry!” – Jenna Postler, Thetford VT
“On Thanksgiving eve we go to a party of one of my relatives. I look forward to it every year.” – Cece Montgomery, Ridgewood NJ
“My favorite dish is my mom’s scalloped potatoes.” – Emily Keefe, Dover MA
“My mom’s side of the family likes to name the turkey of the year and usually it’s a political figure because they’re very political. So they have this long discussion over dinner of who’s the turkey of the year. For instance, George Bush was one of the turkeys of the year. He may have been a repeat turkey.” – Ellie Hayden, Amherst MA
“My favorite is my dad’s homemade stuffing. He’s a chef and makes the best stuffing in the world.” – Rachel Comp, New Rochelle NY
“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is playing tag football outside with my cousins.” – Amy Munro, New London NH
“Every Thanksgiving my cousin, who I only see once a year, and I always walk down to the corner candy store, stock up, and eat candy all night.” – Georgia Goodell, Saratoga Springs NY
“My mom makes my favorite dessert only on Thanksgiving and it’s called Pumpkin Crisp. And then I eat it for breakfast every day for a week.” – Marissa McCullough, Montvale NJ
“Maple syrup and marshmallows on sweet potatoes!” – Sandrine Couldwell, Salt Lake City, UT
“Apple crumb pie.” – Amy, Montclair NJ*
“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is probably that I have a really foodie family, but I still insist on having canned cranberry sauce. And they make fun of me. Also, my grandma curses when she bakes the crusts for the pies.” – Flavia D’Urso, Chester NJ
“Going to my surrogate home (my best friend’s home in Long Island) because I don’t go home to California.” – Lauren Bosche, Bay Area CA
“The digestive walk in between courses.” – Jenn, Piedmont CA*
“My family is Taiwanese and German so our Thanksgiving is a fusion of Asian and German influences. We have a turkey but all of the side dishes have an ethnic flair.” – Bettina Salfeld, North Grafton MA
“The day before Thanksgiving all my cousins, my siblings, and I go to my grandmother’s house. We help prepare the meal, but we also each have set jobs we’ve been doing since we were little. I prepare the stuffing, my sister does pies, my cousin does the squash etc. Then we go to McDonald’s for lunch.” – Jess Stoukides, Seekonk, MA
“My dad and I go in to the city early on Thanksgiving morning and watch the parade. Although we can’t see anything because it’s so crowded and it’s probably better to watch on TV, I always really enjoy spending this time with him. In recent years it has just been the two of us because the rest of my family opts for watching it on TV in the warm house, but he is always willing to go with me no matter how cold and early it is.” – Romy Kushnick, Pelham NY
“My aunt makes corn sticks every year, and we have them during the meal and for breakfast the next morning.” – Jenn Brown, Larchmont NY
*names have been changed