Kyle Allison –For Kyle Allison, a freshman, Thanksgiving consists of lots of family, football and food. They eat all the traditional foods, such as turkey, stuffing, potatoes and pumpkin pie. He looks forward to watching the football games this year between the Vikings and Lions, the Steelers and Colts, and the Redskins and Cowboys.

Drey Woodson– Generally, Drey Woodson spends Thanksgiving at his grandmother’s house along with his extended family. They usually watch the Macy’s Day Parade and play monopoly. For Thanksgiving dinner, they have the traditional turkey, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes (which the North Forsyth senior remembered because he always has to cut up all the potatoes) and lots of sweet tea. Before the meal, they all say a family prayer, and then they can eat.

Ramsey Cole– Ramsey Cole, who is a sophomore at North, and her family always goes to Hilton Head over the break. On Thanksgiving day, they normally have chicken and dumplings for lunch. Then, for dinner, they go out-to-eat and have seafood. “We’re very untraditional,” she notes, laughing. At the Hilton Head resort, there is always a hunt for the golden turkey which her family loves to participate in. While they have not managed to win it yet, they maintain optimistic and call it their “Thanksgiving goal.”

Mrs. Summerour –Mrs. Summerour, a chemistry teacher at North, enjoys Thanksgiving break as a time to relax. She goes to visit her parents to eat with them. They normally have cornbread, homemade cornbread dressing, dirty rice, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes for all the people, like her, who refuse to eat the sweet potatoes. There are not any specific activities or traditions that she generally keeps, but sometimes the family will have an early Christmas if her sister, who lives overseas, comes home for Thanksgiving.

Karina Gonzalez –Whether they celebrate Thanksgiving at her house or with someone else, sophomore Karina Gonzalez notes that there is always a lot of food and family around to eat it with. First, of course, they all get together and make the ham, biscuits, mashed potatoes, coleslaw and macaroni for the Thanksgiving meal. Then, they go around the table and each say one thing they are thankful for before digging in. They also watch the Macy’s Day Parade, and they occasionally watch football, depending on who the team is.

Sarah Klein –For Sarah Klein, a junior at North, Thanksgiving typically includes a trip to the military base where her dad works. Her family goes down to join his unit for a Thanksgiving party. The food, which is cooked by various people in the unit, usually includes ham, green beans and mashed potatoes. Sarah laughingly noted that since the food is cooked by military chefs, it normally does not taste very good. Besides eating, her family sometimes writes letters to the recently deployed soldiers, wishing them a happy Thanksgiving.

Because Mr. Hodges, the Latin teacher at North Forsyth, is in grad school, he plans to spend the break writing a lot of papers and grading books. He notes, “I may at some point eat and sleep.” Between all the school work he will have to do, he also plans to watch the football game with his father and eventually fall asleep on the couch. For his Thanksgiving meal, he says that he will eat pretty much anything. He is “a sucker for dressing [stuffing]” and says he will be happy so long as he can have “plate after plate [of food] and a shovel.” The only thing he refuses to eat is cranberry sauce, which he hates. Overall, his Thanksgiving is “not out of the ordinary.”

Andrew Willings– Andrew Willings claims to do “nothing” over Thanksgiving break. Upon further questioning, the junior acquiesced to slightly more helpful answers. He says, “I hibernate, I eat and I sleep.” Later, he noted that he spends a lot of time just wondering what to do. Boredom is a common problem for students over the break; after working so hard in school for hours every day, it can feel awkward to suddenly be faced with a week of free time. Andrew’s family eats traditional Thanksgiving food and usually watch the Macy’s parade, which he does not enjoy at all but watches anyway.

Seth Anderson– Over the break, Seth Anderson generally relaxes from the time off and watches football. The junior also hangs out with his cousins. Every year, he and his brother host a video game tournament, which he finds very fun. His family normally eats traditional Thanksgiving food. In addition, they try to choose a less traditional dish, which this year will be macaroni and cheese.

Jack Scott– Some years, senior Jack Scott and his family spend Thanksgiving at his great uncle’s house in Tennessee; others, they just stay at home. Depending on where they are, they spend Thanksgiving in slightly different ways. Regardless, they always have a nice dinner with turkey, biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy setting the table. One tradition that he hopes to keep going this year is going to Denny’s with his friends at around 3 p.m. on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Abby Martin For her Thanksgiving, freshman Abby Martin normally goes up to New York to visit with family. They spend the day cooking and hanging out together. For food, they have turkey, potato casserole, vegetables, stuffing and her favorite, cranberry chutney. Besides always eating pumpkin pie for dessert after dinner, they do not generally keep any Thanksgiving traditions.