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person holding rectangular black wooden photo frame with Give. Thanks. print
person holding rectangular black wooden photo frame with Give. Thanks. print
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Culture > Entertainment

Top 5 Thanksgiving Episodes to Prepare for Thanksgiving

Sarah Kenney
Julianna Schwindt
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cornell chapter.

Thanksgiving is often overshadowed. First, Halloween marks the start of the fall season and after October 31st it seems like all stores shift into Christmas mode overnight. This causes many people to overlook the best holiday of them all: Thanksgiving. With no responsibilities to buy presents or the stress of finding the perfect costume, Thanksgiving focuses on the best part of holidays: the food. Here is a list of 5 Thanksgiving television episodes you can watch to prepare for the incoming holiday feast:

 

1) Friends’ “The One With the Football”

While pretty much every Friends Thanksgiving episode will put you in the holiday spirit, this fall episode has the perfect combination of everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Funny, silly, and with just a bit of conflict, Rachel, Joey, Monica, Chandler, and Phoebe are the perfect group to watch on Turkey Day.

 

2) Gossip Girl’s “Blair Waldorf Must Pie”

A bit untraditional, this episode follows the Gossip Girl cast as their Thanksgiving plans end up not quite as expected. The plot demonstrates that the perfect Turkey Day does not have to have the perfect location or fanciest food; what really matters is the people you spend the day with.

 

3) New Girl’s “Thanksgiving”

This was the first Thanksgiving episode of New Girl and it perfectly captured the stress of cooking a Turkey Day meal. What happens when you try to cook a turkey in the dryer? Watch this episode and find out! (Spoiler alert: the end result is explosive)

 

4) Modern Family’s “Three Turkeys”

How many turkeys is too many? Some feel that you can never have a surplus of food on Thanksgiving day, but the Dunphys really push that belief to the limit when Claire, Gloria, and Phil and Luke all attempt their own turkey on Turkey Day. With the classic modern family humor, this episode perfectly encapsulates the stresses of Thanksgiving dinner.

 

5) How I Met Your Mother’s “Slapsgiving”

Part of an ongoing bet, this Thanksgiving episode is overshadowed by the threat of Ted slapping Barney. Lily and Marshall host their first Thanksgiving with dreams of the perfect meal, but things do not progress as planned. In a hilarious first Thanksgiving episode, five friends navigate personal conflicts at the Thanksgiving table.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sarah Kenney

Cornell '22

Sophomore studying biomedical engineering
Asian Studies major who enjoys horseback riding, crochet, singing, and musical theater. Passionate about public service and addressing economic inequality and women's, LGBTQ+ and minority rights.