Trojan Thanksgiving Memories
Looking back at standout celebrations from years past.
Because this year’s holiday break might be a lot different than we’re used to, Odyssey staffers look back on favorite Thanksgivings of the past. You can also read about our most treasured traditions.
Packers vs. Bears, 2015
Mia Boyd, junior: “Every Thanksgiving, in the past, I would always go to my Great Grandma Alice’s house. We did the same thing every year with the same people. Every year had something memorable, of course, but this one year was different. On November 26, 2015, (Thanksgiving Day) the Green Bay Packers NFL football team played the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay Packers is my dad’s, mom’s, brother’s and my favorite NFL football team. Even though they lost the game, 17–13, it was still nice being with my family on a special day, watching our favorite football team play, wearing our Packers jerseys and shirts.”
Marine Family Thanksgiving
Matthew McKenna, senior: “Last Year on Thanksgiving Day, my family invited marines from Twentynine Palms to come celebrate Thanksgiving with us. A majority of the marines were nowhere near their family and had no way of traveling to go see their family. As a solution, my dad, who is also a marine, decided to invite them over to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It was really weird to see so many people over, but it was so nice seeing everyone laugh and smile. For a lot of these marines, this was more than celebrating Thanksgiving; it was being able to feel a part of a family even if they weren’t able to see theirs.”
Thanksgiving Surprise
Lacy Lenninger, senior: “Thanksgiving with my family is usually very small — just my immediate family, a few cousins, and some great aunts and uncles. Every year, I can’t wait to see my cousin Hunter, my best friend. He told me he wasn’t going to be able to make it to Thanksgiving this year because he lives in Oregon, and the plane tickets are super expensive.
“I was so sad, but I completely understood. Thanksgiving just wasn’t going to be the same. My mom, uncle, and I arrived at my great aunt’s house in Palm Springs, which is where everyone gets together for dinner.
“We walked in, gave our hellos and our hugs to everyone throughout the house, yet everybody was acting kind of weird with me, and I just wondered why. I made it to the back yard, and I saw my cousin Hunter standing back there waiting for me. I was so excited to see him. He surprised me, and everyone in the family was in on it!”
White Christmas Comes Early
Katelyn Masterson, senior: “Last year, my Thanksgiving break was very eventful. On Thanksgiving, we got quite a lot of snow, which I thought was pretty nice, even though I prefer a white Christmas. My dad had to pick up my cousins on Thanksgiving Day so they could get to our house safely to eat. That morning, I remember waking up to snow, and I was so happy since I love snow. After all of my family showed up, I went outside to make a snowman with my cousin while waiting for dinner to finish. This was the first time my dogs saw snow, and at first she was unsure about what it was, but she rolled all over in the snow once she found out how much she enjoyed it.”
Downhill Slide
Mariah Davila, senior: “A year ago or two, I was with my dad, my cousin, and her parents. We had all driven up to her grandma’s house so we could go riding side by side. It was also snowing at the time, which made it ten times better but also a lot colder. We went riding around for about two hours, until we found a spot in the snow where it was deep enough for us to jump in. We did this for about fifteen minutes or so. Then, my dad tried sliding down a hill without a sled or anything, and it didn’t go too well. After all this, we ended up going back to my cousin’s grandma’s and had some food and got warmed up. This day always stuck with me because it made me happy seeing some of the most important people in my life having fun and just being together.”
Thanksgiving to Order
Cheyenne Lara, senior: “My mom burnt the turkey the first year she was cooking for the whole family. With us living in a small town, the nearest grocery store was about forty minutes away. We would be considered lucky if there was even a turkey big enough to feed at least twenty people, so with my mom already losing an hour and a half, she left it up to me to cook the rest of the food, which was horrible idea considering I had zero cooking experience. I decided to take matters into my own hands, take the easy way out, and just order the Denny’s Thanksgiving family meal on Postmates. I just plated it on the dinner table like I had really been the one who cooked it. The whole night, I got compliments on how good my cooking was, and to this day, no one knows that instead of making the food I really just ordered it.”
Childhood Family Feast
Mei Chua, senior: “I remember waking up at the crack of dawn, showering, getting dressed, and then we were off on the road to my cousin’s house. The overall tiredness I felt wouldn’t allow me to open my eyes for longer than two minutes, and it led to me falling asleep on the ride there.
“When we got there, freshly cooked turkey and mashed potatoes filled the air, and little kids screaming and running around the house filled the atmosphere. I joined in with the kids and the teenagers with karaoke and board games. My first choice of a song was “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” since it was the only song I knew that was easy. Every time we took a picture to capture the moments, the blinding light of the flash blinded us.
“Each aunt and uncle announced that the Thanksgiving feast was ready for the whole family to devour. I situated myself onto my seat and let my feet hang. I munched into my warm mashed potatoes as they melted in my mouth. Sooner than later, I woke up in the car, headed home.”
Pumpkin Pie & Video Games
Seth Holmes, senior: “My most favorite memory during Thanksgiving was my second grade year. All my relatives would go to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving. Also, I had friends that would come over and hang out with me. My friends and I would climb the rocks that were in the backyard of my grandparents house. We played up in the rocks for most of the day, but when we got bored we would head into the house and play some video games. The game I remember playing was Marvel vs. Capcom 3, my favorite game at the time. When it was time to eat, everyone would gather into a circle and say a prayer. My grandma made the best pumpkin pie, and I couldn’t wait to eat some. When everyone was done eating, my friends and I would just play video games for the rest of the day. We tried to stay up all night, but we ended up getting too tired and fell asleep.”
Thanksgiving on the Trail
Sky Robbins, senior: “My favorite thanksgiving memory would be the week that me and my whole family hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. Of course, we didn’t hike all of it — that would have been way too much for us little kids. We stayed a week, just hiking and camping. Everything about that hike was beautiful. We saw rivers, creeks, snowy mountains, trees, everything I could imagine. Every night, we would set up our camp, make a campfire, and sit there for hours on end, just having fun as a family. I loved everything about hiking the PCT for my whole Thanksgiving break.”
