It’s that time of the year again. The autumn weather gives way to below freezing temperatures, and families everywhere gather around to practice their holiday traditions. However, everyone celebrates a little differently. 

“I would say my favorite part about Thanksgiving is spending good quality time with my family,” junior Jadyn Aguirre said. “Not just my close family, but the family that I never get to see.” 

Freshman Mikaela Atiles said it’s the food that’s the most important part.  

“Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be the same without it,” Mikaela said. 

Speaking of food, the contenders for favorites varied across the board. According to an article on realsimple.com, the most popular Thanksgiving recipe in 2023 was turkey dressing. 

“Probably my mom’s stuffing,” junior Stephanie Torres said. “She always makes it with love.” 

Jadyn said her aunt’s mashed potatoes are the best Thanksgiving food.  

“They’re what I look forward to every year,” Jadyn said. 

Plans for the break varied as well. For example, Stephanie said she plans to rest up. 

“For Thanksgiving, I’m going to go to my tía’s house and celebrate my mom’s birthday because it’s on Thanksgiving,” Stephanie said. 

Jadyn plans on hanging out with friends. She also explained that for her, Thanksgiving Day itself is usually hectic. 

“I have a stepfamily, so at the beginning of the day, I usually go with my grandma and my mom’s side of the family,” Jadyn said. “Then I’ll do my stepdad’s side of the family. After that I’ll go with my aunt, so it’s a lot of food and very hectic family day.” 

According to Statista, Thanksgiving is the most popular American holiday at 79% on the popularity chart in 2023. Students weren’t too positive about it. 

“I feel like it’s a filler holiday between Halloween and Christmas,” Stephanie said. “It doesn’t really need to be there.” 

Mikaela explained her remorse for Black Friday.  

“They’re two separate things, but I can never seem to escape it this time of year,” Mikaela said. 

According to Scripps News, the number of Christmas movies released in theaters outnumber Thanksgiving movies 4 to 1. Students had fun coming up with their own ideas for Thanksgiving movies. 

“I would probably do the same thing as Home Alone, except Kevin’s family leaves town for Thanksgiving,” Jadyn said. 

Stephanie wanted to take a simpler approach. She would do a movie about a family getting ready for Thanksgiving.  

“Except disasters keep happening throughout the day,” Stephanie said. “And maybe they never even make it to dinner because everything gets destroyed.”