Things to Do in Boston This Thanksgiving
This Thursday, Boston is going to be a wasteland. The liquor stores will be closed, the bars and restaurants will be hit or miss, and the only reason to go shopping is to establish first-hand contact with the worst creatures mankind has to offer.
But it’s not all bad. You’re here! Some of us are here, too. We couldn’t all escape Boston’s limits to spend the holiday with our families, so our co-habitants will have to do. So, rather than spending the whole day sitting on our couches, eating turkey cold cuts, and weeping as we drink wine straight from the bottle, why not get together at the few spots around town decent enough to be open on Thanksgiving? Here’s where we hope to find you:
Eating and Drinking at…
∙ King Street Tavern, 1 Court St., Boston, Mass. (open until 1 a.m.)
∙ Tremont 647, 647 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. (opens for drinks at 5 p.m.)
∙ Solas, 710 Boylston St., Boston, Mass. (open until 2 a.m.)
∙ Stephi’s on Tremont, 571 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. (opens for drinks at 5 p.m.)
∙ Stephi’s in Southie, 130 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, Mass. (opens for drinks at 5 p.m.)
∙ The Beehive, 541 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. (turkey dinner and live jazz)
∙ Top of the Hub, 800 Boylston St., Boston, Mass. (serving dinner with panoramic views of Boston)
∙ Pretty much all of the local Legal Seafoods locations (if you have some weird holiday traditions involving seafood and looking like a tourist…)
∙Or any of theseother restaurants whose staff who had nowhere else to be on Thanksgiving.
Doing and Watching…
∙ Find your local turkey trot. We wouldn’t normally recommend exercise, but it’s a national holiday and there are basically only three things to do. So if you’re near Brighton or Franklin Park, sign up, lace up, and burn a few calories before you gain them all back and then some during the rest of the day.
∙ Watch some football. In case you hadn’t already noticed, the NFL has basically co-opted the fourth Thursday of November because when you’re drunk and over-eating, it only makes sense that football be on the TV. Games start at 12:30 p.m.
∙ Watch some not-as-good football. If amateurism and losing records are more your style, sevendifferentBostonschools are hostingThanksgivinggames. None of the teams has won more than half of its games and all the games start before 11 a.m., but if you’re willing to put up with those circumstances, Boston high school football is there for the watching.
∙ Catch the Blink! light show at Faneuil Hall. 2014 will be the third year that Blink! takes over Faneuil Hall during the holiday season, and it’s got more than 350,000 lights flashing on and off to the sounds of Boston’s Holiday Pops. On one hand, you’re relying on bright, flashing lights for entertainment. On the other, it’s a pretty good way to kill seven minutes.
∙ See a movie. As with all major holidays, the only form of worthwhile entertainment that actually stays open is the local movie theater. This Thanksgiving, you basically have your pick between “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1’’ and “Penguins of Madagascar.’’ Or, if you’re some kind of monster who doesn’t like Jennifer Lawrence or penguins, you can sit through “Horrible Bosses 2’’ because that’s what people like you deserve.
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