Everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions. Whether it’s watching the game, not eating Turkey or maybe hiding out from everyone, each person has something that makes Thanksgiving their own. 

This year we've asked our assistants to share their own special traditions with us. Keep reading to get a glimpse at what makes their Thanksgiving, well, Thanksgiving! 

“My family loves the holidays. We all get together on Thanksgiving for lunch at noon on the dot. We eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams (my personal favorite), cranberry sauce, corn, and of course, pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Afterwards, oddly enough, we decorate our Christmas trees! Haha. My parents have theirs up already so I don't even know what they're going to do this year. Probably critique mine.” – Megan P.

“I always do a shrimp and crab boil with new potatoes, corn on the cob, green onions, garlic, fresh sourdough bread and fresh fruit salad! YUMM!! I'm a beach baby!”- Beth S.

“I kind of stretch my Thanksgiving out over several days. On Thursday, my hubby and I head out to east Texas to his grandmother's house. She starts "dinner" around noon, but everyone comes and goes and eats (and eats!) all day. This usually includes her three sons and their wives, eight grandkids, and their wives/kids. It's such a blast to get to see everyone and it's totally informal.

Then, Friday is my cooking day. That's because on Saturday we have folks over to our house. This includes my Mom/Stepdad, my sister and her hubby, my mother-in-law, and a variety of other folks (neighbors, friends, family) who happen to be in town at the time. Our house is a little more formal, as we all sit down at the table to eat together. I love to cook, so I do as much of the food as possible from scratch, and each year I try out all kinds of new recipes. There are few things I like better than filling the house with the smell of baking pies and boiling cranberries!”- Holly M.

“Since our son was born five years ago, we've started the tradition of travelling for Thanksgiving. Rather than trying to appease the grandparents on both sides, we spend our time visiting a new place or revisiting a favorite and enjoy the day as a small family.”- Tiffany J.

“Since I've been with my husband (about 5 yrs now)- it has been my relatives (about 50 of us!) for lunch. Turkey is almost a 'side-dish' there, as we have all the fixings plus our Chinese/Singaporean background favorites (and lately the highlight is a roasted pig). Then after hanging out and catching up with my cousins, their kids, aunts, and uncles- we head back down to my husbands family. Then- we have Thanksgiving #2 plus Filipino favorites (pancit, flan) at my in-laws house. My multi-cultural Thanksgiving, but I love it! I think a sit-down traditional meal would be boring for me now! :) And- as a result- I have never made a turkey- as my family always gets together on Thanksgiving (more than any other holiday).”- Evelyn E.

“In my family our tradition is to watch 'The Wiz' ( MJ & Diana Ross Version) & 'The Last Dragon.'Each family member has to be a character from the movie for the whole time we are together. And you MUST quote lines from the movie, even if we are in public. When I tell you it's the funniest thing on earth... Imagine someone walking up to you in the store asking you "Who's the master?" and 3 people run up and say "Sho Nuff!" (thats from 'The Last Dragon') Or, my momma used to call me Fleet. "Fleet?" "That's right. Fleetwood Coup De Ville. Momma had High Ideas."('The Wiz') It might be corny to some but it gets extra cool when we bump in to people that know the movies. They actually play along. Welp that's our silly tradition. I look forward to doing this every year, so if you are in NYC and you hear some crazy people in a store singing a song or quoting a movie come say "hi." It's probably me and my crazy kin folks.”- A. Nicole S.

"I always have an "Orphan's Thanksgiving" -- even if I'm with my family that year. Anyone is welcomed to join. We don't always do everything traditional on the dinner table, but all is free to join. Then, we do the typical "what are you thankful for" conversation after our blessings.”- Mandie S.

“The celebration starts the night before for us. This will be the 12th year that my best girlfriends and I gather on Thanksgiving Eve to bake pies and have our own celebration. We start about 3 pm and it's great, because we chat about what everyone will be doing for the holiday with their own families while we bake and sip champagne. Usually we get about 12 pies baked (pumpkin, pecan and apple) and just as many no-bake pies ready (two of our favorites are chocolate silk and lemon cream...yum). The holiday itself is full of family and an assortment of people who we won't let spend the day alone. It's a great time for everyone and a time of year that we reflect on how blessed we truly are. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! XO”- RK S.

“Thanksgiving has always been a day long event for my Italian family, with two full meals and dessert. We go to my parent's house - my parents, my two sisters and myself. Now it also includes all of our spouses. And my two kids - neither of my sisters has kids yet. Throughout the years it has also incuded various close family friends and relatives who stop by either during the second dinner and join us or after dinner for dessert. 

For our family dinner we have the traditional things - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie, cranberry sauce, etc. That is the first and main family meal, usually eaten around 2:00 PM. (My parents always try for 12:00 PM - after a few decades it still hasn't happened). As my family is Italian, we also have a second type meal consisting of homemade stuffed shells, salad, meatballs, sausage, stuffed peppers and mushrooms. This is usually eaten a few hours later, around 5:00 PM or so. And a few hours later, we have dessert.

This year is going to be extra special. I have been living in Florida the past 3 years and have not spent Thanksgiving with my family. So this is the first time I will be home for Thanksgiving, since we moved back home in May. (Huge difference between Turkey Day in Florida where you can swim after dinner and Turkey Day in New England where you can ice skate, haha) This will be the first year my 2.5 year old and my husband will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We will have it at my sister's new house this year. So I really do have a lot to be thankful for.”- Jen M.

"We go out to eat for a huge Turkey Day dinner then we head to the casino!"- Kimberly C.  

 "We're a blended family and trying to start all new traditions. We moved to Florida full time last year and are having my husband's sister and her husband for dinner and my husband's son and his wife. This will be the first Thanksgiving my husband has spent with his son in over 20 years. They live about an hour away and I assumed he would go to his mother's (who also lived an hour from him). I took a chance and invited them and they said "yes" right away. I'm very excited and nervous all at the same time!"- Pam G.