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Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom - Where to Celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK
Find a Thanksgiving Dinner, Party and Parade in the UK

By , About.com Guide

Roast Turkey for ThanksgivingGetty Images
Nov 26 2009
So you thought you could pass up Thanksgiving dinner to take advantage of a great travel deal and you're already getting homesick for sweet potatoes and Mom's chestnut stuffing. Or maybe you're in the UK to study or for work, you can't justify flying home for one dinner, but you really, really wish you could.

Not to worry. Help - in the form of Thanksgiving in the UK - is at hand.

A Pilgrims' UK Thanksgiving in Plymouth, England

Sadly, we have been unable to confirm the Pilgrim Thanksgiving in Plymouth, England, this year (2009). Since it has been an annual event for a long time, we hope it returns soon.

In what looks suspiciously like an attack of "Come back, all is forgiven", the people of Plymouth, in Devon, England, lay on a major Thanksgiving celebration to commemorate their Mayflower and Transatlantic heritage. It lasts the whole weekend. Events include:

  • Thanksgiving reception and traditional Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday
  • A celebration dinner and dance on Friday
  • Raising the Stars and Stripes on Plymouth Hoe with the Royal Marine Band playing patriotic American tunes
  • A Thanksgiving Parade on The Barbican - The Mayflower's departure point, now called the Mayflower Steps.
  • Basketball games, American football, themed nights at local clubs, concerts.
Get this year's program
Find a place to stay in Plymouth and get a good rate

Thanksgiving in the UK

A surprising number of restaurants around the UK serve special Thanksgiving menus on that all important 4th Thursday in November. Most - but not all - are in London. If you aren't near any of the restaurants on this list, ask at the better hotels near where you are staying and you've got a good chance of finding a Thanksgiving dinner.

Don't be surprised, however, if that dinner includes a few rather non-traditional items. At one hotel in London they serve butternut squash with ginger foam and turkey with cranberry "jus". Elsewhere, roast pork belly and grill sea bass are on "Thanksgiving" menus. Actually the less expensive the meal is, the less pretentious and the more like the real thing it is likely to be. But Hey, Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore. Chin up and enjoy your dinner. Happy Thanksgiving!

Where to find Thanksgiving in 2009

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