Thanksgiving is the time of year best known for heading home to friends and family to eat until you literally can’t anymore. For when you can’t move due to how much you ate or you just need a break from the family, turn on the TV.
This list below is how your favorite television characters celebrated their own Thanksgivings.
Black-ish – Oedipal Triangle
This episode is the first time Dre’s mother, Ruby, is in the show. This episode is perfect for Thanksgiving because it brings together family and food. Like Ruby, you might not be able to cook up the most amazing feast, but who says takeout isn’t as good as homemade?
Bones – High Treason in the Holiday Season
What says Thanksgiving like a good murder mystery? Brennan, Booth, and the rest of the team might be out solving a murder, but there is always time to gather for Thanksgiving dinner. And Bones plans a special meal for Booth this year.
Brothers and Sisters – Just a Sliver
This family can’t have dinner without a fight, so what happens when everyone forgets to tell mom they’re not coming to dinner? As Nora prepares her lavish feast, the rest of the siblings are busy making other plans. But when things go awry the whole family gathers at the hospital to enjoy it.
Casual – Bottles
These siblings are planning the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. That is, until their parents show up. The food might be perfect but no one sits down long enough to eat it.
Dexter – Hungry Man
Dexter might not be your typical family man, but he still loves Thanksgiving. Dexter goes to what he thinks is the perfect family man’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, but he soon realizes that a serial killer cannot be the perfect family man. So what’s he left to do? Dexter goes home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his own family.
Friends – The One with the Rumor
Friends has too many Thanksgiving episodes to choose from, but this one definitely takes the cake. What beats the “I hate Rachel Green club” or Phoebe’s pregnancy pants that quickly become Joey’s Thanksgiving pants?
Full House – The Miracle of Thanksgiving
The Full House family might be the TV family that you want to spend your Thanksgiving with. When D.J. takes charge of putting together the Thanksgiving meal, things don’t go exactly as expected. No need to worry though, the rest of the family helps to get it together.
Gilmore Girls – A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving
The Gilmore girls might be the only two that could attend four Thanksgiving meals in one day. Lorelai and Rory work to fit in going to Lane’s, Luke’s, Sookie’s, and the grandparents’ homes. Normally this may be problematic, but with a stomach like a Gilmore girl it’s no issue.
Glee – Thanksgiving
If you’re feeling musical this Glee episode might be what to watch over Thanksgiving. It might not be a traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but an alternative might be a better choice from your own reality.
Gossip Girl – Blair Waldorf Must Pie!
What’s Gossip Girl without some fighting? This episode is filled with fighting, but also has flashbacks to much happier times in the past. Not to mention all the lavish UES Thanksgiving dinners and a Brooklyn one thrown in there too.
Grey’s Anatomy – Thanks for the Memories
Most of these doctors are not too keen on cooking. But thanks to Izzy and Burke, it’s not just tequila for dinner. There might not be a traditional family that gathers, but the Seattle Grace doctors gather for turkey (and some tequila).
How I Met Your Mother – Slapsgiving
Marshall and Lily’s first Thanksgiving together was supposed to be perfect, but things become questionable when Lily’s father shows up and Marshall institutes “slapsgiving.” Overall things are saved when Lily delivers the slap. The rest of the dinner is spent enjoying Lily’s meal with friends and Lily’s dad.
Modern Family – Three Turkeys
This episode shows that it might not be the move to leave your brother and dad, aka Luke and Phil, in charge of the Thanksgiving meal. Although the three families all are separated dealing with their own Thanksgiving issues, they come together at the end to eat their Turkey.
New Girl – Thanksgiving IV
When all your friends are single and Thanksgiving is here there is clearly only one option, “bangs-giving.” Schmidt institutes bangs-giving as a meal where all the friends bring someone that is good for another person. This might not be successful, but all that matters is that the roommates were together.
The O.C. – The Homecoming
It might not be Chrismukkah, but Thanksgiving is a close second. Seth strikes out with Anna and Summer, while Marissa goes to help Ryan in Chino. In the end, the Cohen’s spend the holiday with family and friends eating their turkeys while planning their upcoming Chrismukkah.
One Tree Hill – Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
This Thanksgiving is spent at Nathan and Hayley’s home when Brooke burns her food and Mouth and Skills show up to the Scott household. Hayley prepares a lot of extra food so it’s perfect when the friends gather to celebrate. Their day is filled with lots of turkey and way too much alcohol.
Parenthood – Happy Thanksgiving
The Bravermans shows what a dysfunctional family looks like when they come together to celebrate a holiday. When Julia yells at Sydney, and Sarah is bringing a date that Drew is not happy with, things seem like they might not go well. It all ends OK when the whole family gathers to eat and celebrate.
Parks and Recreation – The Telethon
When Leslie Knope signs the office up to host an all night telethon the only Thanksgiving celebration going on is Leslie trying to instill some excitement in people. There may not be a Turkey in this episode, but there is enough coffee and energy drinks to keep Leslie sleeping for the days after the telethon.
Shameless – Just Like the Pilgrims Intended
After watching the Gallagher family you’ll definitely feel better about whatever your family Thanksgiving looks like. This Thanksgiving is filled with suicide attempts, identity theft, and shootings of bald eagles. So, this definitely is not the most upbeat depiction.
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Kimmy Finds her Mom!
After living in a bunker for fifteen years you would think Kimmy would have a traditional dinner with her family. That’s not exactly what happens though when she travels to Disney to meet her mother. Meanwhile, Jacqueline has more of a traditional Thanksgiving with her boyfriend and his family.
The West Wing – Shibboleth
T’is the season for politics, so you might want to celebrate watching a White House Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving is filled with CJ deciding what turkey should get the presidential pardon while the West Wing staff works to solve an immigration crisis, and Charlie must find the perfect carving knife.
Thanksgiving is the holiday for food and family, so when you’re stuffed from the feast relax with your family or friends by watching these Thanksgiving specials on TV.