The Top 6 List
By Phillip Barnhard
There are many things you can take away from the season of giving. None of these items include fusing turkey, duck and chicken to create the ultimate Thanksgiving meat monster – turducken. This November, the Top 6 List shares its Thanksgiving Day musts.
6. Pie, Oh My!
For some reason, pies come out of hibernation for Thanksgiving. For 364 days out of the year, they remain dormant at Luby’s and Furr’s cafeteria-style restaurants, but on this lone November Thursday, the world’s greatest flavors – pumpkin, apple, cherry, apple-cherry, pecan and sweet potato – return to American homes shelled, triangled and dolloped with whipped cream. I recommend foregoing the cranberry sauce and ambrosia and forcing down a few delicious pieces of each.
5. Football Fall-ies
When the leaves change color and begin their descent to the earth, the spiraled flight of an oblong ball is the natural balance that keeps the world from spinning off its axis. Perhaps that’s a little prophetic, but who doesn’t love a little football in November? On Thanksgiving, the NFL treats everyone to three football games spanning the entire day. College football even tosses in an evening game. Although most pro teams aren’t using a Wishbone offense, it doesn’t mean you can’t use your turkey’s wishbone to wish for a few more touchdowns for your favorite team.
4. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Shenanigans
Some of my favorite moments as a child include waking up early on Thanksgiving Day and watching my favorite cartoon characters enlarged, ballooned and floating down the New York streets. Although my cartoon-watching has slowed – not by much – I still enjoy seeing giant balloons navigating around those tall buildings. On a windy day, anything can happen. Rubber and helium worlds collide when the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee stings Hello Kitty’s loveable face.
3. Givethanks-ing Day
With all the great Thanksgiving traditions crammed into one day, it’s important that we remember to take the time to give thanks for all of the wonderful things in our lives. This year, I’m thankful for AT&T U-verse on my Samsung HDTV, Privus Mobile’s Caller ID service on my BlackBerry Bold, Crysis on my Alienware m17x notebook and a year’s worth of entertaining Brand Flakes editions. I shall toast them all with a cold glass of pumpkin-spiced egg nog from Market Street.
2. Fast Times
In order to cram plenty of turkey and dressing down your gullet, you need to eat smart. On Thanksgiving, save your stomach for the real meal. You don’t want to risk filling up on a bowl of Crunch Berries and some wheat toast. That space should be reserved for extra helpings of green bean casserole and mashed potatoes.
1. Toy Boy
When it comes to advertising, Thanksgiving is the best time for retailers to invest in free-standing inserts in metropolitan newspapers. Sandwiched between the classifieds and travel sections, you will find the ultimate treasures: the Toys-R-Us Big Book and circulars from my three favorite stores – Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Although I will never attempt a Black Friday morning again (See this month’s How-to video), I enjoy looking at the incredible sale prices, circling all of my favorite gadgets and subtly dropping the ads in my wife’s lap. It’s a time-honored Thanksgiving tradition that usually ends in hand-knitted sweaters and a few pairs of Birkenstocks.
E-mail the author: Phillip Barnhard
