Thanksgiving is just days away and that means spending quality time with family and friends. There are so many things that take place on Thanksgiving that I love doing, so I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite things (cue Sound of Music) about the day.
Thanksgiving Day Parade
Each year I get up at 7:45 a.m. to watch the parade. Yes that’s crazy early for being on break, but it is so worth it. I love being able to see snippets of the Broadway shows as well as the singers, floats and balloons. This parade really reels in the holiday season for me; it is a goal of mine to be in New York for it one year.
Fun Fact: One of the marching bands in this year’s parade is the Rosemount High School Marching Band (Rosemount, MN).
The National Dog Show
If you haven’t gotten your TV fix for the day, I suggest watching the National Dog Show. It airs an hour after the parade ends, and it gives you a chance to see all the adorable dogs that participate in the show. Honestly, I don’t really care about the scoring or how proper the dogs act. I watch because these pups are all good boys and girls and deserve the recognition. Hopefully their owners give them lots of treats after the show ends.
Helping in the Kitchen
More recently I have been helping with the cooking on Thanksgiving. My dad is usually the one who does 90 percent of the cooking on this day, and I love spending time with him and taking some of the stress away by helping him cook the meal. I always try to convince him to let me be the one who makes and cooks everything, but I’m not quite ready for that responsibility yet.
Eating All the Food
For the past five or six years, we have done Thanksgiving with some family friends of ours (old neighbors). It’s always great because they are like family to us and we enjoy spending quality time with them whether it’s playing cards after eating or helping in the kitchen afterwards. They usually provide the dessert(s) and the bread of some type, and they’re always delicious!Source
Spending Quality Time With My Family
Usually later that night after we’ve stuffed our faces with more food, my family and I watch either a movie or a holiday TV show together. This is one of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving because while in school I don’t get to be at home a lot, so I truly cherish the time I spend with them. <3
Black Friday Shopping
This may seem a little selfish, but this is a favorite of mine as well. For about the past two or three years, my sister, best friend and I have gone Black Friday shopping together (well after our Thanksgiving festivities have ended). I get a lot of my Christmas shopping done for everyone, there are really good deals, and we usually get breakfast together after that. In a way, it’s our own little tradition.
The nice thing about Black Friday shopping is now a lot of stores will not open their doors until after 12 am on Friday in order to ensure their workers are able to spend Thanksgiving with their families.
This basically sums up my Thanksgiving, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and don’t forget to really be thankful for what you have.