Oh no, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I have nowhere to go! Well, that’s me. Moved 9,000 miles away to New York City and not having many friends, I just wonder what am I going to do on a day that everyone spends with their family. Having turkey and mash potatoes and wine with their family. If you’re like me, lost pre-Thanksgiving, here are a couple of things you can do on Thanksgiving Day.

1. Macy’s 92nd parade

You need to prepare yourself mentally (and physically) if you want to watch the world’s largest parade live, right in front of you. There are so many reasons why I’d love to experience it myself but at the same time, there’s one or two that are holding me back.

Seems like there’re three reasons holding me back..

Nevertheless, I’m definitely going considering watching the parade. I can foresee that I won’t be at the parade next year but I should try it this year, huh?

Your first experience is what determines whether you’ll do it again

Have you been to the Macy’s parade, would really like to hear your experience, just to mentally prepare myself.

2. Catch a show

There will be some Broadway performances at the Macy’s parade (see above) but don’t you agree that it’s such a teaser? So just grab a ticket to the musical you’ve been wanting to watch (it’s Mean Girls for me) but bear in mind, most musicals are not performing on that day. You can check out the schedule here, I would love to watch Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera (again), and Waitress (again). There may not be any discounts on ticket prices but if you really want to watch it, why not?

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Don’t forget there are also Off-Broadway shows that you can catch. If you’re already feeling the Christmas vibes, head over to Radio City Music Hall to watch The Rockettes. It’s unfortunate The Nutcracker Ballet opens the day after but this year we’ve got The Nutcracker and the Four Realms in cinemas!

3. I’m a New Yorker and a tourist

The city will definitely be busy thanks to the Macy’s parade which ends around noon. But it doesn’t mean you can’t be a tourist in your own city! If you’re not a New Yorker, welcome to the Big Apple! A great way to go ’round the city is to purchase The New York Sightseeing Pass – you can get a Day Pass and visit as many attractions as you want to.

If the thought of being in an overcrowded city scares you, head to Lower East Side and East Village and be surrounded by art, food and music. Want to have something warm in your tummy on a cold day? Ramen (Ivan Ramen on Clinton St) is what I would go for.

4. Treat yourself to a Thanksgiving meal

I was checking out places to eat on the Internet and found that Friend of a Farmer has a Thanksgiving menu for $62/adult (I’ve been wanting to go there for their brunch menu). The Pandering Pig’s Thanksgiving menu also looks pretty good, for $58/adult. I see pumpkin and pecan pie on the menu *squeals

Just because Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, you’re not obliged to actually have turkey and mash potatoes (though you should be having wine) on this day. Nov 22 2018 is going to be chilly and a nice all-you-can-eat hotpot meal is perfect for a cold night, my go-to hotpot restaurant in Manhattan is Hometown Hotpot. They not only have hotpot but also BBQ. Perfect huh?

5. Head out of the city

If you’re born and bred in New York City, you have every reason to want to leave the city whenever you have the opportunity to do so. A day trip to Philadelphia which is 2 hours away from the city by Amtrak for museums, cheesesteaks and its magnificent history. Want to spend the day with antiques and crafts and out of the city at the same time? Lambertville in New Jersey sounds like somewhere you’ll like. It definitely sounds like somewhere I’ll like. Definitely noting it down in my list of places I want to visit.

Whether you want to be in a different city on Thanksgiving or rent an Airbnb place just to get away from the city, reward yourself. Don’t hesitate. Do what you want to do on your day off!

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Washington DC, Feb 2018

6. Unwind and enjoy some alone time at home

To some people, Thanksgiving weekend is an opportunity to get away from their jobs, coworkers, and do stuff for themselves. If you’ve been procrastinating for god-knows-how-long to clean your bedroom, reorganize and de-clutter your wardrobe (perfect timing with Black Friday coming up), it’s a great time to do so.

“Out with the old, In with the new”

My family and friends are in Malaysia, which means they are 13 hours ahead of I am. The holidays are perfect for me to reach out, give them a ring, and catch up with each other. For all you book lovers, here is 24 hours of sitting on your couch with your warmest blanket sipping on hot chocolate all while reading your favorite book. That sounds like a perfect day to me. Nothing beats hot chocolate with a warm blanket on your couch or bed.

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7. Netflix (or Hulu or Disney+ or HBO) and chill, literally

Netflix has been promoting a list of new movies they have on their platform. And this is one of the best times to catch up with some old movies or series (you can save the Christmas movies for December). I’m already getting so excited and it’s just disappointing that I’ll have only 24 hours (more than that if you count the weekend) to binge-watch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (come on, I want to finish it before the Christmas Special in December!). Here’s a list of what’s coming to Netflix in November 2018 and some of our favs may be leaving too…

What’s on your list of Netflix to-watch for the weekend?

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8. Prepare yourself for Black Friday shopping

Get your list ready, go through the stores you want to stop by in your head, and make sure you don’t waste any second shopping in the city. Check out my last post on preparing for Black Friday shopping.

IS YOUR LIST READY? Because mine isn’t. Brb, have to work on it now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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