Four Celebrities Who Have A History Of Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is a popular holiday with historical roots in religious and cultural traditions. Over time it transcended its origins to become celebrated secularly.

Like most American holidays, it is steeped in legend and symbolism and capped with the annual Thanksgiving meal, typically including turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, pies, and other traditional meals.

For the average family, it is an apt time to gather around and create timeless memories. Therefore, it is not unexpected to see several individuals go over and beyond to make the holiday a lot more memorable for themselves and family.

Such memorable moments most times come by observing a yearly Thanksgiving tradition unique to the family. In this manner, many celebrities also have such habits. With the past celebrated holiday, all these traditions were relived. Here are a few stars that have fun thanksgiving traditions and what they do on the day.

For Katie Holmes, her Thanksgiving tradition seems to mirror the action characters her ex-husband Tom cruise portrays. She is involved in a couple of activities, keeping her on her feet all through the day.

The "All We Had" star joins her family in an annual game called "Turkey Trot." Invented by her dad, the game implies a three-mile run in the local park.

There is a prize given to each winner that gets coveted for bragging rights within the family. Holmes also partakes in a tradition started by her mother. She makes tasty pumpkin bars - a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, but not too spicy.

She relives this tradition even when her work sometimes keeps her from celebrating it in her home. In addition, Holmes is big on décor and regularly visits the flower mart each year to make a good flower presentation for guests.

Following Ryan Reynolds's divorce from Scarlett Johansson, he met his current partner Blake Lively on the set of "Green lantern." Before their marriage in 2012, Lively had a Thanksgiving tradition that involved celebrating the holiday in a very foody way.

According to Instyle, the A-list actress disclosed that she spends a lot of time in the kitchen cooking up several delicacies for her family. In her words, "On Thanksgiving, I'll cook an entire feast, a 12-course mean. And it's hard to pick a favorite, but my sweet potato casserole is pretty good."

Her holiday tradition is something to marvel at, as cooking such an amount of food is time-consuming and tasking. It is hard to tell if the actress has changed the tradition to accommodate her large family with Reynolds. The pair lead a family of five, including three daughters, James, Inez, and Betty, born in that order.

From the look of things, Jessica Alba had a swell time during Thanksgiving from her early years. Some years ago, she revealed that the moment was a great time to relax with friends and family over food.

Per Instyle, she detailed her annual family thanksgiving tradition. "I love holiday traditions. We have a big family-and-friends sit-down dinner.

She also added that her parents ruled the kitchen on that day. Their family and friends always anticipate her father's spicy turkey.

"Cash, me, and my parents throw down in the kitchen, and my dad makes the yummiest tender turkeys," she added. "He makes a spicy version—seasoned with fresh jalapeños—and a classic version with all the fixings."

Granted, her family understands the need for having a big family time out to bring everyone closer. The intimate moment also comes with food, in line with tradition. Evidently, one can assume that Alba and her family are living it up every Thanksgiving Day.

The holiday connotes a time for gratitude and spending intimate moments with family, and Oprah is no different. On that day, she ensures she stays off work, hooks up with her large family, and get her hands dirty in the kitchen.

Over the years, she has posted several pictures of herself with family, cooking up a feast in the kitchen, and having a fun time. But for Oprah, her Thanksgiving tradition comes the day after the celebration.

She once shared on Instagram that the best thing about the day is the leftovers she gathers from the celebration. She mixes them up and prepares what she calls "Turkey Hash."

In the video, she said, "This is leftover Turkey and chopped potatoes, little onion, peppers, and we call it a turkey hash around here."