Thanksgiving in my family is always such a good time – it’s without a doubt one of my favorite holidays. With us, it’s a fairly large celebration, with maybe 30-35 people heading to my brother-in-law’s home every year, and we do it right – tons of delicious food with all the traditional Thanksgiving trimmings (which I never fail to eat too much of), football games on TV, and various other types of games going on throughout the day. It may sound cliché, but it truly is wonderful quality time with family that I look forward to every year. So with my own holiday anticipation building and to help spread the excitement, we asked 1,460 U.S. adults about their Thanksgiving experiences and plans for the upcoming celebration.
First, seeing family and friends (47%) is what those who celebrate the holiday like most about Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, the food/meal (30%) is mentioned by many Americans as well. Far fewer say that they most like watching the parade (4%), having the day off from work (3%), or playing games (3%) that day.
Speaking of the meal… At my brother-in-law’s home, his family certainly provides most of the food for Thanksgiving; however, others do bring contributions to the meal. Based on survey results, we’re a lot like other families, as Thanksgiving seems to be a group effort for most Americans’ own celebrations. Four-out-of-five (80%) anticipate at least lending a hand with food preparation or offering some sort of contribution to the meal this year. Perhaps not surprising to most though, it is women who are still the main preparers of the meal (48% vs. 33% of males). In fact, 21% of men say they are not involved in preparing or contributing to the meal at all (versus only 13% of women).
A tip for this year’s side dish contributors who may still be debating what to make… Stuffing (37%) is Americans’ favorite traditional Thanksgiving side dish! About half as many (19%) choose mashed potatoes as their favorite side, with slightly fewer (15%) picking sweet potatoes/yams. Green bean casserole (7%), rolls (6%), cranberry sauce (5%), and corn (2%) round out the list of favorite Thanksgiving meal accompaniments.
In terms of what Americans like least about Thanksgiving, feeling stuffed from all the delicious food (16%), watching football (15%), and traveling (12%) are mentioned most often. But over one-third (37%) of Thanksgiving celebrators mention that they don’t dislike anything about the holiday.
What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Do you tend to celebrate with a small or large group of friends and family?
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