This is my favorite holiday of the year. I always wake up with much anticipation for the day. I’ll enjoy my morning coffee while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, along with some other parades that are being shown on CNN. I have been spending the holiday morning doing this for many years. I did a post on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and some of its history HERE, if you’d like to see that. I’ve included some photos from their press packets of bygone years, and some details about the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street which began filming at the parade in 1946. I’ll find time to watch that movie this weekend, too. Seeing Tom Turkey start the parade is so fun, and heralds the start of the holiday season.

A couple of years ago I started a Pinterest board to save pictures of the legendary parade –Thanksgiving Parade!!  I wish I could share more of them on the blog, but you’ll just have to go to the link to see them.  There are images pinned from before WWII, modern images, and even some from Miracle on 34th Street. This was Edmund Gwenn as the actual Macy’s Santa in the real parade in 1946.

This morning, I pause to remember all the things I am grateful for – health and family, friends and faithful readers like you, food on the table, and time to enjoy it all in safety and security in a free country. We are grateful that the hurricane didn’t cause much damage to our property, and we hope that those still affected will be fully recovered soon. We are grateful for our home in the mountains with the abundance of trees and wildlife.

Even though we will spend this day with just the two of us, we’ll get with out-of-state family over the long holiday weekend on Zoom. The day will be even better as I chat with friends both online and on the phone, and enjoy Thanksgiving day football. There is indeed much to be thankful for.

Then, we’ll sit down to a feast!

There will be some internet surfing for great bargains as you never know what you might find and need to grab before it is sold out. I got my fabulous turkey plates by ordering them on sale on Thanksgiving morning a few years ago, for use in years to come. They sold out mere hours later.

If you are in the mood to start some holiday shopping, here are the best deals this weekend for my affiliate vendors. I really appreciate it when you can use these links to begin your holiday shopping, as they help pay the costs of the blog, keeping obnoxious ads off my posts, and funding the costs of server space, domain, photo storage, shipping prizes, materials for new designs and giveaways. I try to only put these in a post when there is a sale or a deal that might interest you.

Fat Quarter Shop is sew thankful for you all year long, and this season gives us the perfect moment to express it a little louder! To show our appreciation, we’re offering you a FREE Strawberry Garden Book by Fig Tree Quilts with orders$40 and over! Add to your cart, then use promo code: THANKS25. November specials include 20% off the Basic of the Month Shades by Riley Blake, 30% Off the Notions of the Month Guetermann Threads, 30% off featuredPatterns of the Month and book of the month from Primitive Gatherings. Then, check outToday’s Flash Sale and see the Precuts of the Week.

Sulky Threads and Stabilizers early Black Friday sale – Get 35% off your entire order with code BLACK35! Sale ends at Midnight tonight! Also, get free shipping on any order over $60. Then, check out the New Year’s Eve Sew Along from 12pm – 4pm ET, a live streaming event to make a new style of bag, the Lamont. Sew a sling-style bag, complete with clip-on accessories made in the hoop of your embroidery machine. All digital files needed for in-the-hoop sewing are included with the class. Sign up for the class, and get your kit separately in four colorways everything you need to complete the project – fabric, thread, hardware, and stabilizer.

Milk Street is having a great Black Friday Super Sale, 75% Off Selected items, no code needed! Click on the store, and check out the Milk Street Holiday Catalog.

Electric Quilt is offering a 25% discount now with code BlackFriday, including the software, books, block encyclopedia and add-ons for fabric and more blocks. Sale ends November 30.

Wishing you a holiday filled
with love and laughter.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!