My Favorite Thanksgiving Traditions

At my first TV station, I had a boss that every year around Thanksgiving he would ask me if I had tofurkey for my holiday meal. I am a pescetarian, not a vegetarian or vegan, so I can have a nice salmon dinner or anything else that isn’t red or white meat. But for some reason, he always asked and I always had the same response, “no way.” Over the six years that I worked there, this small exchange became a tradition and while I am no longer at that station, I have to admit, I kind of miss it. Some traditions come and go, but I’m sharing my favorite Thanksgiving traditions that I hope stick around forever.

Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with My Mom

Probably my favorite Thanksgiving tradition, beyond spending the day with my family enjoying tons of food, is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning with my mom. We snuggle up with yummy pastries and cocoa and just soak it all in. We’ve been to the parade twice and if you ever have the chance to do that, I would highly suggest it, even if only once! 

I have only missed this tradition twice. The first time I was in London for my Bachelorette with my sister and I had my mom record it and so we could watch it as soon as I got home. The second and hopefully last time I missed out was when I was a producer at a Boston news station and I had to work Thanksgiving day. We did watch the parade later that night together so technically we still got it in. 

Double Dessert Time

This tradition started when we were spending our holidays with my godparents. Dessert became a two-course affair. After dinner, my aunt would bring out several different desserts and you would start with a slice of one kind of pie, and then you would dig into a different pie. Depending on how long into the evening we would stay, sometimes we would even have a third dessert! While  I now split my holidays between my Nunny’s and my in-laws, I still celebrate with this tradition.

Party Mix Sunday

This tradition may not actually take place on Thanksgiving, it also doesn’t always happen on a Sunday. But my family gets together around Thanksgiving to make party mix that we would give out as gifts to many of our family, friends and neighbors. Since the pandemic, we have limited our production because we feel like giving homemade food as a gift during a global health crisis probably isn’t the best idea. But we still get together and make a small batch that we can enjoy through the holidays. 

What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions that you enjoy with your family?