20 Thanksgiving Illustrations That Will Get You Excited for the Holiday!

What does your typical Thanksgiving Day look like? Do your family’s traditional recipes take days to prepare? Do you whip out your phone and just look up “thanksgiving dinner restaurants”? Or do you see what can be made from whatever is in your fridge?
Whichever way you celebrate, Thanksgiving does mark the beginning of the holiday season, so we’re starting off the festivities with these Turkey Day illustrations!

Thanksgiving is undeniably centred around food. So the first step is checking inside your pantry for ingredients, like this lady by James Gibbs (represented by NB Illustration)!
Thanksgiving Pies
One of the staples in a Thanksgiving dinner are pies! 🥧 What’s your favourite pie filling?

The classic Thanksgiving pie — pumpkin pie! Alessia Girasole (represented by mbartists) illustrated this scrumptious one.

Here’s a boy ninja pie maker by Kim Soderberg (represented by Illustration Online LLC) dishing out some blueberry-filled ones.

Do your grandparents also have an impromptu cooking class while preparing a Thanksgiving feast? This grandma by Stacy Heller Budnick (represented by WendyLynn & Co) is giving her grandkids pointers on how to make the world’s best apple pies!

And when you make pies that good, everyone and their dog would definitely be unable to resist them — quite literally in the case of this camouflaged pupper by Rebeca J. Pintos (represented by Illustration Online LLC) 😆
Thanksgiving Cooking
Let’s face it — kitchens are chaos epicentres during Thanksgiving! What goes on in yours?

This lady by April Hartmann has some unorthodox ways of making pasta, but they always end up fantastic!

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner can also be a family affair — even kids help out like these little ones by Kasia Nowowiejska (represented by Good Illustration).

If you’d rather skip the stress and go for a restaurant meal, this scene by Victor Tavares (represented by Beehive Illustration) is likely what’s going on in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving Food
Sure, there are iconic Thanksgiving dishes, but do you have ones that are just your own?

The Mi Family by Christine Battuz (represented by mbartists), for example, have a spread with dishes from their culture

Heegyum Kim gives us this all-veggie spread for the vegetarians out there. We’re inclusive with food here!

The reality is, not every can be home for Thanksgiving. Here’s a knight roasting a small bird out in the woods with his squire by Nadim Beidoun.
Thanksgiving Dinner
After all the cooking and chaos, it’s time to enjoy the feast! Really, food is better when shared with good company.

No prey, no predator — just a friendly dinner party by Catherine Weyerhaeuser.

Are you looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the family like this one by Karen Donnelly?

Maybe you could spice things up and turn it into a royal Thanksgiving dinner like this fun bunch by Mark Beech!

Thanksgiving meals don’t have to be flashy. As long as you’re with people you love and eating food made with love, that’s it right there. This group of friends by Teresa Alberini are sharing their signature Thanksgiving soup!

With the clink of glasses, by Rae Ritchie (represented by Jennifer Nelson Artists, Inc.), let’s laugh and celebrate life on this day.
Thanksgiving Leftovers
The food comas don’t end at Thanksgiving, because the leftovers are just as good! How do you enjoy yours?

How about a couple slices of cold turkey to curb some midnight cravings? This kitchen by Francisco Fonseca (represented by Good Illustration) is the site for such.

Speaking of turkey slices, these kids by Nicole Allin are making the ultimate Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, and they dubbed it The Frankenwich!
Thanksgiving Books
While waiting for the holiday, here are some Thanksgiving books to read with kids in your life!

Thank You for This Food, book cover illustrated by Nancy Munger

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, book cover illustrated by Jody Wheeler
What are you thankful for this year? 😀