There are three things one thinks of when Thanksgiving time rolls around: turkey, travel and the Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Fall is upon us and before you can pull a football out from under someone, it will be time to gather around the table with family and friends for food and festivities. However, the special usually airs a week or two before Turkey Day, giving you ample time to make a themed dinner for a viewing party.
Decorating for your fun themed dinner is pretty simple — just pull out a ping-pong table and some mismatched chairs to get that Charlie Brown vibe. The more makeshift, garage-sale-looking furniture you can throw together, the better.
If you can host in a backyard, then have friends eat al fresco. And don’t forget red napkins folded in fancy shapes. Include some of the snacks and entrées below, which Snoopy would be proud to serve.
And if your dinner doesn’t come out exactly the way you like it? Don’t fret. As Marcie says, “Thanksgiving is more than just the food. It’s a chance to be thankful for being together.”
Dress the part
You can provide pilgrim costumes like Snoopy and Woodstock wore, complete with a Myles Standish black hat.
Or dress as your favorite kid — come wearing a blue dress and a football for Lucy, a yellow Izod with some zigzags made from black tape for Charlie Brown or a red-and-black-striped top complete with a blue blanket for Linus.
Get your Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on
Before you can celebrate with Snoopy and the gang, you have to get the movie ready:
MOVIE: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Don’t have it? Get it at Amazon or see more options)
RUNNING TIME: 0 hours, 50 minutes
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1973
RATING: Not rated
STARRING: Todd Barbee, Robin Kohn, Stephen Shea
Dinner and a movie: Your Charlie Brown Thanksgiving menu
And now, for our feature presentation…
Beverage: Salted caramel and peanut infused whiskey
For the grown-ups in the room — who probably sound like a trombone when speaking — there is an adult beverage for this fun feast. And in honor of Snoopy, Charlie and the gang, this whiskey cocktail from Stir and Strain includes peanuts.
MORE: Turkey-decorated peanut butter cookies
For the little ones, you can borrow the Southern tradition of adding peanuts to Coke so the whole family can enjoy.
Nibbles: Candy popcorn mix
Sure, this is an Easter recipe, but we chose it to represent the colorful jelly beans and popcorn that make up a large portion of the Brown feast.
You can use jelly beans in this recipe from MakeItGrateful.com — or any leftover Halloween candy that your sweet tooth desires.
Looking for a more traditional autumnal way to put out some popcorn? Our pumpkin spice recipe combines the trendy fall flavor with the fluffy popped maize the pilgrims served at their dinner many years ago.
Appetizer: Garlicky pumpkin hummus and pretzels
Peppermint Patty loudly voiced her dismay when all she was served was pretzels and other carb-laden snacks, but then again, she can’t act right outside of a baseball field.
You can make your friends and family happy by serving up your pretzels with a delicious, Thanksgiving-themed hummus from MakeItGrateful.com. Made with both pumpkin and garlic, this will have them double-dipping for sure.
Side dish: Keto cauliflower bread
Snoopy may have misunderstood the term “break bread,” because the main course of his Michelin-star-worthy meal was toast. A lot of buttered toast.
MORE: Smoky guacamole toast with pepitas
In keeping with Peanuts‘ carb-loading tradition, we have come up with the best thing since sliced bread: keto cauliflower bread. This keto-friendly recipe lets you enjoy as much toast as Woodstock could possibly butter.
Top with avocado or hummus, or just put out a little olive oil for dipping to savor the flavor of the home-baked loaf.
Entrée: Rosemary lemon roasted turkey
Snoopy saves the real centerpiece of the meal for a private dinner with Woodstock. However, this recipe from MakeItGrateful.com is so delicious that you will want the whole family to taste it.
Made with a rosemary, lemon and garlic rub, it will nicely complement your garlic hummus and keto bread. And did we mention it looks perfect in the center of a ping-pong table?
This delicious bird yields enough to feed a family and would make Peppermint Patty very happy. Cue Snoopy’s happy dance.
Dessert: Individual cherry cheesecake desserts
Make sure to save room for dessert before Lucy’s great tradition of kicking the football. You can kick this meal to the moon with individual cherry cheesecake parfaits from Real Housemoms.
Just like the sweet treats Snoopy made for good ol’ Chuck and the gang, these delights come in a parfait glass or wine glass. Not only does this signify this is a special occasion, but (bonus!) it also makes you feel like a kid again.
MORE: 9 family activities for Thanksgiving Day
The simple no-bake recipe swirls cherry pie filling with whipped cheesecake. Add whipped cream and another cherry on top and people will fight a folding chair for seconds.
