I've always been a big fan of Thanksgiving—maybe more than most. I look forward to the warmth of family time without the pressures of gift shopping, wrapping, and marathon holiday scheduling. Christmas is wonderful, of course, but it can feel like a sprint: closing out year-end business, juggling the kids' school performances, tracking down gifts, hosting, and attending parties. It's exhausting.
But Thanksgiving… that's the sweet spot. Simple. Genuine. Get the family together, share the cooking, and enjoy the ultimate turkey/football couch nap.
In this week's newsletter, my business partner at Exit Wealth, Ted Jenkin, lets loose!
Okay. The pumpkin season is officially over and now it's Christmastime.
Walk into any store in America right now and you'll think you've stepped into Santa's workshop, with peppermint everything, aisles of ornaments, pre-lit trees, inflatable snowmen, and twinkling lights in your neighborhood that would make even Clark Griswold proud.
But try finding a simple Thanksgiving decoration. A turkey, a harvest tablecloth, a grateful-themed tablecloth and you practically need a search warrant. Somewhere between the discount Halloween candy and the Black Friday promo aisle, Thanksgiving has vanished like a missing person.
And it's not your imagination. Christmas is steamrolling Thanksgiving and there are three big cultural and economic reasons why.
1. Retailers Make More Money Selling Christmas Than Gratitude
Let's call this what it is: Thanksgiving just isn't profitable enough.
Thanksgiving has stayed loyal to its old-school identity of food, family, gratitude, naps, and football. It's emotional but not commercial. You don't buy matching pajamas for it. You don't send greeting cards. Your kids don't demand a gift haul.
Retailers hate that.
On the other hand Christmas is a revenue machine:
- Décor
- Lights
- Trees
- Electronics
- Travel
- Gifts
- Wrapping paper
- Holiday apparel
- Candy
- Specialty Goods
Thanksgiving décor might bring in a couple billion dollars. Christmas? Try hundreds of billions of dollars.
So stores don't even pretend anymore. The moment the last trick-or-treater grabs their fun-size Snickers, out come the reindeer and wreaths. Not because Americans wanted it but because stores can squeeze an extra six weeks of revenue out of your holiday spirit.
If you've wondered why you can buy a twelve-foot inflatable nutcracker before you can find a turkey placemat, now you know.
2. Black Friday Has Become the New Thanksgiving Tradition
If you want to measure the cultural shift in this country, don't look at décor and just examine behavior.
Twenty years ago, Thanksgiving was sacred. Now? It's basically the pregame show for Black Friday with some stores actually opening on Thanksgiving.
Retailers have done a masterful job convincing Americans that holiday shopping is a holiday. Black Friday used to begin Friday morning. Then midnight. Then Thursday evening. Then Thursday afternoon.
At this point, the turkey isn't even cold before people are scanning QR codes, checking store apps, and comparing "doorbusters" that happen at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving slowly stopped being a national moment of pause and started becoming a national moment of spending. Gratitude is getting replaced with discount FOMO. And when the holiday's main purpose is eclipsed by sales, the culture follows. The decorations don't stand a chance.
3. America Is More Stressed Than Ever and Christmas Is An Escape Hatch
Thanksgiving is about reflection.
Christmas is about escapism.
One demands we sit with what we have while the other invites us to cover life in lights, nostalgia, sugar cookies, and some good old fashion instant gratification.
In a year where inflation is squeezing families, and more than half of Americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck, people are grabbing onto anything that brings comfort even if it means dragging out the Christmas bins before the pumpkins rot.
Why This Actually Matters In 2025
Some people will shrug and say, "Who cares? It's just decorations."
But I think it's deeper. Thanksgiving isn't political. It's purely American.
Thanksgiving is the one holiday uniquely designed to make us pause, reconnect, and recalibrate. There are no gifts. No costumes. No commercial agenda. It's a 24-hour reminder that what we already have is enough which is something we desperately need in a world that constantly tells us we're behind.
If we allow Thanksgiving to disappear and be replaced by 60 days of Christmas promos and artificial urgency we will lose a holiday that strengthens the financial and emotional health of families.
A country that forgets how to be grateful eventually forgets how to be grounded.
Bring Back the Turkey Season
Look, I love Christmastime. I'm not the Grinch. But we can enjoy Christmas without erasing Thanksgiving.
So this year, don't let retailers rush you past the one holiday where nobody is asking you to spend money, buy things you don't need, or "spave" your gratitude into more holiday debt.
Sit. Eat. Talk. Watch football. Take a nap. Be grateful.
And proudly display a turkey or two.
It's time to bring Thanksgiving back.
Ted Jenkin
Managing Partner & Chief Marketing Officer | Exit Wealth Advisors
CFP®, AWMA®, AAMS®, CEPA®
All opinions expressed in this newsletter is for general informational purposes and constitutes the judgment of the author(s) as the date of the newsletter. The opinions and views expressed by the author are personal and based on economic or market conditions at the time of publication. Actual economic or market events may turn out differently than anticipated. Nothing in this material is intended to serve as personalized investment, tax, or insurance advice. These opinions are subject to change without notice and are not intended to provided specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
The material has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Exit Wealth® cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here any have been condensed or summarized from its original source. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. As always, please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital and past performance does not guarantee future returns; please seek advice from a licensed professional.
