Top 4 Family-Friendly Thanksgiving Day Movies
Although Thanksgiving is still a couple weeks away, it’s never too early to start planning the festivities and looking for a good movie or two (or four!) that you and your family can enjoy after a wonderful meal (or, if it’s my household, after the football game is over!).
And, to be honest, I have already watched one or more of these movies in this list just to get in the holiday mood! If you need a little movie magic to get you pumped up for all the pumpkin pie and turkey coming your way, here are four family-friendly Thanksgiving masterpieces that are just the ticket:
1. Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure
We’ll start with the most dramatic one. While the youngest kids (5 and under) could be a bit put off by the sometimes dramatic nature of this documentary, everyone else will be riveted! Kirk Cameron goes on an amazing journey across the pond to find out who the real pilgrims were in the Thanksgiving story (and founding of America), and what their true mission was all about. I have certainly heard versions of this story dating back to grade school, but this film unearthed some revelations that absolutely blew my mind. It will leave you with a swell of American pride and a new resolve that one person can make a difference in this big world.
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2. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Oh, Charlie Brown. He’s going on 64-years-old, and he is still entertaining as the day we met him. The surprising part about viewing a childhood cartoon (from 1973) is that it holds up compared to the new flashy ones. The humorous vignettes will leave a smile on your face — though you may want to hold off on this one until after the big meal or your kids might insist on having the Snoopy special of two slices of buttered toast, pretzels, popcorn, and jellybeans. Watch your local listings for this one; it’s normally on ABC on Thanksgiving Day.
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3. Holiday Inn
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. You can’t go wrong with them. While this might not be a traditional choice for a Thanksgiving Day movie list, it does include a touching Thanksgiving feast scene. And it will leave you right where you want to be the day after Thanksgiving – in “White Christmas” land.
Oh, and seeing Fred Astaire do those amazingly difficult dances without breaking a sweat might also inspire you to head to the gym after the big meal!
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4. Miracle On 34th Street (1994 Version)
I always forget this movie starts with the Macy’s (I mean “Cole’s”) Thanksgiving Day parade. It takes us through that magical time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and, like Holiday Inn, puts you right in the perfect mood for the Thanksgiving/Christmas season.
While some folks might be shocked that I’m not including the older 1947 version on this list, I have to say the newer one from 1994 has a certain magic to it (and nostalgia, since the early ’90s were closer to my childhood). And, seriously, Richard Attenborough was like the best Santa in history.
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