What Thanksgiving Looked Like the Decade You Were Born
Most families have Thanksgiving traditions they've been honoring for years. For some, it's the mouthwatering recipes—and for others, everyone attends the local parade together. Or maybe you and your family always see a movie.
We dug into the photo archives to see how Thanksgiving was celebrated in decades past—and as it turns out, not too much has changed. Ahead, see 60 vintage Thanksgiving photos sure to make you very nostalgic.
1920s
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featured a 35-foot long tiger balloon and a 60-foot long fish balloon. Thank goodness balloons don't look this terrifying anymore!
1920s
A grandmother and her grandson are photographed dressing the turkey in the kitchen.
1930s
Actress Joan Crawford carves a turkey for a publicity photo. Apparently, this was quite a common pose for actors in the 30s and beyond.
1930s
Another shot of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which a massive teddy bear balloon floats down past the old Toffenetti restaurant.
1930s
16-year-old RKO film star Anne Shirley shows off her properly dressed turkey in Hollywood, California.
1930s
We love this bird's-eye view of the 1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1930s
Onlookers watch as a carriage rides through the Thanksgiving procession at Westminster Abbey in London.
1930s
Crowds gather on Broadway to watch hippopotamus and squirrel balloons float down the street during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1930s
President Roosevelt carves the Thanksgiving turkey at the Warm Springs Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
1930s
At the 1931 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a massive dragon balloon floats down the jam-packed street.
1940s
A U.S. soldier in World War II shows two turkeys to his fellow troops for their Thanksgiving Day lunch in Italy.
1940s
This photo shows multiple families on a farm in Pennsylvania sharing Thanksgiving dinner. For how long were you relegated to the kids' table?
1940s
In Connecticut, a woman pours water over her turkey to keep it moist for her Thanksgiving feast.
1940s
This photo from 1942 shows American soldiers celebrating Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey for its first non-sectarian service.
1940s
A little girl looks on excitedly at a Thanksgiving feast in the mid-1940s.
1940s
Two American soldiers celebrate Thanksgiving with a feast at the Halloran Hospital after being wounded in the war.
1940s
An older woman proudly shows off her perfectly dressed bird. (And check out those retro appliances.)
1940s
Here we have a teenage boy eating his drumstick with his elbows on the table. Some things never change.
1940s
Back when getting a live turkey was more mainstream than it is today, a woman carries her Thanksgiving gobbler home on her back, while holding an axe in her right hand. Yikes!
1940s
A helium teddy bear flies over the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1940s
In this 1947 photo, President Harry Truman is presented with a turkey from members of the poultry industry—but the tradition of pardoning the birds came later.
1940s
A dancer warms up with a high kick as she marches down 34th Street in the 1949 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1950s
In another shot from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a candy-themed float passes through Herald Square.
1950s
Actress and pinup girls, Bettie Page, Toni Claire, and Irene Bolton, save a turkey and take aim at a pumpkin instead during the 33rd annual Roseland Thanksgiving Eve Ball.
1950s
Marching bands are still common at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade today—and the uniforms really haven't changed much either.
1950s
Actress Virginia Gibson hops on a giant turkey and poses while wearing a twist on a Puritan outfit in 1952.
1950s
A woman is photographed basting her Thanksgiving turkey in her retro kitchen, with other dishes for the feast resting on the stovetop.
1950s
Betty White and Lorne Greene arrive at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on horseback.
1950s
With a Spaceman float hovering above, roller skaters line up at Times Square, ready to skate down to Herald Square for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1950s
The hosts of CBS's Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage, actors Peter Graves and Julie Sommars, are surrounded by balloons created for the event.
1950s
A veteran and a nurse are photographed in the Veterans Administration Hospital kitchen in Los Angeles, surveying the turkeys lined up for the holiday meal.
1950s
President Eisenhower pardons the Thanksgiving turkey he received from Kentucky.
1960s
The high-energy Radio City Rockettes—known best for their legendary kickline—are staples in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1960s
Actress Marlo Thomas holds a baster on the set of That Girl for the 1967 Thanksgiving episode, "Thanksgiving Comes But Once A Year, Hopefully."
1960s
Hosts Betty White and Lorne Green are photographed in the press box at the 1968 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1960s
The Rockettes, dressed like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan, photographed mid-high kick for the 1966 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1960s
John F. Kennedy and Senator Everett M. Dirksen pardon the Thanksgiving turkey outside the White House in 1963.
1970s
John Lennon, Harry Nillson, and Alice Cooper celebrate Thanksgiving at a concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
1970s
First Lady Pat Nixon accepts the White House turkey from the National Turkey Federation in 1971.
1970s
Actresses Amy Irving, Carrie Fisher, and Teri Garr have fun during a Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant Sybil's in 1977.
1970s
On the set of Saturday Night Live's season 5 Thanksgiving episode, Bill Murray, Paul Shaffer, and Laraine Newman perform the "Thanksgiving Dinner" skit.
1970s
Singer Diana Ross stands on a giant pumpkin float as she passes through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1979.
1970s
Alice Cooper and friends celebrate another Thanksgiving at the Troubadour.
1980s
Actresses Judy and Audrey Landers sit atop a fake horse on a float during the 58th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1980s
Legendary talk show host Regis Philbin only hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade one time, in 1981.
1980s
At the Thanksgiving parade, Shirley Jones smiles for the camera wearing a fluffy pink coat and sequined turtleneck that matches her eye makeup.
1980s
Kady Riklis and Pia Zadora smile for the camera at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1987.
1980s
The presidential pardoning continues with Ronald Reagan posing with a turkey and its farmers for the annual tradition.
1980s
Bob Saget, holding a burnt turkey alongside Dave Coulier and John Stamos on the set of Full House's Thanksgiving episode, "The Miracle of Thanksgiving."
1980s
Actors Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray hosting CBS's 28th Annual All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1987.
1980s
Mary Gross and Jim Belushi acting on the set of the "Thanksgiving Dinner" skit during the 9th season of Saturday Night Live.
1990s
Cast members from the Broadway hit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat perform at the 1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1990s
The Rockettes line up wearing sparkly coats, top hats, and heels for the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Herald Square.
1990s
Jay Leno on the set of The Tonight Show's Thanksgiving episode, where he featured three young "expert turkey callers."
1990s
A Betty Boop balloon floats down 34th Street during the 69th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1990s
Pictured here, the Spiderman balloon during the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1990s
President Bill Clinton greets people after returning from his Thanksgiving celebration at Camp David.
1990s
Rugrats balloons make their way through Times Square during a rainy Thanksgiving parade in 1998.
1990s
Fans wear festive headgear to the Thanksgiving day football game featuring the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions.
1990s
Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer on the set of one of Friends's iconic Thanksgiving episodes.
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