A Surprising 15% Of People Watch This On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so it's time to start thinking about how you'll spend the day. Stuffing your face probably goes without saying. But what else is part of your annual turkey day celebration? Do you sit around the table and engage in ugly arguments about politics with relatives you'll then be glad not to see for another year? Or do you pile outside with the whole clan and play a little touch football? Maybe you favor a Friendsgiving instead, or even a solo version of same, alone with your turkey TV dinner and all the ice cream you feel like eating when no one's around to judge you.
If you're like many of us, a good part of the day will be spent vegging out in front of the TV. Hmm, kind of like the other 364 days. But what makes Thanksgiving TV so special? Well, it all depends on what you watch. In order to determine everyone's favorite holiday TV fare, Mashed conducted a survey of 555 people around the country and asked them what would be on the tube this Thanksgiving.
The #4 result will surprise you
The top picks were pretty much what you'd expect — 25.77 percent of us spend the day tuned in to NFL games (gotta watch those Lions lose!), while 22.7 percent get up in time to watch the Macy's Parade. For 18.92 percent, the holiday just wouldn't be the same without A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving — though Business Insider points out that these will not be on network TV this year since Apple TV bought the rights to the Peanuts holiday specials.
Coming in at a strong fourth place, however, was a shocker: 14.59 percent of those polled say they spend their Thanksgiving watching home movies. Do those even still exist? Shades of the '80s/'90s, when every family would haul out the camcorder to film those cringe-worthy moments... home movies, these days, probably look a lot different now that everyone and their goldfish is a YouTuber or TikToker. Perhaps today's families instead all gather 'round the laptop or pull out their individual phones to enjoy (or endure) a compilation of the kids' dance routines and game plays as well as Dad's cooking tips and Mom's home repair how-tos.
Rounding out the list comes Friends and more
While Thanksgiving may be all about family, for 6.31 percent of us, it's all about friends, as well... or rather, Friends. Specifically, the show's Thanksgiving episode (of course). And, as always, a significant chunk of people (11.7 percent,) voted for "other." As to what that "other" was made up of, some suggested additional TV shows such as the The National Dog Show (must-see TV for those of us celebrating Dogsgiving) or any Thanksgiving movies airing on the Hallmark Channel. Others prefer getting a jump on the next holiday by watching Christmas movies.
Quite a few of those we polled, however, claimed that they didn't watch TV on Thanksgiving at all. Some suggested alternative activities such as reading, playing video games, going outdoors, or conversation, although one honest respondent did note the peril (or potential entertainment value) inherent in this last-named pastime, confessing that their viewing matter was "my drunk and overfed family fighting over politics." Top alternative answer, however, goes to this pollee who admitted their preference for watching the "back of [my] eye lids." After a heavy meal of turkey, don't we all?