My Ideal Thanksgiving Break Itinerary

This week has been such a struggle coming up with a topic to write about. I am actually sitting on my kitchen island in Massachusetts after a long day of travel coming home from Rhode Island (I say a long day but it was literally a two-hour drive) so my brain at the moment is a little fried. Then I realized that I could take this opportunity to talk about my favorite things to do while home for Thanksgiving break! So without further ado, let’s begin.

Firstly I have a slight bone to pick with my university. My school is the only school I know who doesn’t give its students the week of Thanksgiving off. I had classes today until one and am missing class tomorrow because I wanted to go home to see my family and dog. They didn’t even cancel classes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, they just suggested to staff to give students a “mental health day.” Now I am all for a mental health day, especially since the flu has been running ramped on my campus. But the issue is that some professors are disregarding that suggestion and still holding classes. Personally, I feel that we should get at the very least the day before Thanksgiving off for travel purposes. And I know this is literally such a first-world problem and I’m very grateful to have the means to even go home for Thanksgiving, I just had to get that off my chest.

My favorite thing to do when home for the holidays is to catch up with my friends from high school. Normally, Alexa and I would be attached at the hip the entire week but she decided to get on a plane and fly to Athens, Greece (without me might I add) to visit her friends from school who are studying abroad. Ally and Sarah, if you’re reading this, this is your callout post for kidnapping my best friend for the week. But I did make some plans with a couple of different people that I am very excited about! I think that catching up with people you haven’t seen in what feels like forever is one of my favorite things. You always have so much to talk about and stories to tell. I really feel like the best friendships are the ones that you can go months without seeing the other person and then get together and it’s like no time passed. Those are the type of friendships I will always cherish and hold on to and I suggest you all do the same.

Obviously, I also love seeing my family when I come back from school. My mom does this amazing mom thing where she goes to Costco the day before I come back to stock the fridge with all of my favorite foods which I am always grateful for. Today when I inspected the kitchen I saw she got me my oatmeal, chicken salad, avocados, hummus, and a bunch of other snacks I love. She also made me bolognese for dinner which almost made me combust out of pure joy. Bolognese is one of the best dinner meals that has ever been created and I will die on that hill for eternity. I also love spending some quality time with my puppy. For those who don’t know, I have a seven-year-old chocolate lab named Remi. I have had her since I was in 8th grade and she is my everything. She is 80 pounds (yes she is a little chunky) of pure joy and friendliness. I would honestly sacrifice myself if it meant she could live forever. Everyone deserves to have a dog like Remi in their life and that’s just a fact.

I also love hitting up some of my local favorites in my area. If you read my Salem blog post, you know how much I love Jaho Coffee Roasters so I will always go there to get a latte or tea. Another top-tier place for me is the Mills 58 which is basically just a super large thrift store. From the outside, it looks like just a huge warehouse with nothing special to it. But inside there are giant antique shops, used book stores, restaurants, and even this place called Capito Coffee which honestly is equal to (if not better than) Jaho. And I always stop by my summer job to say hi to everyone I know there. I work at a little farmstand right by my house for most of the summer and it honestly is the most perfect job I could have gotten. It’s so fun and I couldn’t ask for better bosses and coworkers. Even when I’m not on the clock and just go to visit I end up staying there for at least an hour just talking with everyone which is so nice.

When it comes to actual Thanksgiving, I am a sucker for the food. Every year my family comes over to my house and brings an appetizer with some dessert. My favorite appetizer is Crab Delights. Now if you have never had these I am so sorry because they are so good, they’re literally addictive. It is basically an English muffin with a cheese and crabmeat mixture spread on top. You throw them in the oven for a couple of minutes and boom, instant deliciousness. I also really love my nana’s pumpkin pie that she makes every year as well as my mom’s mashed potatoes and stuffing. All in all, Thanksgiving is the best holiday food-wise and I will spend this year stuffing myself as full as the turkey.

A new tradition I like to do since I have started school is to get my hair done over Thanksgiving break. It may shock everyone when I say this, but I am not a natural ginger (cue shocked gasps.) I can thank my amazing hairdresser Amy for my cut and color. I have been going to her since I was 12-years-old and there has never been a time where she has let me down. I got my hair done last year a dark brown with red undertones and it faded to my current color. When I went in for a root touch up I asked her if she could match the color it had faded too. I genuinely think she is a wizard because she matched it to a tee. Ever since then I have been ginger and look forward to getting my hair done with her. If anyone is in the area and needs a hairstylist, Her Instagram is @Knotssalonnahant.

But by far the best tradition I have for Thanksgiving break is getting our Christmas tree. We always go as a family the day after Thanksgiving and every year it is an absolute trainwreck. My mom is the pickiest person when it comes to a Christmas tree. She has a whole checklist which included there being no holes, not too big, wide but skinny, strong branches, the right color, and many many MANY more. The entire two-hour hunt consists of my brother, dad, and I trailing behind her at the Christmas tree farm pointing out trees just to get brutally denied by her because “it’s not the right look she’s going for.” And God forbid go to a place where we can’t cut it down ourselves because in her opinion “that’s just wrong!” But the best part of the entire thing is that every time without fail, we always end up going back to the first tree we looked at. And my mom always says after two hours of searching “well what about the first tree?” I also think it’s rude that I’m never allowed to cut the tree down just because I almost had the tree fall on me one time. Regardless the day is still fun and then we get to go back and decorate it which is a day in and of itself.

As much as I love Christmas, Thanksgiving is definitely a close second to my favorite holiday. The feeling of togetherness I get always makes my heart warm and I definitely treasure each of those moments. I would love to hear what everyone else favorite things to do over break are so feel free to send me a tweet over at @spititout_blog on Twitter! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break and a fabulous holiday!

Have a lovely week!

-Meg

P.s. Here’s a photo of me and Remi! I will never pass up an opportunity to show off this pooch.