In the United States, Thanksgiving is a time to be with your family and being grateful for what you have. However, since Thanksgiving isn’t an international holiday, for many immigrant families, it can either become a new tradition or just another day. For my family, when we moved to the United States, we would often get invited to friend’s houses to celebrate, which was always very lovely. Although, if your family doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, it can sometimes feel a little bit lonely during that time. Here are some tips to get involved in the holiday spirit even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.
1. Remember What Thanksgiving Is About
Although Thanksgiving obviously has a historical origin, I would say that the point of Thanksgiving is just to be grateful and thankful for the people you have in your life. When you think of it like that, it can be very easy to celebrate Thanksgiving no matter your culture, religion or race.
2. Try Friendsgiving!
Even if you and your family don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, you can get in the holiday mood by celebrating with your friends! Show your friends how much you care about them by gathering everyone together for a potluck! Put on some movies and crack open the wine! There are also many different types of cute holiday dishes that you can create for your friendsgiving, and a lot of fun games that you can play with your friends. It can also be fun to watch the Thanksgiving episodes of your favorite sitcom such as “Friends”!
3. Take Advantage of Black Friday Deals
Although it’s completely backward to have Black Friday the day after we’re supposed to be thankful for what we already have, it can be a great way to pick up something you’ve been eyeing for a while. Black Friday can be a great time to look at electronics, kitchenware or other big-ticket items because stores usually have big sales! Even if you don’t buy anything, Black Friday in the U.S. is definitely an experience, even if it’s just to see the pure madness.
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Indigenous People Day or just the third Thursday in November to you, you can still get into the holiday spirit!