Fall is the most criminally underrated season of the year. It’s the only time when I can unashamedly drink as many pumpkin spice lattes as I want, eat an entire Costco pumpkin pie in one sitting, and buy those glorious-smelling pine cones to put in the corner of my living room. I can watch “Gilmore Girls” and “When Harry Met Sally” as I snack on pumpkin bread or enjoy some pumpkin ice cream. No one will judge me for having hot apple cider in the morning, burning my apple toddy candle 24/7, or wearing my UGG boots any chance I get. Fall is perfect. It’s Scorpio season, the air is crisp, and I finally get to wear my array of Lorelai Gilmore-approved turtlenecks.
But the best part about November is (shocker!) not my birthday. It’s Thanksgiving.
You might be asking, why? Thanksgiving is just a made-up holiday with extremely problematic origins that subtly promotes patriotism as we are encouraged year after year to be grateful for the colonization that’s led to our modern-day America. And while all of that is entirely true and we shouldn’t ignore the horrible history of Thanksgiving, I’d like to argue why Thanksgiving has become for most families around America something entirely different.
Thanksgiving is ultimately about giving thanks, being with the people you love, and eating some really, really good food. And as with any other holiday, traditions develop and become something to look forward to. Even for families or people who don’t think they have Thanksgiving traditions, I am willing to bet that they actually do. Because traditions don’t have to be these grand rituals — traditions can be the smallest acts, ones that add familiarity and love in the cracks and crevices of our hearts. So here is my ode to some of my family’s wonderful Thanksgiving traditions.
Watching the Puppy Bowl.
Ever since I was a little girl, I looked forward to watching the game on Thanksgiving day. Not football — goodness, of course not! — but the ever-beloved Puppy Bowl that airs promptly after the game. There isn’t much I can say about it other than it brings me immense joy to see adorable little puppies chasing after toys, taking naps when they’re tired, and play fighting with each other. Even for someone who isn’t that much of a dog person, the Puppy Bowl is one of my favorite family traditions of all time.
Fighting over the cranberry sauce.
Listen … I know cranberry sauce is not a fan favorite, but it has been my family’s favorite side dish ever since my aunt first started making it at Thanksgiving. Every year, my cousins, my aunts and uncles, my own sisters, my parents, and I battle over this cranberry sauce. There is simply never enough for everyone. No matter how much my aunt makes, at the end of the night, the bowl is scraped clean.
Gossiping while washing dishes.
Every year, without fail, when everyone is stuffed to the max and falling into a deep food-coma, my sisters and I gather up the dishes and gossip. My sister and I will look at each other, one of us will say, “you wash, I dry?”, and before we know it, I’ve learned fifty new things about our family. It especially helps that no one ever wants to help do the dishes, which in turn gives my sisters and I the entire kitchen to ourselves. As someone who goes to college far from home, I look forward to these moments. They give me a chance to catch up with my sisters: to hear what’s going on in their lives, find out who’s been the most annoying recently, and review how problematic some of our family members are.
Day-after Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches.
My father is known for many things: his unwavering love for his dogs, his addiction to watching TV sitcoms, and his Day-After-Thanksgiving-Leftover Sandwiches. There is just something about day-old Thanksgiving food that tastes so good on sandwich bread. The only thing is — my dad is the only person who can make these sandwiches. No one else makes them as good as he does. Either the bread gets too soggy or there’s too much of one thing. For as long as he’s been making them, these sandwiches have been my dad’s Thanksgiving crown jewel.
Making unlikely friends in the line at Honey Baked Ham.
My family has been getting our hams from Honey Baked Ham for (you guessed it!) as long as I can remember. Every year, my dad has dragged me along with him to stand in line for this god-forsaken ham. One year in particular stands out to me the most. It was just a few days before Thanksgiving, and we were in line to pick up our online order. It was 2016, and it was pouring rain. My dad, ever the stubborn Taurus, insisted I stay with him in line instead of letting me wait in the comfort and safety of the car. In front of us was a father and son. After about thirty minutes, my dad had made a friend out of this man. They chatted away for the entire hour we were in line, and when we finally got inside, they exchanged grimaces over the woman who was yelling about having to wait in line for an online order. I don’t remember the man’s name, only that he was from Alabama and was shocked at the fact that it was raining in California, but my dad and I like to reminisce on this memory every time we wait in line at Honey Baked Ham.
Being exposed to Cards Against Humanity at a much-too-young age.
Being the youngest in my family doesn’t just apply to my immediate family. I am the youngest of every single one of my cousins, as if being ten years younger than my sisters wasn’t bad enough. What this meant for me at Thanksgiving was that there was not a kids’ table; rather, I would sit at the table with all my older cousins and sisters, and they would simply forget I was there. Little me had extreme problems with this, as I did not like to get ignored, but the fun part was being able to hear all the juicy adult things they would talk about. I got to see the belly of the beast every Thanksgiving, especially when they would pull out the card games like adult Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Did this mean I was exposed to very not age appropriate terms at ten? Yes. But did this also mean that I felt cool, like I was some sort of rebel gaining inside information? Absolutely. And I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
No matter what your family’s Thanksgiving traditions look like, the point is to relish in these little moments. While they might seem small, insignificant, or unimportant to the overall day, these are the moments that make the holidays worth it. These are the moments to be grateful for while you still have them. At the end of the day, that’s what Thanksgiving is really all about.
