Thanksgiving is one of America’s most beloved holidays, giving families a chance to share a meal together and reflect on all the things for which they are grateful. The first Thanksgiving dates back to Plymouth, MA in 1621, and each U.S. president declared a yearly celebration of the holiday until Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Thanksgiving into law permanently in 1941. But even though Thanksgiving is centered on family and gratefulness, it’s still become a highly commercialized holiday. That’s apparent from the fact that the next day is Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and a few days later is Cyber Monday, which brings scores of online deals. Last year, consumers spent a little over $300 per person during the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. Luckily, though, it doesn’t cost too much to make a Thanksgiving feast for your family – around $53 on average for 10 people. To help Americans find the best places to go for Thanksgiving without breaking the bank, WalletHub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 20 key metrics. Their data set ranges from the cost of Thanksgiving dinner and share of delayed flights to volunteer opportunities per capita and forecasted precipitation. Check out our top 5: 5. Gilbert, AZ Downtown Gilbert - Istock/DenisTangneyJr Set in Arizona’s “Valley of the Sun” just a stone’s throw from Phoenix and the rocky San Tan Mountains, Gilbert is the biggest small town you’ll ever meet. Gilbert has a vibrant dining scene and offers something for even the most discerning palate. Patios abound and locally sourced ingredients deliver a uniquely Arizona flavor. Gilbert’s diverse and eclectic mix of retail shops and stores make for great discoveries for yourself or a friend. Meet the local makers and support their craft. There are a lot of prominent places to visit and things to do on Thanksgiving in Gilbert. If you are looking for places to eat then you should go for buffets and Thanksgiving dinners in Gilbert, they serve you a feast and make it a scrumptious celebration. Apart from dinners, you can explore some interesting and unique Thanksgiving events in Gilbert, one of the major and annual events definitely would be the Thanksgiving parade. Indulge in this mind blowing experience where there is food, fun and family. If you don’t want to go conventional then you can even opt for races, dinner cruise, yoga classes and more. Gilbert is packed with action from sports to the theater. Mural-clad brick walls, glowing benches, a solo gopher, waterways art, and a color-changing water tower are a few creations found in the Heritage District. Experience the local Broadway theater, historical museum, and gallery to feed your cultural side. 4. Raleigh, NC Downtown Raleigh - Istock/Mark Howard When it comes to food and drinks, the Raleigh area is home to some of the best-kept secret eateries dishing out and serving up some truly awesome experiences. Downtown Raleigh restaurants are offering dine-in or carry-out Turkey Day meals and treats, so there's no need to worry! Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, is one of the South’s most vibrant, eclectic cities – where eclectic meets traditional and historic meets modern. Centrally located along the USA's eastern coast, the city forms part of North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle, a wellspring of education, research and technical innovation. You’ll discover outstanding arts and culture (earning the city the nickname “Smithsonian of the South”), a renowned culinary landscape (including the James Beard Foundation's 2019 Best Chef in America, Ashley Christensen) and a music scene that inspired “Rolling Stone” to call Raleigh one of the top eight emerging music cities in the USA. If you get there early in the week (Nov 19th) be sure to check out Raleigh's best (and biggest) annual traditions—the ABC11 Raleigh Christmas Parade! An event truly made for the whole family. The Raleigh Christmas Parade, the largest such parade between Atlanta and Washington, D.C., marches through downtown Raleigh for more than two hours, drawing nearly 80,000 visitors to the streets to see marching bands, dancers, classic cars, superheroes and Santa Claus. 3. Las Vegas, NV Courtesy Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau Las Vegas is a city that was made for entertainment, carved out of the Mojave Desert with escape in mind. Millions of people visit Las Vegas annually to relax, dine, shop, see performers, experience the nightlife and, of course, enjoy a go at the gaming tables. November is a prime time to visit Vegas, with perfect weather, lots to see and do, and some of the best Thanksgiving dining you could ever hope for. With an impressive collection of world-class restaurants — many from highly esteemed and decorated chefs — Vegas is one of the best cities in the world for dining. Experiencing the destination's dining scene on a holiday is even better, as special menus and seasonal items get added into the mix. Vegas also begins to celebrate the holiday season, so you’ll have the treat of seeing the Las Vegas Strip all lit up with holiday decorations. You can also enjoy the Music/Club Scene as the crowds will be smaller but the clubs will still be open – and usually with a lower cover price. 2. Orlando, FL Orlando Christmas Lights - Istock/Monisha Malli Sridharan If you’re spending Thanksgiving in Orlando, be prepared for a cornucopia of fun things to do. Whether you want to hit the theme parks, plan out your Black Friday shopping or find an amazing foodie feast. Thanksgiving in Orlando is an extravagant affair, with bountiful dining options around every corner. Buffets are a big thing for Thanksgiving, as are gourmet brunches, lavish lunches, and opulent dinner events. An array of restaurants at Disney World offer special menus over the Thanksgiving weekend. You’ll find turkey-inspired options at Disney Springs and across all 4 Disney parks. If you don’t fancy heading out you can stock up on fresh produce and cook a Thanksgiving dinner in the comfort of your vacation home. There are plenty of other entertainment options too, with special events, parties, and celebrations happening all over the city. Also, many department stores open late into the evening for the start of the door-busting Black Friday sales. You can also head over to Disney World for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which features shows, parades, and special fireworks. Epcot’s Candlelight Processional also kicks off around Thanksgiving time. It features rousing music concerts, nightly fireworks, and a re-telling of the Christian nativity story by a line-up of celebrity narrators. 1. Atlanta, GA Atlanta Thanksgiving Marathon - Courtesy of atlantatrackclub.org Georgia has a diverse and abundant list of things to do any time of the year, but especially around the holidays. Shopping, thrills and festive light displays await you. Start a new Thanksgiving tradition with your family this year by lacing up your running shoes or simply watch from the sidelines at this annual, festive Thanksgiving Day half marathon and 5k. Don’t feel like cooking? Check out restaurants that serve delicious Thanksgiving dinners. After the turkey has been tackled and the food coma averted, it’s time to get out and enjoy all that Atlanta has to offer this holiday weekend. From iconic holiday events to music and more, the possibilities for fun are endless in Atlanta. To see additional rankings and methodology click here.

It’s the spookiest time of the year, when superstition runs rampant and treats always come with the potential for a trick. But like with anything else, the more you know about Halloween, the less scary it seems. Did you know, for example, that ringing doorbells and lighting candles are thought to ward away witches, ghosts and evil spirits? And how frightening can haunted houses really be when charities operate 80% of them? Even if you’re not prone to spooking, there’s always something interesting to learn about Halloween. For instance, 20% of people plan to put costumes on pets, and 86% of parents admit to stealing candy from their kids. And that’s just the beginning. To ease your fears and help you gain a new appreciation for this hallowed holiday, WalletHub explored a wide variety of facts about Halloween, analyzing the occasion from all angles. Istock/SolStock 10 Facts About Halloween for 2022: $10.6 Billion: Projected Halloween spending in 2022.$3.6 Billion: Halloween costume spending in 2022.$3.1 Billion: Halloween candy spending in 2022.34% of parents think 13 or 14 is old enough to trick-of-treat alone.67% of Americans plan to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.86% of parents admit to stealing candy from their kids.$5.82: Average retail price of a pumpkin (up 13% from 2021).$300+ Million: Annual revenue from ticket sales for haunted attractions, 80% of which are run by charities.$11 Million: Direct property damage caused by Halloween house fires each year.72% of Americans say they would consider purchasing a haunted house to live in (but less than half would pay full market value for it). For more Halloween facts or see the infographic click here!

A steady flow of water runs through the bottom of Georgia’s Providence Canyon, but unlike other canyons, that’s not what carved it out of the earth. Formed by enslaving plantation owners who improperly managed the land about 200 years ago, it’s now a state park with hiking and camping options. Known as “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon,” it’s been a popular spot since Covid. If you’re in the southeast U.S., you don’t have to travel far to feel like you’re in the American West. Providence Canyon is a geological wonder of its own. Located about 150 miles southwest of Atlanta near the Alabama border, the canyon sits in one of Georgia’s least-populated counties. It’s named for the Providence Methodist Church, which was swallowed by the newly forming canyon gorges in the 1800s. A new church was constructed across the road after the chasms started to form. From observation decks near the parking lot, you can see the islands of remaining ground-level earth with a few pine trees that dramatically drop off into the canyons below. But to really experience Providence Canyon, you’ll want to take a hike along the canyon floor. Walking down into the gullies is like entering another world. After a short tree-lined descent, you’re on a flat plane looking up at the layered pink, yellow, and purple canyon walls. You’re now more than 100 feet below where you started. Istock/SeanPavonePhoto The ground has eroded away so much that it’s hit the water table, so rain or shine, there’s a stream of water pulling silty soil along the floor of the canyons. You’ll want to wear ankle-height hiking shoes and be prepared for that iconic Georgia clay dirt to get on your shoes, pants, and inexplicably other parts of your clothes or body where you didn’t expect to find it. From the main loop trail, you can fork out into individual paths to nine canyon walls. A backcountry trail through the shallow creek leads to the primitive campsites. The canyons were formed in the early 1800s, after the Muscogee (Creek) indigenous people were forced from their land and plantation farms growing cotton took over the area. The plantation model of agriculture, reliant on enslaved labor, didn’t take precautions to prevent erosion. They couldn't have been prepared for how quickly and dramatically the land would change. Year after year, the cotton and other crops washed away along with clay and topsoil every time it rained. Within 20 years, enough of the ground had sloughed away that gullies four feet deep had formed. This erosion continued over time, and the gullies are now as yawning as 150 feet deep and 350 feet wide. The canyons are still evolving today. Every year, rain and erosion wear away another two to five feet of land. Their sandy sides are fully exposed, so there’s not much the park staff can do to stop it from continuing to slough off. Most of the erosion these days is horizontal, widening the gullies: the canyon floor now has pine trees and other vegetation that keeps the soil from running off, and there’s not much deeper it could go. In the 1930s, the local paper in nearby Columbus, GA, started to make Providence Canyon a national park, hoping to bring tourists driving in to see “the natural wonder and beauty. . .instead of having it principally a discussion of erosion.” But despite the newspaper campaign emphasizing the “natural wonder,” its unnatural origins kept Providence Canyon off the national parks list. Georgia made it a state park in 1971, and it’s presented as the human-created formation that it is. Although Providence Canyon wasn’t naturally formed, it reveals parts of the natural world that are normally hidden. There are 43 different shades of sand that create sunset-like patterns along the canyon’s walls. The shades come from four base colors created by minerals in the soil. In addition to the classic red Georgia clay, which gets its pigmentation from iron, there’s white from kaolin, yellow from limonite, and purple from manganese. Istock/Jacqueline Nix Above the canyon walls, there are other unnatural features: walk up the loop trail and you’ll emerge to the ridgeline where a small collection of cars has been slowly reclaimed by nature. The cars date back to the ‘50s, and only the rusted-out bodies remain — no glass, no tires. Leaves cover the interior, and root structures grow in the tire wells. The park managers have determined that it would be more harmful to the wildlife to remove the cars than to leave them as they are, slowly becoming a part of their surroundings. The canyons are a reminder that everywhere on earth has been shaped by humans in one way or another. Whether by plantation farming practices or pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or moving plants from one continent to another, human life has completely altered the planet. Providence Canyon just makes that impact more visually obvious. It’s a state park for the Anthropocene, and a fantastic day trip.

Along with its neighbor Fort Worth, Dallas makes up one of the largest and liveliest metropolitan areas in the entire United States. Due to both its fascinating past and big, bold and, some say, brash reputation, the city epitomizes Texas for many people. Known for tourist attractions like Reunion Tower, Dallas Zoo and of course the Dallas Cowboys. We thought we would go beyond the usual Dallas tourist spots and share these 5 unique Dallas experiences. 1. The Haunted Tavern: A Dark Pop-Up Cocktail Experience Haunted Tavern - Courtesy of Fever October 20 – October 30, 2022 Thurs. - Sun. at Swan Dive - Sons of Hermann HallDuration: 1 hour and 30 minutesCost: $55 includes 4 cocktails - 21+ with valid ID The Haunted Tavern is an immersive cocktail experience run by the descendants of Ichabod Crane. You will visit one of the most haunted locations in Dallas as the tavern keeper guides you through a 4-part interactive cocktail journey. Hear the chilling and dark tales that haunt the venue, and beware the ghost that never left... Your night will be filled with surprises—the ghost tends to sit in on the experience and scare those brave enough (or filled with enough liquid courage) to enter! Get Tickets for The Haunted Tavern Experience 2. Classic Handmade Pasta Handmade pasta - Istock/gldburger October 20th and November 17, 6pm at Vector Brewing, DallasDuration: 2 hours Cost: $59 - 21+ with valid ID Escape to Italy without leaving Dallas for an evening to master the the art of making pasta. Follow the steps demonstrated by your chef instructor to make beautiful Pappardelle noodles and Orecchiette. Guests will learn to make dough from scratch, as well as rolling it out and shaping it to create their picture perfect pasta. Your chef instructor will demonstrate how to make a traditional Italian Pomodoro (Ragu) sauce, with the help of some audience participation. Serve the sauce over your pasta al dente and enjoy a delicious meal in a fun social environment. Drinks available for purchase during the class. Get Tickets for The Handmade Pasta Experience 3. Authentic Flamenco by the Royal Opera of Madrid & Fever Flamenco Dancing - Courtesy of Fever November 11th - 20th Fridays–Sundays at Edison’s - 1724 Cockrell Ave, DallasDuration: 1 hour to 90 minutes depending on ticket levelCost: $46 - $120 - all ages are welcome! Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult Originating in Spain, this special show, in partnership with the Royal Opera of Madrid and produced by SO-LA-NA, brings together award-winning professionals for an unforgettable performance with stunning vocals, instruments, and dances. With VIP admission you enjoy a tasting of Spanish products before the show, and meet and greet with the artists to take photos after the show. Get Tickets for The Authentic Flamenco Experience 4. Candlelight: A Tribute to Beyonce Candlelight Concert - Courtesy of Fever November 25 and December 28 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at HALL Arts HotelDuration: 60 minutes (doors open 45 mins prior to the start time and late entry is not permitted)Cost: $45 - $65 - 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Dallas. Get your tickets now to discover the music from Beyoncé by Listeso String Quartet at HALL Arts Hotel under the gentle glow of candlelight. Get Tickets for the Candlelight: A Tribute to Beyonce 5. Stone Grilling Wagyu Dinner & Whiskey Tasting Whiskey Tasting - IStock/5PH October 15, November 12, or December 10 at 3114 Swiss Ave DallasDuration: 3 hoursCost: $97 - 21+ with valid ID Good drinks, a fine Wagyu steak—all that's missing is you! Prepare to expand your drink knowledge with other whiskey enthusiasts while getting a first-hand education in hot stone grilling as you learn the art of cooking your own Wagyu steak to your liking. No need to worry if the chef will cook it to perfection, because the chef is you! A variety of whiskeys will also be on hand for each individual to sample. Get Tickets for The Whiskey Tasting Experience If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission from our partners - thank you!