Each November, Thanksgiving sees more Americans taking to the road, rails and sky than on any other day of the year, as they rush home to eat turkey and watch football with their families.
While it has yet to gain a major foothold in the UK, its presence has been steadily growing as another day on which to eat, drink and be merry. Some years, Christmas alone just isn't enough.
On Thursday 28 November, several venues across Edinburgh will be getting in on the act, following in the American tradition by laying on great heaps of hearty food and screening the NFL games.
Picture: The Three Sisters
The Cowgate bar will be hosting not just a meal, but a Thanksgiving Feast to honour the true “more is more” spirit of the American holiday.
The lavish three-course affair will involve maple glazed turkey and creamy mashed potatoes in gravy.
Once you're stuffed too full to move, the day's NFL games will be screened live on the pub’s massive 225” screen, giving you nothing to do but order another drink and relax in front of the game.
Two courses for £16.95 or three for £19.95.
Picture: Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh
An iconic piece of Americana in its own right, the Hard Rock Cafe is in its element when Thanksgiving comes to town.
This year, they've promised a “Legendary Thanksgiving”, and will be serving up a slow-roasted turkey breast with sweet mash potato and roasted fresh vegetables with traditional turkey gravy and cranberry sauce to round things off.
If you still have room after that, you can tuck into the classic Thanksgiving dessert – pumpkin pie covered in caramel sauce, toasted walnuts and whipped cream.
Two courses for £25.20 or three for £35.55.
Picture: The Balmoral
Thanks to Edinburgh University's North American society, the USA's favourite holiday will be arriving in town in spectacular form, with the 2019 Thanksgiving Charity Ball.
Taking place in the elegant surroundings of The Balmoral hotel, this black tie event will begin with a glass of champagne and proceed into a night of drinking, dancing and a full turkey dinner, complete with all the trimmings.
The proceeds from the ball will go towards The Rock Trust – a charitable organisation dedicated to ending youth homelessness in Scotland.
Tickets are £55 for members and £60 for non-members.
Picture: The Green Room
For a sophisticated Thanksgiving celebration, head to The Green Room. The wine-focused bar will be offering up its botanical surroundings as the setting of this year's Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a glass of Joel Foppiano Vineyards wine.
Far from being stuffy, they are also enthusiastically dog friendly, making The Green Room the ideal Thanksgiving destination if your dog is one of the things you're most thankful for.
£30 per person.
Picture: Belushi's Bar Edinburgh
Promising an “epic US-style Thanksgiving”, Belushi's Bar is well equipped to deliver thanks to its fondness for hearty food and live sports.
Thursday 28 November will see it truly trying to outdo itself in terms of calories and cholesterol – the meal begins with loaded platters before moving on to giant Turkey Gobbler burgers, and finishing with a slice of pecan pie along with a good helping of ice cream.
With its array of huge screens and projectors, Belushi's is also the perfect venue for NFL fans looking to take in the day's games.
Since they've got so many screens, fans of the European meaning of the word “football” will also find themselves well catered for, with the night's Europa League games being shown.
Three courses for £25 per person.
