Snoopy and the gang show how to celebrate Thanksgiving 

If there is one thing I look forward to every holiday, it is sitting on my couch, wrapped in my favorite blanket and watching my favorite holiday specials. Specifically, I have always had a soft spot for Charlie Brown or its proper name “Peanuts” cartoons. I grew up watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) with my parents, and it is a staple on our television every year. 

However, this isn’t the only Charlie Brown special out there. You name a holiday, there is a coordinating special. Need a way to celebrate Arbor Day, well you can watch “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown” (1976). 

If you wanted to find a way to celebrate Halloween I suggest watching the classic “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (1966). Honestly, take a few days and watch all the specials they will not disappoint. I can’t pick a favorite. All of them have something special about them. Also, I have always said if I would get a dog I would get a Beagle like Snoopy. 

There is something just so nostalgic about these specials. The music score and the character’s design take me back to my childhood, watching them by myself or in school. The humor, even now as an adult, still makes me laugh uncontrollably. These specials still bring me lots of joy and the first thing I watch every festive season. 

AppleTV has all the classic specials and some new ones too, and it’s been fun watching all of them and seeing how the stories have changed over the years. It is amazing the characters have endured for so many years. 

The one that is most appropriate to talk about during this Thanksgiving season is “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973). This special always has the classic “Peanuts” staples, Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown trying to kick the football and all of the other characters we have come to love. 

Fun fact this special was the first one to have a plot not based on an existing comic strip by creator Charles M. Schulz. 

The plot of this special is Peppermint Patty invites herself, and some of the other “Peanuts” gang, over to Charlie Brown and well, classic hijinks happen. Instead of the classic turkey, Charlie Brown, with the aid of Snoopy, makes a Thanksgiving meal of toast and popcorn. There are some other non-traditional foods you would say do not normally fit into a Thanksgiving feast. 

I would eat what Charlie Brown made. He put the time and effort into that meal! It also helps that I like food very much. At the end, everyone makes up and goes to Charlie Brown’s grandmother’s house for a classic Thanksgiving meal. 

When you think about it, this was the first Friendsgiving, and there will be many more after. There are not that many Thanksgiving-themed specials that come to mind in the way one might pop in your head if I asked you to name your favorite Christmas or Halloween movie. 

Maybe we should start making more Thanksgiving specials this holiday, as the unfortunate spot to exist between two other really big holidays, Christmas and Halloween. Let’s not forget Black Friday that starts the merry season. 

When I was in elementary, and up through high school, a staple of any holiday- themed fun was a “Peanuts” cartoon. For Thanksgiving the teachers would put on the mentioned Thanksgiving special or an episode from the eight-part miniseries “This Is America, Charlie Brown” specifically the episode “The Mayflower Voyagers” about the origins of Thanksgiving. 

All the students would sit at our desks, eating snacks and forgetting about the schoolwork that was waiting for us after the break. 

The reason why I think these characters and stories still resonate with people is because the characters and stories are universal. I can still hear Charlie Brown yelling, “Good Grief!” out of frustration. 

Everyone can relate to the awkward moments of Charlie Brown and the philosophical waxings of Linus. We have all had puppy love crushes the way Sally likes Linus or Lucy with Schroeder. Let’s not forget Charlie Brown’s infatuation with the Little Red-Haired Girl. 

I have a hard time picking who my favorite “Peanuts” character is. All of them have something to like about them. In the end I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and watch “Peanuts” to get in the turkey spirit!