Thanksgiving is the Best, and Here's Why

I’m hosting my first ever Friendsgiving this year. There are two things required to have a successful Friendsgiving – friends and food. Luckily, I have one of two of those things. I’ll get around to the food. Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. I mean, I’ll be celebrating it three different times this year. Still, I’ve never really been able to figure out what about it makes it my favorite. How is it any different or more special to me than Christmas or Easter?

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. Gifts. There aren’t any. Traditionally, the morning of Easter and Christmas, there’s something to be unwrapped. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting and giving gifts. The special part about Thanksgiving is that the only anticipation is for the meal. The entire day revolves around eating and gathering. That’s all.

2. Food. Yes, I know that Christmas and Easter feature similar dishes, but on Thanksgiving, it’s much more intense. Everyone has one dish that they’re most excited about, but still manages to eat hefty servings of the foods they didn’t know they wanted.

3. Thankfulness. This one is obvious, but still needs to be mentioned. There’s plenty of room to be thankful every day, but on this day, it’s almost forced. For me, there’s always a moment when I look around the table and just take a moment to appreciate it for what it is. My favorite part of this is that I know I’m doing it, but I also know people across the country are doing it too. There’s something humbling, yet powerful, about an entire country taking an entire to just stop and be grateful.

4. Family. Given that I just talked about being thankful, I feel the need to stress that I’m very lucky to have the family I do. My parents are still together, and I have an extremely close, healthy relationship with my older sister. I couldn’t imagine my life any other way, and for that I am so thankful. Despite being close, we aren’t always together. I live in Indianapolis, my parents live in southern Indiana, and my sister, her husband, and their little girl live in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It’s hard for us to all be together, (and actually, my sister’s husband won’t be with us this year) but they all still put in great effort to make it work because they know that it’s my favorite holiday.

5. Weather. I love fall. It’s my favorite season. So, it makes sense that my favorite holiday falls within the realm of my favorite season. Indiana weather is a bit of a wild car, but the hope is that Thanksgiving features all that fall has to offer. Cool breezes, falling leaves, cold skies, and a slightly warm sun. For me, it doesn’t get any better than that, and I feel like the holiday just stresses the beauty of the season. Plus, it’s a great excuse to wear sweaters – my favorite. Everything is so cozy.

6. After-Dinner Adventures. You’ve ate until you can’t eat anymore. You’ve caught up with all the relatives. Now what? For some, this is undoing their pants, curling up on couch, and catching the football game until the inevitably fall asleep. For my family, we go into Christmas mode. My older sister always took it as her responsibility to convince us all to go hunt down our tree for the year. There’s a house in my hometown that goes all out with their decorations, coordinating their lights to Christmas music. Thanksgiving night, we drive out to see if they’re up yet.

7. Black Friday. This one might be a bit controversial, but I still do it. My sister and I grab two friends and hit all the stores, usually in search of Christmas gifts. We have a schedule and load up on snacks to get us through. Honestly, I don’t buy much, but I enjoy the adventure, the memories, and the groggy yet happy state I’m in the next morning.

8. Holiday Season. If you ask me, Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday season. Once I make it to Thanksgiving, I know it’s just a short time until it’s Christmas, then until it’s the New Year. I’m a sucker for the holiday season. I’m also a sucker for breaks, and I know that winter break is just around the corner once it’s Thanksgiving. It’s a beacon of hope and for the excitement to come in the following months.

There’s a lot to love about Thanksgiving. Everyone celebrates it differently and has their own special traditions. I might not have persuaded you to call Thanksgiving your favorite holiday, but I hope you see what I see in it now. So, all that being said, is it time to eat yet?