Happy Almost Thanksgiving! I love that this time of year gives us time to stop and reflect a bit. This really has been an incredible year and I am extra thankful this year for the addition of our baby boy. I am just so incredibly thankful to be his mom. There is no better experience in the world than watching him grow and being a part of each little milestone and thing he learns. I am also so thankful that we will be able to celebrate the holidays with our parents and all of our siblings this year.

And, I am thankful for all of you who are coming here to read my blog. Even though this page is just starting, I am thankful to have an audience who comes to my page and all of those who supported this launch. I have been brainstorming many more ideas and am excited for what is to come on this page. 

I am going to take a more lifestyle approach to today’s post. The holidays are more than just the decorations, there are many other traditions and moments that make these times special.

So today, I will be looking at my Top 5 favorite things about Thanksgiving. 

1. Time with Family
Thanksgiving has always been special because it means time with family. When I was younger this usually meant heading to Toledo for a few days to spend time with my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Now, this means alternating between Toledo and Pittsburgh and spending time with our parents and siblings. We live in separate cities than our siblings and parents so having everyone together in one house for multiple days in a row is something that is so special and I look forward to this time of year for those days. 

2. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is easily one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving. We grew up watching this every Thanksgiving morning. Even to this day, I am excited to wake up early, grab my cup of coffee and sit down to watch the parade. We have always talked about seeing it in person. That hasn’t happened yet, but it is a bucket list item. I am so excited to start watching it with Logan this year, even if he has no clue what he is looking at. 

3. Stuffing
Stuffing is by far my favorite Thanksgiving food (who cares about the turkey anyhow) and I look forward to having seconds of this. Not sure why this isn’t a food we have more than once a year but I love this side dish. 

4. Football
If you know me at all you know that I am a big football fan. I grew up in a football family with my Grandpa, Dad and Brother all playing college football and there are even some former pros in there. There is nothing better than a Saturday or Sunday in the fall when we can have football on the tv all day. Even if it isn’t one of my teams I still love having it on. So, having 3 games on a Thursday is the best. When my brother played in the NFL for the Chargers he got to play against the Cowboys in the traditional Thanksgiving game. That was certainly a bucket list item to see that game in person and it was even cooler to see my brother play in that game. 

5. It’s Almost Christmas
If I would have made this list as a teenager, I would have said Black Friday is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving. I used to love looking at the Black Friday ads that were in the Thanksgiving newspaper and planning where to shop the next day. I would go out shopping with one of my cousins and we did this for a few years in a row. We would go out later in the morning (like 9ish) so we weren’t out in the middle of the night, but it was something fun to do the next day. Once online shopping became more of a thing this was stopped. So now, I just love that Thanksgiving means that it is almost Christmas. Even though I already have my house decorated and Christmas music playing, I love that it officially becomes “Christmas Season” right after Thanksgiving. 

So, let me know in the comments what are your top 5 favorite things about Thanksgiving? 

If you are Gibson, I think the Dog Show makes his top 5 list for Thanksgiving every year 🙂

I am wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends!