With Thanksgiving just around the corner, students prepare with excitement to celebrate alongside their loved ones and continue their annual traditions this fall season.

The holiday season allows students to have a chance to spend time with friends and family that they may not see often. Sophomore Kendyl Bush, for example, says that she enjoys spending time with her loved ones every year for Thanksgiving.

“I definitely love spending time with family and friends. It’s very good for mental health to spend time with them,” Bush said. “Playing games, eating dinner, just cooking the food, to be honest, is a lot of fun and creates those memories that you cherish forever.”

While many individuals choose to celebrate Thanksgiving with traditional activities, others have plans that are unique to their family. Sophomore Logan Leach, for instance, said that his family comes together to play card games.

“We have the whole entire family together. We play poker, Uno, just a bunch of card games,” Leach said. “We do white elephant, but for Thanksgiving, sometimes.”

Another way to celebrate this holiday is by spending time outside with one’s family. Sophomore Lanna Casey is one of many students who traditionally spends their Thanksgiving this way.

“My uncle usually brings out go-karts and we usually all go mudding by our creek,” Casey said. “That’s one thing we always do.”

The week-long break for Thanksgiving gives students and their families a chance to travel and come together. Many plan to fly or drive states away to meet with their loved ones, such as Sophomore Mitzu Rivera.

“We usually gather each other around and go to Puerto Rico,” Rivera said. “We basically enjoy our atmosphere.”

Also traveling during this time of year, junior Kale Mckinney said that they usually go to Galveston with their family as part of their many festivities.

“My favorite part about Thanksgiving is honestly spending time with my family,” Mckinney said. “We always laugh really hard and eat way too much food. We’ll go down to Galveston and we’ll hang out.”