by Sophia Waldridge

When Thanksgiving starts rolling around every student gets excited; it’s the time to eat, go on a week long break from school, and see family.

Many families have traditions for this time of year, and it’s different for many families across Indiana.

 Senior Kaeleb Hayes said that he and his family go to some type of sports game before he goes on fall break as a tradition, and that they don’t decorate but that he helps his mom cook and they prepare a big meal.

“For Thanksgiving we watch the NFL games and my mom makes a lot of food for my brother and sister to come in from out of town.” 

He said that they also prepare a meal for their chickens as a tradition and he is excited for the extra days off school and to see his siblings.

Junior Billy Wibbels is similar to Hayes and for Thanksgiving he hangs out with his family and friends. 

“We don’t really decorate, we just make a huge dinner and all hang out. My grandpa comes to town from Florida and we all just reminisce.”

But some have very different traditions and don’t do anything for Thanksgiving, like sophomore Gracie Harder. She said she just spends Thanksgiving break cleaning her room and doing a self care reset, and spends most of the break alone until later into Thanksgiving day and she goes to her grandma’s.

“For break I always spend it all alone until I go to my grandma’s late on Thanksgiving day and we eat a big dinner, and we decorate the Christmas tree; everyone who comes brings a dish and I like to bake sweets and bring them, but other than that my family doesn’t do anything special.”

Freshman Harper Gordon said that her and her family just treat it like another day — they watch Christmas movies together and make a meal together but other than that they have no traditions and the plans change every year.

“My family sometimes makes a little turkey and we turn on Christmas movies but there are some years that we just don’t do anything, a few of my family members come over but only three or four.”

So many families eat together, spend time together, but not all decorate or have traditions. There are some that don’t do anything and just spend the day alone, or just eat a regular dinner like every other day.