Thanksgiving Day 2025: What’s open & what’s closed?

Millions of Americans will travel to meet family and friends and celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a major U.S. holiday. Thanksgiving Day is held on the fourth Thursday of November, and in 2025, it takes place on November 27. 

Unofficially, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the winter holiday season, paving the way for the subsequent Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Some businesses remain closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving to give workers a four-day holiday weekend. Some of the most popular traditions celebrated on Thanksgiving Day include the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and NFL games.

Here’s what’s open and closed on Thanksgiving Day 2025.

What’s open on Thanksgiving Day 2025?

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday, but some businesses will remain open. Companies that buy and sell online, like Amazon and Walmart, will have their websites and apps open for transactions, in many cases offering early Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Major grocery chains

People who wait until the last minute to cook or bake will likely find that their neighborhood supermarket is open, though many markets will close early or be on limited operating hours.

Large grocery chains, including Kroger, Whole Foods, Safeway, and Wegmans, will be open; however, some locations may close earlier than usual. Check with your nearest location for exact holiday hours.

Fast-food and convenience store chains

Fast-food operators, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King, will have many of their stores open. Local diners and restaurants may be open but on limited hours. Convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Dollar General, will be open. 

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Major movie theater chains

Going out to watch movies is a popular way to spend Thanksgiving, and some Hollywood studios use the holiday for important releases to boost ticket sales. Major movie theater chains such as AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and Alamo Drafthouse will be open.

What’s closed on Thanksgiving Day?

Banks, government offices, and public services, such as libraries and the USPS, will be closed.  

Financial markets

The stock and bond markets will be closed on Thanksgiving. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Markets will open for trading on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but will close at 1 p.m. The bond market will also close early on Friday, at 2 p.m., according to Sifma. Currency markets will be open, but trading is likely to be limited. 

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Major retail chains

Large retailers with stores across the country will be closed. Target, Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, and Best Buy are among the big retailers that will be closed. But many will be open the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, when customers take advantage of the pre-Christmas sales and discounts retailers offer to boost their year-end revenue.

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National parks 

National parks and monuments will be closed on Thanksgiving, although hiking trails may remain accessible.

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Thanksgiving Day & travel: Info from AAA

The week of Thanksgiving is a major time for holiday travel. Americans will be traveling in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and on the holiday itself. And, according to AAA, Thanksgiving season 2025 could be a period of record travel. 

AAA forecasts 81.83 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period from Tuesday, November 25 to Monday, December 1. Of that, 73.28 million people are projected to travel by car—accounting for almost 90% of travelers—while 6.07 million will travel by air, and 2.48 million will take other modes of transportation. 

The top five Thanksgiving travel destinations within the U.S. are cities in Florida and California: Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Anaheim/Los Angeles area, and Tampa. Outside the U.S., the top five Thanksgiving destinations are Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Cancun, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. 

A short history of Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is an annual holiday that is observed on the fourth Thursday in November. Its origins are traced to New England in 1621, when Pilgrims who colonized the area celebrated their harvest with the Wampanoag, a Native American tribe. Over the years, Americans have used that event to represent thankfulness and mark an occasion for people to come together and celebrate over turkey, potatoes, and other holiday fare. 

Despite its popularity, Thanksgiving is also a somewhat controversial holiday, viewed by some as a celebration that overlooks the years of violence, colonization, and broken treaties imposed on Native American people by colonists during the decades and centuries that followed the 1621 harvest that inspired the holiday.

Thanksgiving was recognized nationally in times of war. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress marked December 18, 1777, a Thursday, as the first national Thanksgiving proclamation, according to the Pilgrim Hall Museum. That followed America’s victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga. On October 3, 1963, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving, in light of the suffering of Americans during the Civil War and in hopes of national healing. 

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill into law making the fourth Thursday of November “a legal public holiday.”

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