No, no Jor. Get up late, open presents and go to the pub on Christmas Day.
Boxing day is to fight (guess like box them over the head?) with your family members.
Please don't get the traditions out of order. Civilization will not continue
if things are not done according to schedule.

Hi Colin and Wilma- if I were nearby, you'd be welcome at our Thanksgiving table, for years, various family members bring "Thanksgiving orphans" to our little gathering, at which my brother always serenades us briefly with his bagpipes, which isn't half dreadful! (as he's a close relation, I'll say no more...)

We always have set crowded table with endless things to eat. Everyone cooks, men and women both.

There was the year my British boyfriend insisted on cooking the turkey himself, made a v. delicious stuffing, and ended up cooking the bird upside down-Tenderest turkey I ever ate! The same year, my brother made a huge pitcher of Bloody Marys to start the day off right, (family heirloom glass pitcher). He entered the room with the pitcher and a tray of glasses, one of the visiting dogs got underfoot- Crash and splash! A "bloody good start" to the day...

We try our best to have a roaring family row like the old days, but we usually end up kind of mumbling and draped all over various sofas while the TV drones away in the background. Have a great Thanksgiving!

So maclean, as you can see Thanksgiving is an exercise in excess.

We are supposed to be taking time to give thanks and notice that the glass is half full but rarely does that happen.

Instead we eat too much, drink too much, watch too much mindless television, and spend too much time in too close of quarters with our relatives.

And then we do the same thing all over again on Christmas Day.

To us, it's the day when the family opens the door and invites others to share whatever is on the table. We all contribute something to eat, and I think if we were eating just sandwiches, that would be fine too!

We get to share some laughs, It's just about being together! Which is a very good thing in our case since we're normally scattered all over the map and some aren't even around anymore!

maclean, Here is a little tongue in cheek history about Thanksgiving based primarily on truth.

The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock because the crew ran out of beer and refused to sail any further. They didn't have a clue how to provide food for themselves so the Indians took it upon themselves to teach the tourists from the Mayflower Royal Princess cruise line how to grow crops in this harsh environment. The Indians and Pilgrims later celebrated with a mixer with the new harvest bounties (Thanksgiving).

In later years the Pilgrims got all cocky, claiming everything for themselves, and chased out the Indians to places west.

Most Indians ended up in unproductive lands the US government called luxury resort locations (Reservations). In my state of Minnesota Indian men, women and children were removed from their land and escorted to a resort hotel called Fort Snelling. The settlers were paid a finder's fee for each Indian who became a guest at this fine establishment. The settlers could then build condos on the lake without all those pesky Indians getting in the way. To make amends for all the displacement of Indians and the destruction of their culture the Dept. of the Interior renamed Indians to Native Americans. Canadians thought Indigenous Peoples sounded more politically correct.

After generations of selling tourist trinkets for peanuts Native Americans are building the worlds largest casinos to get back the $28 worth of beads they sold Manhattan for, as well as payback for most of the great plains and mountain regions they lost.

Have a happy Thanksgiving in America and give thanks to the Indians...ah Native Americans.

No one mentioned men relaxing on the couch after dinner with the tops of their pants undone to let their stomachs expand; while the women somehow end up cleaning. Or maybe that's just an Italian-American thing, I don't know.

Maclean -- try renting some of these movies: Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Home for the Holidays; Ice Storm; and throw in a Thanksgiving episode of the Sopranos for good measure. But at least you'll be at Disney World.

Jor -- you gave me an idea. American families should rent out space in their overeating, football watching, family arguing holidays for foreign tourists who REALLY want the American Thanksgiving experience. Kind of like student exchange program meets interactive theater. Foreign tourists who want to participate: make sure you forward information in advance of actual or perceived wrongs you have committed against parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/siblings over the years so that your host families can make you feel guilty all over again by throwing said events back at you. Extra credit for a vegan family member trying to get everyone to eat Tofurkey.

In all seriousness, Disney should be crowded, but you will still have a great time.

If you're looking for Disney info, you should consider going to the other websites for real details.

We were at Universal Studios Wednesday before and were at Disney World - Friday after Thanksgiving 2003 - and didn't feel that the crowds were excessive. At 11:30am the crowds began to swell. Until then, we had the run of the park.
I suggest going to the "most popular" rides first. Get the Fast Passes where you can. On Saturday, we ate while in line to save time and were glad we did. That's when the park was truly busy.

Maclean, Thanksgiving is a wonderful and uniquely American holiday, kind of a pre-Christmas pause: turkey and feasting, but no decorations or presents to fret about. I (English expat)love it! (And those four days off work are really great, too.)

Okay, so my post is really nothing to do with the original question, but I'm loving this topic...

The thread brought back memories of when we first migrated to the US, back in 1970 (she said, dating herself...) We'd lived here for 6 months, really knew nothing about T-giving: anticipation was high.

We were delighted to be invited for the day to join the family of a woman I'd met in Yoga class. Her parents lived in a big old New England farmhouse, and loved to invite international guests to share the holiday with them. Must have been more than 20 people around the table -- family and not, American and not, adults and children of many different ages. We started with a walk through their woods (it was a mildish late fall day, no snow yet.) Once we sat down to eat, we took turns to share what we were thankful for, then ate very well over several hours. It was a lovely and memorable time, and to me epitomized American hospitality and kindness, the best of the American experience.

Now all these years later, we still love T-giving, and welcome our own now-extended family of inlaws and outlaws to our table, or travel to theirs. Sure, sometimes there might be a fight, but not often -- the family is more scattered these days, so we're glad to have time to catch up, meet new babies, hear the stories in person. And yes, eat too much, watch some football, doze on the sofa when things quiet down.

And this year, DH and I will be in French Polynesia at Thanksgiving. No Dinde Roti for us, I guess. But that's okay -- I'll be snorkeling.

I just love this thread!! Colin, I wish you could spend teh Holiday with a Typical American family...I love Thanksgiving. I love that it is not about presents and such, but family. Go travel has it spot on . Perfect itnerary IMO. Instead of footbal, a classic like Sound of Music will be on...that's my fave fro Thanksgiving.