Thanksgiving Through Our Eyes: A Collection of Memories and Musings

Thanksgiving is a time when tables are filled with food, hearts are full of gratitude, and stories flow as freely as the gravy. In this heartfelt compilation, we explore the many faces of Thanksgiving through the memories of people from all walks of life. From laugh-out-loud moments to poignant reflections, and even a few whimsical interpretations from kids, this collection captures the essence of what Thanksgiving means to each of us—a blend of joy, nostalgia, and the simple yet profound act of gathering together.

“One year, as we held hands around the table preparing to say grace, our 3 or 4-year-old granddaughter asked if she could lead the prayer this year. Of course, we were thrilled to agree! She thought long and hard about what she would say and finally led us in a chorus of ‘Ring Around the Rosey.’ Precious!”
– Cheryl, New York

“My first Thanksgiving as a 19 year old wife and we were both college students. My parents were driving 350 miles to come for dinner. I put the turkey on the counter to thaw while we went to the store. Came home to the turkey in the middle of the living room floor with the wings chewed off. Our German Shepard was hiding under the bed. We were poor college students. We couldn’t afford another turkey, so I washed it off good and cooked it anyway. Didn’t tell my parents until after dinner was over.”
– Mera, New Mexico

“As a young lad in my early elementary school years, I snatched an entire can of black olives off the counter and made ‘OLIVE HANDS’ out of every finger!! After ‘entertaining’ our assembled relatives and guests – and, a firm scolding from my mother – I clearly remember hiding under the dining room table defiantly eating the entire can of olives. The next vivid memory of this Thanksgiving which I can recall, is staring into the tiolet where I had thrown every single olive back to the world outside of my stomach. To this day, I still do not eat black olives.”
– Philip, Maryland

My funny turkey day stories:

1. “I was cooking for a large group (approx. 24 people) for Thanksgiving dinner. I put my turkey in the oven (which is electric) around 7:00am and at 8:00am I called my husband (who was hunting with his brother) in a panic to let him know the power had just gone out and I needed him to come home and put the generator on. All I was thinking of was hungry people coming to eat and a raw, uncooked bird. When he answered my call he was in the UTV and had me on speaker phone. I said to him in a panicked voice, ‘the power is out and I got a turkey in the oven.’ His brother heard me and said ‘Mary, it’s Thanksgiving and everyone has a turkey in the oven’ (as I made it seem like I was the only one with a turkey in the oven.)They came back to the house to start the generator and thankfully the power had already come back on. Dinner was delicious and we still laugh about it to this day.

2. “My mom who very rarely (if ever) drinks came to my house to celebrate Thanksgiving which is the holiday I host. We took her coat and asked her if she wanted a drink. My brother-in-law makes a delicious red sangria, so we filled a cup up for her to enjoy. She took just a few sips and proceeded to spill almost the whole glass all over my new bar stools with light beige cloth seats and then dropped the glass on my hard wood floors. We were all cracking up and had to cut her off before she really even got started. We switched her over to a non alcoholic drink for the rest of the celebration and had a wonderful time. Thanks to spot shot, we basically got all of the red sangria off of the light cloth seat so no stain remained. We still always laugh about it to this day.”
-Mary, New York

From sisters Mary Lou, Monica, Dee and Pam:

“For about 25 years (our last Black Friday adventure was 2019) the girls in our family left Thanksgiving morning headed to Embassy Suites in Charleston, WV, and had loads of adventures and great memories that we still reminisce about today…we searched out great deals …enjoyed happy hours ..ate a nice Thanksgiving meal that we didn’t have to cook and lots of laughs.”
– Pam, Virginia

“Some of my best memories of Thanksgiving were spending time with Kim, Jason, Kara, and Frank (nieces and nephews.) We were teenagers (and thought they were our dolls) when they would come home to visit… the anticipation of them arriving made for a very long evening on the steps looking out the upstairs window to see if we could see them on the interstate. Looking back on that there was no way we could have seen them.”
-Dee, West Virginia

“My favorite memories of Thanksgiving include my daughter Kara and I coming down to my Mom’s house in West Virginia to go to Charleston with my sister and nieces, which included stopping somewhere for our dinner on Thanksgiving followed by Black Friday shopping the next few days. We loved happy hour with the free drinks every night – to the point where our table would be crammed with empty glasses, one time in particular, I stopped the toilet up, and my granddaughter Meredith ran to hide in the closet when they came to fix it – she was so scared. On the ride back home my niece Ashley’s VW Bug was so loaded with stuff we had purchased you she could barely see out – we have some great times being together during Thanksgiving and our Black Friday shopping, too!”
– Mary Lou, Virginia

“I remember the men going hunting on the mountain at mom’s while the women cooked. I remember Moo (Mary Lou) and mommy making stuffing. One of my favorites. One year they came back from a very cold day of hunting and us women had eaten all of the turkey. I remember watching Dallas Cowboys football games. Pumpkin pie with cool whip. Jason loved pumpkin flavored ice cream. Was always excited about everyone coming in for the holidays.”
– Monica, Virginia

“Don’t know what year, but it was the year I moved from the children’s table to the grownup’s table!”
– David, New York

“We love the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. But no Italian family holiday would be complete without pasta!! In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, my mom, grandma, sister and I spend a day making homemade ravioli from scratch. It’s a labor of love!”
– Lauren, New Jersey

“Thanksgiving 2014 was an interesting one. We had a snowstorm with very wet, heavy snow. My daughter had started cooking the turkey, and unfortunately, the power went out. My daughter and wife’s sister lived in the same neighborhood, but none of us had power. However, my wife’s sister and our other daughter had generators, but they needed more power to drive their stoves. We had to decide what time to call off Thanksgiving because we had no cooked turkey. We decided that if we didn’t get power back by 3 pm, we would have to cancel till the next day. We were all bummed. Through some miracle, the power returned at 2:30. Everyone had to scramble to prepare their dishes, but we were happy. Our dinner was a little late, but it was great. After dinner, my grandson hooked up his Wii game, and we played some games that turned out to be very competitive with lots of laughs. The big hit was the Rock Band game, where you sang along to some rock and roll songs. We found out that many of us had terrible singing voices.”
– Bob, New York

“I am one of five children (the eldest). The Thanksgiving of 1978, two new things took place that
are part of what makes us family. That Thanksgiving all of us had graduated from college, had
real jobs, and were all living in the same area. For the first time, the five of us did Thanksgiving
for our parents (instead of Mom having to do almost all of it), providing the chance to express
our gratitude for the life they had given us. It was also the first time that, during the prayer,
while holding hands in a circle, we went around the circle, each saying what we were thankful
for. I still get tears in my eye thinking about it.”
– Bill, North Carolina

“One of the best First Lady Thanksgiving stories I’ve ever heard was told to me by one of Rosalynn Carter’s nieces who was there when it took place. When Jimmy Carter was Governor and Mrs. Carter was First Lady of Georgia, they assembled the family at Thanksgiving dinner to make a big announcement. Governor Carter quieted the large group assembled and said, ‘Family, I’ve decided to run for President!’ One of Mrs. Carter’s brothers looked up from his plate and said, ‘Of what?!’ and the entire table and room erupted into laughter!!’
– Andrew Och, The First Ladies Man

“I was in charge of the smoked turkey. Directions were to add chips every hour, which I dutifully did. The end of smoke time came, and the turkey came out – beautifully burnt to a crisp. No turkey for Thanksgiving that year.”
– Bev, Kentucky

“I was dating a girl in the 1970s and went to Thanksgiving dinner with her family at the famous Flo Jean (restaurant). I ordered a turkey dinner, and the turkey came to the table, frozen in the middle. It wasn’t fresh, but no one complained.”
– Stanley, New York

“Many years of getting together with the family of my childhood best friend/neighbors. My mom was hospitalized one year in November, so when she got out, our neighbor offered to host Thanksgiving so we could have Thanksgiving dinner she didn’t have to cook. Prior to that, we usually just had our own dinner, as I recall. So when Christmas rolled around and my mom was doing better, SHE offered to host our neighbors at Christmas, and that started a many year tradition of us hosting Christmas, and them hosting Thanksgiving. Some of my best childhood memories…”
– Sally, Virginia

“Thanksgiving means being thankful for the things you have. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is playing with my cousins.”
– Mei Ella, 8, South Dakota

“On Thanksgiving 1995, David, my two kids, and our 120 pound Golden Retriever “Dino”, and I packed into my 1984 Toyota Celica GT and set off from Grantsville, MD bound for-David’s mothers’ home in, Arlington, VA. However, our plans were altered when a forecast predicted a snowstorm that could dump up to a foot of snow. As we were trying to beat the storm, I received a call from the doctor informing us Melissa had strep throat. To avoid spreading the germs to our aging parents, we decided to stay at the lodge were we both worked, located on Deep Creek Lake. We turned the car around and headed back up the mountain, navigating the dangerous road conditions. Tractor trailers were sliding all over the road, and cars were ending up in ditches, but we managed to make it to the pharmacy to pick up Melissa’s medication and then made our way to the lodge. Melissa was feeling cold and had a sore throat, but thankfully, everything worked out. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the beautiful lodge, even though we missed the rest of the family. It was a Thanksgiving we would never forget. A Thanksgiving to remember for sure.” 
– Ann Marie, Maryland

“It’s always good memories getting together with family. I remember our first year at the lake, our new home. It was bitter cold, the lake froze, and the kids were skating close to shore. That was fun times, for sure.”
– Jean, New York

“Thanksgiving makes me think of spending time with family. My favorite foods are turkey, ham, and cooked carrots. I remember going through the farmhouse with grandma and grandpa, walking through the enchanted forest, and letting go of Chinese lanterns.”
– Darcy, 6, South Carolina

“At Thanksgiving, my mom always used our china dishes and crystal glasses. I loved setting the table and how beautiful it looked. My favorite memory thought is always a week or so after Thanksgiving when I would get to pull on the wishbone with my mom and the person with the longer piece in tact got to make a wish. Now that my 2 older kids and my niece and nephews are adults living out of the area, Thanksgiving is so much more meaningful. Last year we all were together and enjoyed lots of time playing games, laughing, talking and wrapped it all up watching Christmas Vacation all together. It was the best!”
– Amy, California

“Thanksgiving for me always flashes me back to running from my mom’s house for dinner, to my sister-in-law’s house — for dinner, and then to another sister-in-law’s house — for dinner, and then finally home for our own meal. My husband wouldn’t want to upset his sisters or my mother by saying no to a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Needless to say, by the end of the day, a wheelbarrow was required for (especially Joe), and all parties involved.”
– Sue, New York

My favorite Thanksgiving memories:
1. “Thanksgiving at Aunt Sarah and Uncle Fred’s was unforgettable the year little cousin Brian decided to bless the turkey with his stomach’s contents. One moment, we’re admiring Uncle Fred’s carving skills; the next, the bird’s wearing an unplanned gravy. Let’s just say, that year, we gave thanks over pizza.”

2. “Uncle Fred went all in on mashed potatoes one Thanksgiving, whipping up 15 pounds for the family. Bowls of spuds filled every corner of the house like some kind of potato invasion. At the kids’ table—banished to the under-renovation kitchen—John, Mary, and I took the opportunity to turn it into an epic mashed potato battle zone. By the end, the kitchen looked like a starch-filled war zone, but at least everyone else got their fill!”

3. “This Thanksgiving is shaping up to be a family legend. My mom’s best friend, my ‘Aunt Geri,’ passed away in June 2009. Growing up, Geri spent every holiday with us, like clockwork. But since her passing, she hasn’t exactly been… punctual about getting laid to rest. Fast-forward to now: I recently contacted her sister to finally get her ashes so we can properly bury her. Cue the scene three days before Thanksgiving, when my entire family is gathered at home because, as we kept saying, ‘We’re waiting for Geri to get here.’ Picture it: a group of grown adults trying to make Thanksgiving plans and run errands, but stuck in a surreal standstill, all because ‘Geri’s on her way. Via USPS.’ Every time someone said it, we cracked up like we were in on the universe’s best inside joke. And sure enough, Geri made it back in time for Thanksgiving! She’s with us again—though in a slightly more compact form—and come spring, we’ll finally lay her to rest. Until then, she’s back to being part of the family holiday tradition, just as she always was.”
– Jessica, TAN Staff

“My grandmother Eckert took Freddie Woerner and me to the Macy’s (Thanksgiving Day) parade. It was freezing. We ate in Horn and Hardart. Fun times. I think we were 9 and 7.“
– Suzanne, Montanta

Thanksgiving is a patchwork quilt of memories—each story a unique thread in the fabric of shared tradition. As Cheryl in New York reminded us with her granddaughter’s “Ring Around the Rosy” prayer, Thanksgiving often brings moments of unexpected charm.

From Philip’s olive antics to Jessica’s mashed potato food fight, the holiday is filled with youthful exuberance and humor. Even when plans go awry, like Ann Marie’s snowy detour or Bob’s turkey mishap, gratitude finds a way to shine through. Traditions, whether making ravioli, pulling the wishbone, or skating on a frozen lake, root us in love and connection.

Thanksgiving, at its heart, is a celebration of the people who fill our lives with gratitude, year after year. So, here’s to the stories we share, the meals we enjoy, and the memories we create—together.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!