It’s fun and creative to add a unique twist to your Thanksgiving meal. Focus on a theme, like your family’s cultural heritage or a region in the United States, to make your gathering one that friends and family will talk about for years to come. It’s easy to highlight a unique area of the country when planning your dinner. Start by making regionalized menu selections then decorate with that in mind. What a perfect way to celebrate the diversity and abundance of our country at your Thanksgiving table! Learn more by checking out the five suggestions below:


Warm Up the Celebration (Southwest)

If you live in the warmer parts of the country (California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada) it’s easy to add a Southwestern theme to your Thanksgiving dinner. Deep-fry the turkey (really, it’s delicious, moist and fast – plus, you can pick up a deep fryer for your barbeque at most home improvement stores). To kick the day off, prepare a salsa bar with chips, grilled quesadillas and fresh guacamole for guests. Add chorizo and cornbread to your dressing for extra flair. If the weather’s nice, serve your turkey dinner outside with all the traditional side dishes. You can even feature a piñata in the yard to keep the kids occupied.

Green Chili Guacamole

Chocolate Mudslide Frozen Pie


Keep it Cool (Northwest)

This lush area of the U.S. produces loads of berries, nuts, pears and organic greens – in many instances they are grown in the backyard! To add a Pacific Northwestern touch to your Thanksgiving table, make everything as fresh and homegrown as possible. Add local pears and Asian dressing to your salad. Serve a whole smoked salmon with capers, lemon and crackers or a salmon spread to start. Make a blackberry or blueberry pie in addition to pumpkin to serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Bring the great outdoors inside by decorating your table with big maple leaves or a bouquet of greens from the yard.

Pistachio Smoked Salmon Spread

Spiced Hazelnut Latte


Southern Hospitality (The South)

“Nothin’ could be finer than a meal from Carolina” …especially Thanksgiving dinner! Why not bring some of that fine Southern cooking to your Thanksgiving meal no matter what area of the country you live in? Like most celebrations in “the South,” Thanksgiving focuses on the plentiful and no table would be complete without a plump turkey, cornbread and something made out of sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows. Don’t forget that other Southern staple, collard greens, then throw some brandy in the cranberry sauce and you’re on your way to a meal Scarlett O’Hara would die for!

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Mocha Bread Pudding


A Touch of History (New England)

After all, misty Plymouth, Massachusetts is where the Pilgrims first landed! Here’s how to bring the coastal charm of their first home to your Thanksgiving feast: Start your meal with New England native Maine lobster and shrimp with tangy cocktail sauce and lemon. Follow that with creamy clam chowder with bacon and scrumptious crab cakes. Alongside your turkey, add boiled potatoes and corn to the menu to be on your way for a nostalgic dining experience the whole family can savor.

Baked Crab Cakes

Upside-Down Apple Coffee Cake


Harvest Time! (Midwest)

Thanksgiving dinners in the Midwest come straight from grandma’s kitchen. If you want to embrace comfort food from the heartland, serve an oven-roasted turkey stuffed with sage dressing alongside thick mashed potatoes that will have everyone’s mouth watering. Loyal to local harvests, a Midwestern Thanksgiving never goes without fresh corn on the cob. Add a green bean casserole, fresh cranberry sauce (Wisconsin has its largest crop ever this year), baked yeast rolls and homemade pumpkin pie for a wholesome and hearty feast. Have the kids make cutout turkey decorations for the table and you’ll feel as though you came right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Green Bean Casserole

Mocha Dream Cake