Thanksgiving Is Part of the Christmas Season

Every year around this time, somebody tries to be bold and say

“Thanksgiving is not part of Christmas.”

And every year, I smile really sweet and say

“Yes, it is. Bless your heart.”

Because let’s be honest. Thanksgiving is the soft launch of Christmas.

The warm-up.

The moment the world slows down just long enough for us to look around and say

“God, You have been good.”

A family surrounded around a beautifully baked pie

Thanksgiving is when the tree boxes come out of the closet, the cinnamon candles get lit, and the Christmas playlist starts sneaking into the background like it has been waiting all year to shine. It is not competing with Christmas. It is preparing us for it.

And maybe that is the point.

Thanksgiving is not just about turkey and casseroles.

It is the season where our hearts shift.

Where we look back on a whole year the good, the hard, the unexpected twists and realize God carried us through every single bit of it.

Before Christmas ever arrives Thanksgiving reminds us why Christmas matters.

We thank God for

• The prayers He answered quietly behind the scenes.

• The doors He opened that we did not even recognize at the time.

• The strength He gave us on the days we barely had any left.

• The blessings He poured out even when we were too overwhelmed to notice.

• The comfort He whispered into the places we did not talk about publicly.

Thanksgiving is the moment we pause and say

“Lord, You have done so much already.”

And then comes the beauty.

Because before we ever get to the manger

before the star

before the angels singing

before the shepherds ran to see the Savior

There is a moment where we pause and say

“Lord, You have already done so much.”

Grandpapa is easing the turkey onto the table while Grandmama steadies him, the whole family laughing like they're expecting it to go sliding across the table

Thanksgiving tilts our hearts upward.

And Christmas gives us Emmanuel, God who became human and stepped into the world that he himself, as the Father, created.

These two seasons are not separate. They hold hands.

Thanksgiving makes room in our hearts.

Christmas fills that room with hope.

Thanksgiving looks back on God’s faithfulness.

Christmas celebrates the promise that saved us all.

So yes. In my book, Thanksgiving is absolutely part of the Christmas season.

It is the bridge between what God has already done

and the miracle He sent into the world.

And when I sit at that Thanksgiving table looking at family, friends, and whatever chaos is happening in the kitchen, I already feel the glow of Christmas wrapping itself around the room.

Because the same God who got us here

is the same God who gave us the greatest Gift of all.

And I am thankful for every bit of it.