Some people live for Christmas, others for Halloween. I like them all, but Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite! Here are the top ten reasons why, in my eyes, Thanksgiving is the best:
10: The Garden City Turkey Trot - This is only the second year that I participated in the Turkey Trot, but it has become a highlight of my year. The trot is a 5 mile run around my hometown, the beautiful village of Garden City. The race starts early on Thanksgiving morning and the proceeds go to the MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association), to fund research. It’s a great cause and a great opportunity to see people from town that I might not have had contact with in some time. There’s a real sense of community in front of St. Paul’s both before and after the race. Not only that, but after burning all those calories during the race, I can be a pig later on at dinner and not even care! Definitely an event that I plan on making a tradition.
9. Opening the Store - When I used to work at the bux, I’d always volunteer to open on Thanksgiving morning. Why, you might ask? Well, I’ll tell ya. Opening on Thanksgiving meant opening an hour later than usual. Sure, you’d be just as hung-over as Lindsay Lohan on any given morning, but at least I could be hung over with Mandy, Gabe, Kari, Otis or Cassie. And sometimes, that would even include a breakfast sandwich food fight. Remember that ham and cheese bagel coming towards your head, Mandy? Another good thing about working at SBUX during the holiday season was eating “Grandma’s Turkey Sandwich,” which is essentially a left-over sandwich. Turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce — a delicious snack!
8. Thanksgiving Eve @ Novità - Generally you can find me any Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday night at my favorite restaurant/lounge/bar/trattoria, Novità. However, before I made this haunt my watering hole, I always made it a point to be at the bar on Thanksgiving Eve. It’s a great place to reunite with old friends, or just be stupid with your entourage. Sometimes, like last night, you even see celebrity lookalikes sucking face at the bar! Nothing hot, think Yoko Ono and Andy Warhol… Ether way, it’s where I like to go to “Stella-Load” for the trot the next morning. Great music + delicious food and drink = memorable evening for all.
7. The Pilgrims - They are, of course, the entire reason for the Holiday to begin with. …Well, them and president Abraham Lincoln, who made Thanksgiving a national holiday. The pilgrims came over to the ‘new world’ on the Mayflower, to escape religious persecution. They landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts and set up shop. To borrow a joke from “The Nanny”, whoever can get away with a big hat, big collar and big belt buckle is okay in my book!
6. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” - Solely for the moment when Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown just as he’s about to kick it. Classic.
5. Drawing a Turkey by Tracing Your Hand - Remember when you were in kindergarten and you’d trace your hand to draw a turkey? Your thumb would be the turkey’s neck and head and the other four digits would be the tail-feathers. This masterpiece of mine is from 2nd grade, not kindergarten. I’m pretty sure that’s not my hand and I’m pretty sure that I FAILED this assignment considering that, a. it’s incomplete, b. where it’s labeled ‘green’ I colored it in yellow and c. completed using…highlighter? Didn’t I have a set of Crayola Magic Markers©?!
4. Presidential Turkey Pardon - I think it’s great that the President pardons a turkey every Thanksgiving… even though you know that six hours later he’s totally gnawing on a turkey leg. Despite speculation, President Harry Truman was not the first President to begin the tradition. It was actually engendered by Bush the First in 1989 and continued by Bill Clinton and Bush the Second. Thankfully, Preident Obama has continued this presidential precedent, pardoning ‘Courage,’ yesterday!
3. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade - To be honest, I haven’t watched the parade in years. The last couple of Thanksgivings, I’ve been occupied by numbers 9 and 10 on this list (see above)…nevertheless, it made the top three. I’ve always had a strong desire to venture into midtown to see it live, but then I see all those people shivering and that makes me thankful for being at home. And then that one year, the ‘Cat in the Hat’ balloon knocked over a lamppost which fell on a woman who ended up in the hospital… anyway… Starting in 1924, this annual event celebrates our country, our history and our heritage. Highlighting high school musical acts from all around our nation, those iconic balloons and, of course, Santa, the parade offers us a distraction from life for a few hours while we prepare for Thanksgiving dinner!
2. Dinner @ Aunt Toni & Uncle Paul’s house - Usually, the holiday breakdown in my family is as follows: my parents do Christmas Eve, my Aunt B. and Uncle J. do Christmas day and my Godparents do Thanksgiving. We’re definitely not the kind of family that only sees each other on the holidays, but there’s something special about dressing up and getting [drunk] together.
1. Not Getting Gifts - Don’t get me wrong, I love to tear wrapping paper off box after box, but the reason that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday is because it’s the one day that everyone acknowledges everything they have instead of what they want. You don’t have to go shopping (save for food), you don’t have to agonize about what to get someone… you show up with a pumpkin pie, a bottle of wine and call it a day. This year, I am thankful for my awesome friends, my fantastic family and my uncanny ability to drink a 12-pack without getting drunk.
That said, I just ran 5 miles, so I’m going to go stuff my face and get wrecked!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
