At our house it means the biggest social to-do of the year. Our Thanksgiving tradition is a little odd and the result of a quirk. Prior to 94, we usually alternated Thanksgivings between the sister in law’s & our place. But in that year, the wife’s family and the bulk of my own had committed to Thanksgiving in other cities. None of our close friends was native to this area, so they were without family members here (except for their kids). As a result, we wound up hosting dinner. The primary reason we wound up with the mission was about having the space, china, crystal, silver, etc. to handle a crowd. It worked out beautifully, and has been a tradition ever since, to the consternation of our relatives.