Lady’s Thanksgiving in Britain Guide

It’s Thanksgiving in Britain. If you’re like me, you’re in the UK and feeling a bit let down that today is just another day. You’ve been invited to a million work events tonight, declining them all politely while wondering how someone could possibly be so crazy as to plan an event on the best holiday of the year. And then reminding yourself that it’s not actually a holiday here. And then thinking it really should be.

Thanksgiving in Britain

But you’re also thinking that this year Thanksgiving in Britain seems to have caught on a bit more.

You’ve read (admittedly unsourced, probably totally fabricated) statistics saying that thousands of Brits (real ones, not Brits-in-name-only like me) are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

So maybe, like Halloween, Thanksgiving is slowly starting to catch on here. And if it is, those of us that know how to do it properly need to make sure the newbies do it right.

We wouldn’t want turduckens replaced by some odd combination of pheasant, grouse, and wood pigeon, after all.

So if you’re planning to celebrate Turkey Day today (yep, we call it that, too), here’s A Lady in London’s guide to Thanksgiving in Britain.

British Thanksgiving Food

Given Thanksgiving is all about food, the first step to a proper British Thanksgiving is getting the menu right.

After many conversations with British friends, I’ve discovered that there can be a lack of understanding that Thanksgiving dinner has a very specific menu you’re supposed to stick to.

This was made evident when a well-meaning British friend showed up to Thanksgiving dinner in London one year carrying a (seriously delicious) chicken pot pie.

She was so proud of it that none of the Americans at the table had the heart to tell her that chicken pot pie is as out of place in a Thanksgiving feast as Boris Johnson in a Best Hair competition.

Thanksgiving Turkey

If you want to avoid a foodie faux pas for Thanksgiving in Britain, stick to the traditional dishes. A turkey is a must, and if your kitchen is like most British kitchens, you’ll need to have a larger oven installed this morning.

British ovens, like British refrigerators and British washing machines, are as unnecessarily small as American ones are wastefully large…we need to meet in the middle.

The bigger the bird, the better. Leftovers are a key part of any Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Dishes

In addition to turkey, there are some standard dishes most American families furnish the table with every fourth Thursday in November (yep, the date changes every year).

Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread, and pumpkin or pecan pie are pretty much staples.

Green bean casserole is also popular, as are sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top (don’t say it’s atrocious ’till you’ve tried it!).

Every family has its own slight variation on the meal, but most don’t wander far from tradition. If you’re desperate, order your feast in. There are butchers in London that do turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving in Britain.

You can also head to Whole Foods, go to a restaurant (tons of London restaurants serve Thanksgiving dinner now), or check out the menu planner from the New York Times.

Thanksgiving in Britain: Guests

Once you have the food sorted and your giant oven installed, you have to think about the guest list for Thanksgiving in Britain. For most Americans, it’s a simple mix of immediate family and varying-degrees-of-distant relatives.

We take in Thanksgiving orphans and other friends when they’re in need, and sometimes we combine forces with family friends and have big convivial meals together.

Basically, it’s a case of the more, the merrier when it comes to Thanksgiving in the US.

But for Thanksgiving in Britain, it’s a bit more complicated. Most Thanksgiving dinners here are celebrated by motley crews of American expats who didn’t or couldn’t go home for the holiday.

There are also a few token Brits that are curious about Thanksgiving and want to see what it’s all about (you’ll need to brush up on the story of Thanksgiving so you can answer confidently when they ask about it. Which they will).

Regardless, the rule of quantity over quality applies. If you’re hesitant about inviting that guy who talks too much or that girl who never speaks unless spoken to, just go for it.

Thanksgiving is all about being together, and even our most irritating acquaintances are often better company than our most dysfunctional relatives. Expat Thanksgiving win.

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving in Britain

One of the most meaningful Thanksgiving traditions in America is the giving of thanks. That’s what the name of the holiday implies, after all.

Many families have a tradition of going around the table and taking turns saying what they’re thankful for.

Given Americans tend to be a bit more emotionally expressive than our British counterparts, if there’s not at least one person in tears by the time we’re finished, we’re not trying hard enough.

This is one of the trickier traditions to introduce to Thanksgiving in Britain, not least because our British friends don’t exactly make a habit of standing up to share their innermost feelings of gratitude.

So in a gesture of transatlantic friendship, I think we can be flexible on this one. If the Americans at the table want to be earnest in their expressions of thanks, great. And if the Brits want to take the piss out of the whole thing, I guess that’s acceptable, too.

The important thing is that we’re all thankful for the fact we’re stuffing our faces full of…well…stuffing.

Happy Thanksgiving in Britain

And so I wish you a happy Thanksgiving, whether you’re lucky enough to celebrate in the States or whether you’re fortunate enough to avoid the busiest travel day of the year in America (that was yesterday, by the way).

Call me sappy, but this year I’m thankful to be able to share my favorite holiday with all of you by offering a guide to Thanksgiving in Britain.

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