Students enjoyed having a week off and still found plenty to do to fill their days.

“Me and my family made onion rings on Thanksgiving,” senior Dana Brannon said. “Onion rings might be weird to make on Thanksgiving but me and my family have been doing it for the longest time.”

With an estimated 46 million turkey’s eaten on Thanksgiving, people have many different ways they cooked their bird on Thanksgiving. Most people make turkey, bake their turkey’s in the oven, some people fry their turkey’s, and others cook their turkey in the dishwasher. Yes, the dishwasher.

“My family cooked our turkey in the dishwasher,” junior Lexi Lopez said. “It’s a very weird thing to do but it ends up tasting really good! You just wrap the turkey in foil and the dishwasher does the rest.”

Food isn’t the only thing that can be unique to each family on Thanksgiving, some families have specific family traditions that they have been doing every year, that are a little out of the ordinary.

“My family has a pie making contest,” senior Paige Welch said. “My mom and my uncle both compete to see who has the better pie. We do it every year and it is really fun to watch them cook and bicker, and deciding who the winner is, never fails to amuse me.”

Some family traditions involve travel. With the weather getting chillier, traveling to the Caribbean or warmer weather during Thanksgiving can be appealing for some families.

“My family goes to Mexico for Thanksgiving,” freshman Ryan Palmieri said. “It is a little out of the ordinary, but you’re still with your family during Thanksgiving so it’s still pretty fun.”

Numerous family’s Thanksgiving is not complete without watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. According to History.com, more than 3 million Americans attend the parade in New York, and more than 44 million Americans watch the parade live on TV.

“The Macy’s Day parade was is so much fun to watch!” senior Maddy Peacock said. “I love getting to see all the acts. The Rockette dance is always my favorite.”

Common family traditions also include attending a football game. With the NFL and NCAA hosting football games for 92 years on Thanksgiving, watching a football game on TV, or going to a game on Thanksgiving is becoming more and more popular throughout the USA.

“Football in my family is a huge tradition,” senior Erin Fahey said. “We went to the TCU versus UT game and although UT lost it was so much fun.”

Traditions don’t just end Thanksgiving day, families across the country have developed the tradition to go Black Friday shopping late Thanksgiving day, and early the next morning to get good deals, and to welcome the shopping season for Christmas.

“I love going Black Friday shopping with my friends,” senior Nikita Batra said. “Discounts on all my favorite stores, and shopping is always fun to do!”

No matter how Vipers spent their Thanksgiving, traditional or not, all students enjoyed having time off from school during the break.

“Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays,” senior Max Bernhardt said. “The food, family, football, and fun just makes Thanksgiving so special and something I look forward to all year long.”