Thanksgiving is almost here and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to reminisce about some of our favorite Thanksgiving dinners!
Some were bad, some were good; others were good because they were so bad. All of them cemented themselves in television history as staples for Thanksgiving viewing.
From the awkward to the over-the-top, here are some of our favorite memorable Thanksgiving meals!
You Just Got Slapped, How I Met Your Mother
On, “Slapsgiving,” the countdown was on for Barney to receive one of the five slaps he had earned after losing a bet about whether or not Robin was in a porn movie. (She was just a Canadian pop-star!) Throughout dinner, Barney panics about Marshall’s every movie, waiting for the slap. Meanwhile Robin, who has just broken up with Ted, has brought a date to Thanksgiving dinner and he’s just a little older, but Ted sees him as an old man throughout the evening. After Barney finally receives his slap, Marshall leads the gang in the lovely tune, “You Just Got Slapped.” Everybody saw it, and everybody laughed and clapped.
She Gives Good Parent, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
On “My First Thanksgiving with Josh!,” Rebecca is invited to the big Filipino feast, and she’s determined to give “good parent” to Josh’s parents and make them love her more than they love his current girlfriend, Valencia. Filipino food doesn’t agree with Rebecca and she lands herself in the bathroom, where she has to decide between pooping or listening to Josh have sex with Valencia. Maybe she should have just flown to New York and watched the dog show with her mother.
A Braverman Family Thanksgiving, Parenthood
Wouldn’t we all want to spend Thanksgiving with the Braverman clan? On “Happy Thanksgiving,” Adam is stressed out, Julia just wants to make a good pie, Sarah just had a big fight with her boss/boyfriend, and Crosby is desperately trying to impress his girlfriend’s mom. After an awkward prayer at the dinner table, dinner goes off without a hitch, and the Braverman kids find themselves dancing in the kitchen, once again, making us all wish our families were this functional.
Jack Tells His Mom He’s Gay, Will & Grace
It’s hard to believe, but Jack STILL hasn’t told his family that he’s gay! On “Homo for the Holidays,” when Jack discovers that his mother is coming for Thanksgiving, he asks his friends to help him with his straight charade. Will, Grace, and Karen all think that he needs to come clean about his sexuality. It turns out that Jack’s mother has a secret of her own to share at dinner…Jack’s father isn’t who he thinks he is!
Hanksgiving, New Girl
Jess really likes Paul, so she invites him to spend Thanksgiving with the gang on, “Thanksgiving.” She gets the last turkey in America, names it Hank, and then realizes that she has no idea how to cook a turkey. She enlists Schmidt’s help in making Thanksgiving a little more sexy, but the gang ends up smoked out of their apartment. It’s no problem though, because Jess has a key to the neighbor’s apartment. They prepare the feast there and are ready to have a great meal together…until Paul finds their neighbor dead in the bathroom. This goes down as not only the most memorable dinner on New Girl, but also as one of the best installments the series has ever had.
Food Fight at Carla’s, Cheers
When Diane discovers that many members of the Cheers family don’t have plans for Thanksgiving, she suggests that they all spend the holiday having dinner at Carla’s new home on, “Thanksgiving Orphans.” The gang agrees, and plans to have the best Thanksgiving ever, complete with an appearance by Vera, Norm’s never-seen wife. Naturally, the dinner doesn’t quite go as planned, and a food fight ensues, and just as the audience is FINALLY about to get a good look at Vera, she takes a pie to the face.
The Gilmore Girls Eat Four Dinners, Gilmore Girls
On “Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving,” champions of eating Rory and Lorelai realize that they have overbooked themselves for Thanksgiving and now they need to attend four separate dinners. Each meal is hilarious in its own way, from Sookie’s horror over Jackson deep frying her turkey (and later, a boot) to Richard’s “ceremonial” cut of the turkey at the Gilmore family dinner.
The Study Group Hits the Garage, Community
At Shirley’s family Thanksgiving meal on “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations,” the Study Group found themselves hiding in the garage, each one of them looking for an escape from the madness of Shirley’s family. Abed narrated the dinner in a Shawshank Redemption homage as each member of the gang was pulled back into Shirley’s awkward (and off-camera) Thanksgiving dinner. I hope he’s not still holding out hope for a Die Hard Christmas.
Izzie’s Sad Thanksgiving, Grey’s Anatomy
The staff at Seattle Grace is spending Thanksgiving together and Izzie is planning the perfect meal on “Thanks for the Memories.” Unfortunately for Izzie, no one is interested in helping her out, with the exception of Burke. After all of her hard work, it looks like no one is planning on showing up after all…until they DO. Well, not Meredith. Meredith was thankful for a one-night-stand that year.
Grandma Outs Herself, Roseanne
Thanksgiving is always a time to share what you’re thankful for with your family; Roseanne’s mother, Bev, shared much more than that during this memorable meal on “Home is Where the Afghan Is.” She reveals to the table that towards the end of her marriage, the only way she could get through sex with her husband was by looking at a playboy first. The table was obviously quite stunned, until Darlene broke the silence by simply saying, “Well, looks like Grandma’s just outed herself!”
Monica Dances with a Turkey on Her Head, Friends
“The One With All the Thanksgivings,” was full of memories for Ross, Rachel, Monica, and Chandler as they share stories of Thanksgivings past, including how fat Monica got skinny, when Rachel got a new nose, and how Chandler lost his toe (spoiler: Monica cut it off accidentally!). Fast forward to current Thanksgiving, and Monica dances for Chandler with a turkey on her head, and he tells her he loves her for the first time.
Mom and Dad Used to Do It, Gossip Girl
The Van der Woodsens are invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Humphreys’ by Dan. That’s not going to be awkward, right? On “Blair Waldorf Must Pie,” everyone discovers the long love history between Lily and Rufus, everything gets just a little more uncomfortable than it was before. Would anyone like some old memories with their stuffing? Elsewhere, Blair spends her first Thanksgiving as the product of divorce and we couldn’t have been more sad.
A Very Buffy Thanksgiving, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy is determined to have a real Thanksgiving with yams on “Pangs.” Willow thinks that Thanksgiving is a yam sham. Giles is concerned that Buffy will make him cook the entire meal. Angel is back in town to try and avert a major threat (but doesn’t want Buffy to know), and Xander contracted ancient syphilis from an old burial site he started construction on. Spike is tired of all the “mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians,” and in true Scooby fashion, no Thanksgiving would be complete without a side of demon fighting.
Shenanigans and Stuffing, The O.C.
It’s Ryan’s first Thanksgiving with the Cohens on “The Homecoming.” While Ryan heads home to Chino to visit his brother in jail, the Cohens are pulling out all the stops for a memorable meal. Kirsten’s dad is bringing his new girlfriend (and Kirsten’s nemesis) Julie, to dinner. Seth tries to juggle making out with two girls during dinner, though neither of them know. By meal’s end Kirsten is drunk, Seth is alone, and the turkey is burnt. It’s Thanksgiving in the O.C., bitch.
Chandler in a Box, Friends
Chandler kissed Joey’s girlfriend and his punishment is to enjoy Thanksgiving in a box on “The One With Chandler in a Box.” According to Joey, Chandler really needs to think about what he’s done. Monica invites Richard’s son to dinner and awkwardly tries to date him until she realizes that he kisses like his dad. Ross, meanwhile, is determined to get Rachel to admit that she returns every gift she receives, until she surprises him with her Ross box. These Friends can’t just sit down and enjoy a normal meal together, can they?
Marie’s Tofu Turkey, Everybody Loves Raymond
On “No Fat,” Marie and Frank go to a health screening and discover that they need less fat and sodium in their diets. Unfortunately for the Barones, Marie decides that Thanksgiving is the perfect occasion to kick-off their new healthy lifestyle, complete with a gelatinous tofu turkey that wobbles when Marie sets it on the table. Everyone tries their best to eat the terrible meal, but fails, and we see them all give in and eat the lovely Thanksgiving dinner that Ray secretly ordered as a backup plan.
The Great Turkey Drop, WKRP in Cincinnati
Okay, this technically isn’t a MEAL. But it’s hands down the most memorable Thanksgiving episode in the history of television and if you’ve never seen “Turkeys Away,” I urge you to do so. The radio station decides to have their biggest holiday promotion ever: they’re going to drop live turkeys from a helicopter as an advertising stunt. Whoever thought THAT was a good idea was a big bird brain! Those poor turkeys never stood a chance. To quote Les, “Oh, the humanity! The turkeys are hitting the ground like bags of wet cement!”
