The Forgotten Holiday: 7 Ways to Gobble Till You Wobble in Katy This Thanksgiving (2026)

Hey. Psst. Yes, you, with the half-price Halloween candy in one hand and the Christmas tree box in the other. Put. It. Down.

There is a holiday in between, and somebody has to stick up for it. The stores went straight from skeletons to Santa, the radio cranked up the jingle bells the minute November hit, and poor Thanksgiving is standing in the corner holding a casserole, wondering what it did wrong. So let me say it loud for the people in the back: Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The annual family feast where we gobble till we wobble. Get your fat pants ready, because it is coming.

So should we just skip Thanksgiving this year and go straight to the tinsel? NO. Absolutely not. Not on my watch. Here are seven ways to do it right in Katy, from the trot that earns your third roll to the people who will cook the whole thing for you. Seven. You know I can’t help myself.

1. Burn it before you earn it: Katy-area turkey trots

Nothing says “I deserve a third roll” like a Thanksgiving morning race. Pick your pace:

• Katy YMCA’s 24th Annual Turkey Dash at the Monty Ballard YMCA at Cinco Ranch, 22807 Westheimer Parkway. The 10K starts at 7:30 AM, the 5K at 7:50, the kids’ mile (ages 3 to 12) at 9:15, and the family mile at 9:30. Every finisher gets a medal, and the Turkey Tailgate afterward has a Kids Zone and local vendors. Register at runsignup.com/Race/TX/Katy/KatyYMCATurkeyDash.
• The 41st Annual Sugar Land Turkey Trot, the granddaddy of Houston-area trots. A timed 5-mile race, a 2.8-mile family walk/jog, and a kids’ mile, plus canned-goods bins for the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry food drive. Bring a can, earn your pie.
• Pecan Grove Turkey Trot in Richmond, a 5K and 1-mile trot that supports foster children and adoptive families. Small race, big heart.

Pro tip: wear the turkey hat. Nobody remembers your time. Everybody remembers the hat.

2. Parade, then pie: the 77th H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade

Houston’s parade rolls through downtown at 9 AM on Thanksgiving morning, and this year Houston’s own Lizzo is the grand marshal. It’s free, it’s one of the oldest Thanksgiving parades in the country, and it is a whole lot easier to see a giant balloon in person than to explain to a five-year-old why the one on TV is in New York.

Not up for the drive downtown? Fair. Watch from the couch with coffee while the turkey does its thing. That’s also a tradition, and I respect it.

3. Let somebody else cook it (order deadlines are SOONER than you think)

Listen. There is no prize for brining a 22-pound bird in your bathtub. Katy restaurants will do the heavy lifting, but most order deadlines land around November 22 or 23. A few local options for 2026:

• Midway BBQ (6025 Highway Blvd): Herman’s Thanksgiving Meal, $119.99, feeds 8. Order by November 22.
• Saltgrass Steak House: Thanksgiving To-Go Family Pack, $95, serves 4. Order through November 23, pick up November 24 to 26.
• BB’s Tex-Orleans (406 W Grand Pkwy S): Cajun fried turkey, $89.99, feeds 5 to 8. Order by Monday, November 23 at 11 AM, pick up Thanksgiving morning, 8 AM to noon.
• Local Table (Cinco Ranch Blvd and Fulshear): Holiday Family Feast, $95 for 4 or $245 for 10. Order by Sunday, November 22 at 2 PM.
• Whiskey Cake (23139 Grand Circle Blvd): Thanksgiving Kit with a smoked whole turkey, $150, feeds 6. Order by November 22, pick up November 24 or 25.
• The Brookwood Café (1502 FM 1489, Brookshire): Heat and Serve Dinner, $150, feeds 6 to 8, and the proceeds support adults with disabilities. Order by November 23, pick up November 24 or 25, 9 AM to 3 PM. Dinner AND a good deed. Overachiever.

Rather have someone else do the dishes too? Perry’s Steakhouse in Katy (23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd) serves Thanksgiving dinner for $59 from 11 AM to 9 PM, and Astor’s Table (1590 S Mason Rd) has a three-course Thanksgiving menu for $59 from 11 AM to 6 PM. Prices and deadlines change, so call or check online before you count on it.

4. Buy the pies from the kids who actually know what they’re doing

Katy ISD’s Culinary Arts students are bringing back their Thanksgiving bake sale at the Old Town Bistro inside Miller Career and Technology Center, 1734 Katyland Drive. Hours are Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 AM to 6 PM and Thursday, November 19, 7:30 AM to 2 PM.

Pumpkin pie is $15, apple and cranberry orange are $20, dinner rolls are $10 a dozen, and yes, there are $3 dog treats, because the dog is family too. The Construction Trades students are selling handmade wooden decorations as well. It’s card only, no cash, and nothing is promised to last both days, so go early. Park on the east side and look for the Bistro entrance under the awning.

Put it on a nice plate and nobody has to know. I won’t tell. 🥧

5. Respect the turkey fryer (Texas, I am looking right at you)

Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for home cooking fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. And Texans love a fried turkey more than just about anybody. The NFPA actually discourages oil-filled turkey fryers altogether and suggests buying your fried bird from a store or restaurant instead (see BB’s above, problem solved).

If you are frying anyway, because of course you are:

• Thaw that bird all the way. Frozen turkey plus hot oil is how you end up on the evening news.
• Fry outside, away from the house. Not in the garage. Not on the wood deck. Not under the oak tree.
• Never leave it. The fryer does not need you to check the football score.
• Kids and dogs stay way back.
• Never, ever put water on a grease fire. If it catches, get everyone away and call 911.

Your homeowner’s insurance agent would like to have a quiet Thanksgiving too.

6. Give back: A Turkey for Every Table

This one matters. Katy Christian Ministries is running its 15th annual Turkey for Every Table campaign, with a goal of 1,200 turkeys and hams for local families, including veterans. Donations are open through December 12.

• What they need: frozen turkeys and hams, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, mashed potatoes, gravy, mac and cheese, green beans, canned corn, and cake mixes. Grocery gift cards (H-E-B, Kroger, Walmart) work too.
• Where: KCM Food Pantry, 3506 Porter Road, Suite F, Katy, Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM. Keep frozen items frozen until you drop them off.
• Online: ktcm.org/turkey

Grab one extra turkey on your next H-E-B run. Get the neighbors, the HOA, or the scout troop to do a mini food drive. This is Katy. We show up.

7. If this year is a tight one, there’s a seat for you too

Sometimes the hardest part of the holidays is the grocery bill. No judgment here, ever. Life happens, and it happens to good people.

• Katy Christian Ministries runs a food pantry for families in the Katy, West Houston, Fulshear, and Simonton area, and its services are open to people regardless of religious affiliation. Visit ktcm.org to see how to get help.
• Houston Food Bank has a pantry finder at houstonfoodbank.org for holiday distributions all over the Greater Houston area.
• City Wide Club’s Super Feast has traditionally served free hot meals on Thanksgiving Day at the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown. Check their site for this year’s details before you go.

Call ahead wherever you go. Holiday programs often have sign-up windows that close before the big day.

Before you loosen the belt

Whether you’re hosting twenty or sneaking a plate of leftovers at midnight, I hope your table is full and your oven behaves. And if this year’s gathering had you thinking the house is getting too big, too small, or too far from the grandkids, that’s a conversation I have every holiday season. My team and I guide folks through buying, selling, and leasing in Katy and the surrounding Houston areas. Text or call 281-717-4412. You will be “tickled pink” with our real estate services.

Happy Thanksgiving, Katy. 🦃💗

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