Recently, there’s been a lot of chatter about how folks are dreading the annual Thanksgiving gathering. Say it ain’t so! Listen, I’m here to save you from turning your turkey dinner into a full-blown food fight over hot topics. Trust me, nothing ruins a meal faster than serving up a side of awkward silence or a piping-hot argument—it’ll sour your stuffing and unsweeten your tea faster than you can say, “Pass the gravy!”

But fear not! I’ve got a few goodies to keep your feast fun and flavorful. And if you click this link or the link below, you can play a family-friendly game that guarantees an indigestion-free Thanksgiving.

Yes, really. Who says you can’t serve up sweet potatoes and sweet peace at the same table? 

Go on, give it a try—your taste buds and your sanity will thank you!

1. First Thanksgiving Was a Three-Day Feast
• The original Thanksgiving in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag lasted three days. It featured a menu vastly different from today’s traditional fare, including venison, seafood, and wild fowl.
2. Turkey Almost Wasn’t the National Bird
• Benjamin Franklin once suggested the turkey as the national bird of the United States. He believed the turkey was a more respectable bird than the bald eagle.
3. The First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Had Live Animals
• When Macy’s started its iconic parade in 1924, it included live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo, such as lions, elephants, and camels, rather than the famous balloons we know today.
5. Americans Eat a Lot of Turkey
• Roughly 46 million turkeys are consumed in the United States each Thanksgiving, which accounts for about one-fifth of the total annual turkey consumption in the country.
6. The Tradition of Watching Football Began in 1876
• The first Thanksgiving football game took place in 1876 between Yale and Princeton. The NFL made Thanksgiving football an annual tradition in 1934, starting with a game hosted by the Detroit Lions.
7. “Jingle Bells” Was Originally a Thanksgiving Song
• James Pierpont wrote the song “One Horse Open Sleigh” in 1857 for his church’s Thanksgiving program. It later became associated with Christmas.
8. TV Dinners Were Born from Thanksgiving
• In 1953, a surplus of 260 tons of frozen turkeys led Swanson to create the first-ever TV dinners. The frozen turkey meals became wildly popular.
9. Presidential Turkey Pardoning Is a Modern Tradition
• While stories of presidents sparing turkeys date back to Abraham Lincoln, the formal “pardoning” of a turkey started with President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
10. Pumpkin Pie Wasn’t Always a Favorite
• At the first Thanksgiving, there was likely no pumpkin pie as ovens weren’t yet common. However, pumpkins were hollowed out, filled with milk, honey, and spices, and roasted as a precursor to the modern pie.
11. The Longest Thanksgiving Parade Balloon
• The longest balloon in the Macy’s parade is the iconic Snoopy balloon, which has made the most appearances of any character.
12. Black Friday Is Surprisingly Not the Biggest Shopping Day
Despite the hype, Black Friday typically ranks behind the Saturday before Christmas for the busiest shopping day of the year.
13. The First Macy’s Parade Wasn’t on Thanksgiving The inaugural Macy’s Parade in 1924 was held on Christmas Day, not Thanksgiving. The tradition shifted to Thanksgiving in subsequent years.               15. Thanksgiving Eve is the Biggest Bar Night of the Year• Known as “Drinksgiving,” the night before Thanksgiving sees a surge in bar activity as friends reunite and college students return home for the holiday.16. The 16. Butterball Turkey Hotline is Real• Butterball has operated a Turkey Talk-Line since 1981, helping over 100,000 people each year with their turkey-cooking questions. The experts even get bizarre questions, like how to thaw a turkey using a hot tub!

17. Frozen Turkeys Can Explode • Attempting to deep-fry a frozen turkey is extremely dangerous. When the frozen turkey hits the hot oil, it causes an explosive reaction due to the rapid expansion of water. (Stick to thawed turkeys, folks!)

18. A Thanksgiving That Wasn’t Thankful
• In 1920, college students in San Francisco introduced a prank tradition called “Turkey Stealing.” They’d raid farms to nab turkeys for their dorm feasts—a tradition that led to some heated farmer-student disputes.
20. The Guinness World Record for the Largest Turkey
• The heaviest turkey ever recorded weighed in at 86 pounds, roughly the size of a large dog. This turkey would have been quite a centerpiece at the dinner table!
22. The First TV Dinner Commercial Cost $90,000
• Swanson’s marketing of its Thanksgiving-inspired TV dinners in the 1950s included one of the most expensive commercials of the era—a big gamble that paid off handsomely.
23. Thomas Jefferson Hated Thanksgiving
• Jefferson refused to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday, considering it an inappropriate fusion of church and state. He would not be pleased to see its current status!
24. Gobbler Names
• A group of turkeys is called a rafter or gang. Male turkeys are “gobblers,” and females are “hens.” Wild turkeys can even fly up to 55 mph for short distances, unlike their hefty farm-raised cousins.
25. The Original Cornucopia Was a Goat’s Horn
• The iconic Thanksgiving cornucopia comes from Greek mythology, symbolizing abundance. Originally, it was said to be a goat’s horn filled with fruits and grains.
27. Green Bean Casserole Was Invented by Campbell’s
• The dish was created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a Campbell’s employee, and has since become a quintessential Thanksgiving side.
29. Sarah Josepha Hale Fought for Thanksgiving
• Known as the “Mother of Thanksgiving,” Hale (also the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) campaigned for nearly 20 years to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
30. Turkey-Loving State
• Minnesota is the largest turkey-producing state in the U.S., supplying nearly 45 million turkeys annually. It’s no wonder many of our Thanksgiving turkeys originate there.