Holidays
Thanksgiving 2026 Apart: A Plan for Long Distance Couples
Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26. If you will spend it apart from your partner, plan three small moments instead of one long call: a morning check in, a short video toast at each family table, and a quiet call after dinner where you share what you are thankful for. Cook one matching dish, send a card that arrives that week, and save the long catch up for Friday when everyone is less busy.
For a calm moment after the meal, Lovla turns a photo from your day into a coloring page you can color together while apart and keep in your shared journal.
When is Thanksgiving 2026?
Thanksgiving in the United States is always the fourth Thursday of November. In 2026 that is Thursday, November 26, a federal holiday.
That gives you a little over three weeks from today to plan, which is enough time to mail something, coordinate a dish and agree on call times with both families.
Should long distance couples spend Thanksgiving together or apart?
Both are normal. Many couples alternate: one partner travels for Thanksgiving, the other for the winter holidays. Others stay with their own families because flights that week are expensive and crowded.
What matters is deciding together and early, so neither of you feels like the default. If you are traveling for Christmas instead, book soon.
A simple Thanksgiving day plan for couples apart
Short, scheduled moments beat one call that keeps getting interrupted.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Morning | A ten minute call or voice note before the cooking starts |
| Before the meal | A quick video toast so each of you can say hello to the other family |
| During dinner | Phones away. Send one photo of your plate afterward |
| Evening | A cozy call to share three things you are thankful for about each other |
| Friday | The long catch up, a movie or a game when everyone is rested |
Thanksgiving ideas to share from different cities
Pick two or three. You do not need all of them.
- Cook the same side dish from one shared recipe and compare results
- Mail a handwritten card so it arrives the week of Thanksgiving
- Write a short list of things you are thankful for about your partner and read it aloud
- Watch the same holiday movie at the same time on Friday
- Order their favorite dessert delivered to their door
- Color a page together on a call after dinner while the dishes soak
- Plan your next visit together so the day ends with a date on the calendar
How do you handle time zones on Thanksgiving?
Agree on call times in both zones a few days ahead and write them down. Family meals run late, so give the evening call a window rather than an exact minute.
If one of you is abroad where Thanksgiving is an ordinary workday, move the main celebration to the weekend and keep Thursday to a short, sweet call.
How do you keep the day from feeling lonely?
Missing your partner at a full table is common. Tell them it is hard instead of pretending it is fine, then give yourself something to look forward to that night.
A quiet shared activity helps. Some couples take one photo from the day, turn it into a coloring page in Lovla, color it together on the evening call and keep it in their shared journal as a small Thanksgiving memory.
Make a little more time for us.
For a calm moment after the meal, Lovla turns a photo from your day into a coloring page you can color together while apart and keep in your shared journal.
Written by The Lovla Team. Find current product and access details on Lovla’s App Store page.