Thanksgiving - food, traditions, etc?

[HaggisTheGreat]

Looking to add some variety into lockdown life, I was thinking about doing something for Thanksgiving this year. Do any of you normally celebrate it? If so, what do you eat, what activities do you do, what do you most like about it?

Well, I'm in the UK, so no, I don't celebrate a USA holiday.

I’ve been to a thanksgiving lunch at friends’ home in the US. Basically just a big meal with a turkey and pumpkin pie. The side dishes are different from our Christmas turkey (no roast potatoes, for example). You can find typical examples of menus on any us cooking site. No presents or anything. It was a lovely get together with friends. We don’t celebrate it in the U.K. because it’s really not relevant to our history but I’m sure you could still find things to be thankful for. I think it’s normal to go round the table saying something you are thankful for.

I've gathered from American TV that you have the kids dress up and re-enact the first thanks giving.

To me, the problem with thanksgiving is two turkeys in quite quick succession. In the US they have less of a Christmas turkey tradition I think. You definitely can’t have Thanksgiving without turkey.

Does anyone remember 3rd Rock from the Sun?

They did Thanksgiving, then went out shopping the next day because no one would be so daft as to go out after such a big feast.
Then once they'd survived that they collapsed at the end and said at least there would be no more big holidays for another year...

American here! It's my favourite holiday!

We always have turkey, mash, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Served with beaujolais nouveau. Pumpkin pie for dessert, or apple pie. We do both if we have guests but obviously not this year. Before dinner you go around the table and say something you are thankful for.

I could eat endless turkey but sometimes we have something else at Christmas like roast beef or a really nice salmon.

We celebrate it. We don't always have a big gathering and turkey but we have a nice meal and everyone says what they are thankful for. We ring our friends and family in the US to wish them Happy Thanksgiving

Love it because it’s just about the food, no gifts, cards etc.

We have either turkey or roast chicken with red potato skin on mash, green beans, corn bread and pumpkin pie.

I'm in the UK and we do Thanksgiving. We are just happy to mark any celebration that centres around food.

We have turkey (although for this we buy a turkey joint not an actual full bird), mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, stuffing, gravy, bread rolls and Mac and cheese. We don't tend to have a dessert as we're not really into sweet stuff but we've added our own traditions such as we put up the Christmas decorations the day before and a brand new bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey arrives on Thanksgiving morning for my husband.