Why Thanksgiving Is the Best Holiday of All Time

Happy Thanksgiving, improvisers! All week long, I have been looking forward to today. When it comes to holidays, Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite on the list. It’s pure. It’s simple. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it is the best holiday of all time. How is that?

My wife Lauren, on the other hand, thinks Thanksgiving is "boring" and "overrated." "It's basically just dinner," she says. I beg to differ. Get this? Her favorite holiday is Halloween, not for the candy but for the costumes. She likes dressing up.

Anyways, here are my top 6 reasons for why she is wrong and why Thanksgiving is the best holiday of all time.

1. It’s all about the food
   I love food, and Thanksgiving is all about food and eating the food. These days I’m on a very strict food plan because I’m a recovering compulsive over-eater, so I can’t indulge in the stuffing, pie… and more stuffing and more pie that makes this holiday great. But don't get me wrong, I still love buying food, making food and vicariously enjoy watching other people stuff their face until they can’t buckle their pants. It’s like watching a beautiful Porsche that I can’t drive myself.

2. There are no presents
   Thanksgiving is gloriously stress-free because you don’t have to worry about buying anyone any presents. I have had many bad experiences with buying presents, and nothing stresses me out more than running around a few weeks before Christmas buying presents under pressure. It takes all of the fun out of what is supposed to be the most selfless of all holidays. I’m not opposed to getting presents, mind you, but having a holiday where you don’t have to get or give presents seems pretty good to me.

3. It’s only one day
   Actually, Thanksgiving only lasts about three hours tops if you’re lucky. It's not a whole season like Christmas or entire month like Halloween or St. Patrick's Day are now. Thanksgiving is not self-indulgent. It’s fast and to the point. The way the Pilgrims intended it to be.

4. It's the least commercial
   There are no Thanksgiving decorations, no songs, no special candy, and thank God there are no spokespersons for this holiday. There's no Santa or Easter Bunny or Uncle Sam who tells us every Memorial Day the great deals we can get on a mattress. In that tradition, Thanksgiving has somehow managed to remain pure, especially because it is totally sandwiched between two of the biggest commercial holidays: Halloween and Christmas.

5. It is an inside holiday
   It’s true that there are other holidays that are low-key, only last one day, and are pretty much all about the food, namely Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. But for those three holidays, you have to be outside, which I can’t stand. I don’t like to be hot, I don’t like bugs, or sweating, or exercise, or nature in general. But by November here in the Midwest it’s cold, which means you are forced to stay inside to celebrate, and that means sitting on the couch, they way the Pilgrims intended it to be.

6. It’s all about gratitude
   I can be a pretty cynical person, and it’s easy for me to focus on what is going wrong in my life. So it’s awesome that we have one day a year that is set aside to focus on being grateful for what we do have in our lives that is going right. And no matter how curmudgeonly I feel when I start out the day, once I spend time thinking about what I am grateful for, I always feel better.

Do you love Thanksgiving? I’d love to hear your reasons below. And I hope you all have a very happy and healthy holiday!

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of better improv! Join Jimmy for his Two-Person Scene Tune-Up on Dec. 30. Only $79 if you register by Dec. 14!