Thanksgiving is a holiday associated with many wonderful things. We get an entire week off of school to return to the comfort of our hometowns, where your family spoils you with dinner and clean laundry, and old friends laugh with you as you recount the semesterâs most embarrassing moments. Then Thursday comes around and we can unapologetically partake in the gluttony that is having mashed potatoes with a side of more mashed potatoes for the first of four courses at dinner. One thing we tend to forget, however, is one important thing that it gives us: Thanksgiving themed episodes of our favorite TV shows. So to show our gratitude for one of TVâs best traditions, letâs reflect on the top five Thanksgiving episodes television has blessed us with.
1. Full House –  âThe Miracle of Thanksgivingâ
If the mention of Full House doesnât pull at your heartstrings, you are probably a robot. A show rooted in the importance of family obviously pulls off a Thanksgiving episode like no other. In this particular episode, we see the family deal with their first Thanksgiving after their motherâs death. Itâs an emotional episode, but Danny comes to the rescue with that telltale background music and a heartfelt speech in which he tells an upset D.J., âMom knew Thanksgiving wasn’t about turkeys. It’s about family and being thankful for what we have. I’m thankful that I have you.” Cue the tears.
2. Gossip Girl – âBlair Waldorf Must Pieâ
Season one of Gossip Girl was an emotional, dramatic, risquĂ© ride from start to finish. In this Thanksgiving episode, viewers are treated to flashbacks of Serena in her wild-child days and get to see Blair in a more vulnerable state when her Dad decides to ditch the family and stay in Paris. Blair is not the only one with family issues though, and as the episode progresses, weâre left wondering if anyone on the Upper East Side actually comes from a functional family. But fear not, it is a holiday after all, and the episode somehow manages to end with everyone smiling and happy, momentarily forgetting that a creepy online blogger stalks their every move and spends years trying to destroy their reputations. XOXO, Gossip Girl.
3. Greyâs Anatomy – âThanks for the Memoriesâ
Thanksgiving means family, and no one does family dysfunction quite like the doctors of Seattle Grace. George laments a day spent with his rambunctious brothers, Addison and Derek get awkward on the ferry in their attempts to save their marriage, Burke breaks out his cooking skills to impress Cristinaâs friends and Meredith escapes Izzieâs holiday fever by taking a shift at work. Despite the dayâs craziness, the episode ends, as always, with a calming voiceover from a wise Meredith, who tells us, âMaybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human.â Amen.
4. How I Met Your Mother – âSlapsgivingâ
The long running jokes of How I Met Your Mother are a large part of why the show is so beloved. Needless to say, the jokes of âSlapsgivingâ do not disappoint. The slaps between Marshall and Barney were first introduced in the episode âSlap Bet.â In âSlapsgiving,â Marshall still owes Barney one slap, but the fear he instills in Barney in the countdown to the slap forces Lily, the Slap Bet Commissioner, to ban it from happening on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately for Barney, his taunting annoys Lily so much that she allows Marshall to use his final slap, thus concluding âSlapsgiving.â Ted and Robin, who spend the episode dealing with the uncomfortable nature of their friendship post-breakup, introduce another joke that would carry on throughout the showâs run. Future Ted explains to his children that when dating, he and Robin would salute whenever someone used a military rank before a word in a sentence (i.e. general knowledge). We see this occur throughout the episode, as the group unconsciously salutes âmajor buzz killâ and âmajor cleanup.â Major laughs. Â
5. Friends –  âThe One With All The ThanksgivingsâÂ
Choosing a single Friends episode for this list is incredibly difficult, considering Friends is the reigning champ when it comes to Thanksgiving episodes. After all, who can forget Brad Pittâs guest appearance in, âThe One with the Rumorâ or the love triangle conclusion between Joey, Chandler and Kathy in, âThe One with Chandler in a Box.â Still, âThe One With All The Thanksgivingsâ is a classic, and Monicaâs head inside a turkey is an undisputable favorite scene in all of Friends history. Chandler accidentally tells Monica he loves her, we flashback to the gangâs awful looks of the 80âs and 90âs and Monica cuts off Chandlerâs toe in an effort to be sexy. Itâs everything you could ask for in a holiday.