The Mommy Files

A local mom's take on raising kids by the Bay.

From FDR to Obama: Thanksgiving with the Presidents and their families


The Obamas always spend Thanksgiving holidays at the White House where the meal features ingredients from their famous garden. This year they’re dining on a fennel and kale salad. The Reagans went to the ranch where Ronald and Nancy rode horses. The family had a tradition of telling jokes at the Thanksgiving table, according to the Washington Post. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor made an annual pilgrimage to Warm Springs, Ga., where they hosted a dinner for the patients and staff of the polio rehabilitation center they founded.

Ever since President George Washington issued the first proclamation declaring November 26 a holiday (with following Presidents moving around the date until it was finally established as the third Thursday in November), the American people have gathered with family and friends on Thanksgiving and the U.S. President and his family has always been at the center of the country’s celebration. Over the years, the media has captured many of the First Family holiday traditions: the President pardoning the turkey, the families volunteering at food banks, and the dinners at the White House and second residences. In the slide show above we feature many of those memorable moments, bringing you a pictorial history of Thanksgivings with U.S. Presidents and their families.