One of my absolute favorite holidays is this week — a holiday that, for some reason, is slept on by so many people. That’s right, Thanksgiving. While some people see Thanksgiving as a holiday to get through on the way to Christmas or are already too preoccupied with Christmas by the time Halloween night rolls around, I look forward to Thanksgiving during the whole month of November. A break with my family, making my chocolate mousse pie and thinking of all the people and things in my life I have to be grateful for. There’s something so nice about a holiday that doesn’t require gifts for families to appreciate each other (not that I don’t love to exchange Christmas presents!). I also love my viewing traditions, so here is everything I love to watch at Thanksgiving.
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
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This John Hughes classic is one of my favorite movies of all time. My family watches it together every year, usually the day before Thanksgiving, which is a tradition I look forward to all year. I wrote a whole article about the film a couple years ago, so I won’t go into great detail again. What is most important to know is that the film follows an unlikely duo who are thrown together in their travels as one tries to get home to his family in time for Thanksgiving. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles stars Steve Martin and John Candy, two brilliantly accomplished comedians who are also able to bring John Hughes’ beautiful sentimental depth to the film through their performances. Once the music for that ending scene begins, I lose it every time.
- Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
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Gilmore Girls is the perfect fall show, and a marathon of the entire series just so happens to play on the UPtv channel during Thanksgiving week. I love to have it on while I bake, stay up late watching with my mother, sister, and brother (my father’s the only one who won’t watch it!) and wake up just to pass the time watching more. I know that Gilmore Girls is on Netflix, and I usually hate ads, but there is something special about this marathon. This year, it begins on Monday, 11/22 at 10:00 a.m.! My sister and I have already gone into the channel guide to see when our favorite episodes are on. (Season 3, all the way!)
- King of Queens, Season 6, Episode 9: “Thanks, Man” (2003)
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The sitcom King of Queens has some of the best Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes. They can’t be missed in my holiday rotation at home. Though there are several Thanksgiving episodes in the series, and the season 1 Thanksgiving episode comes in at a close second, “Thanks, Man” has to be my favorite. It follows the main characters Doug (Kevin James) and Carrie (Leah Remini) on Thanksgiving. While Carrie, who has never been able to cook, finally cooks a great dinner for all their friends, Doug lets in a mysterious man who says his car has broken down to use the phone. Doug wants the man to eat dinner with them, but Carrie, who is skeptical, wants him to wait outside. All the friends become distracted at dinner by the man waiting on the porch, but we start to wonder if there might be something to Carrie’s seemingly over-discerning attitude. Bonus: Nick Offerman plays the man!
- Friends, Season 3, Episode 9: “The One With the Football”
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One of the things Friends is known for is its Thanksgiving episodes. One for each season, they’ve helped give rise to the “Friendsgiving,” or a Thanksgiving celebration amongst friends. (There’s even an official Friends cookbook called Friendsgiving.) Two years ago, eight of the 10 episodes were played on the big screen at AMC theaters for a limited engagement. I like to put them on as I’m falling asleep leading up to Thanksgiving or while I’m baking. This aptly named episode, in which the friends play football, is my favorite of the bunch.
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
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No Thanksgiving list is complete without my favorite Charlie Brown special! I can never get over the satisfying way that Snoopy butters the toast or the sneaky end title sequence in which he breaks out a full turkey he has cooked, with sides AND desserts, to share with Woodstock. Pretzel sticks, popcorn, jellybeans, toast — what else can a person ask for on Thanksgiving?
- Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
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9:00 a.m. Thanksgiving Day: the most wonderful time of the year. There is nothing I love more than sitting on the couch with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, freaking out about Sesame Street, jumping for joy at Broadway performances, surveying fantastic coats, and getting emotional at Christmas commercials. Seeing Al Roker interact with people dressed as butter is always a plus. I’ve wished my whole life that I could see the parade in person, so when I saw the Rockettes perform in person for the first time just a couple months before COVID hit, I cried. They are insanely talented, and in a way, I lived out a little part of my parade dream.
Thanks so much for reading! Have a wonderful break and a very happy Thanksgiving!
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