The house woke up early on Thanksgiving. Somebody had been in the kitchen since before dawn, and by the time the kids came downstairs in their pajamas, the windows were already fogged and the TV was already on.
Here are ten sounds and smells of a 1970s Thanksgiving morning, and the reason behind each one.
1. The Parade on TV
The brass bands, the crowd noise, the announcers naming every giant balloon as it floated down the street. Macy's had been running its parade in New York since 1924, and NBC first broadcast it nationally in 1953. By the 1970s, it was the soundtrack of the living room while the kitchen did its work. Part of the parade's fame came from the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street, which used real parade footage.
2. The Percolator
That steady blup... blup... blup from the counter. A percolator works by heating water at the bottom until it shoots up a tube and rains over the coffee grounds, again and again. The bubbling was the sound of the coffee brewing, and the little glass knob on top let you watch it darken.
3. The Turkey Roasting
The smell that filled every room by mid-morning. That deep, savory roasted smell comes from browning: as the skin gets hot and dry, sugars and proteins react and create hundreds of new flavor and aroma compounds. It's the same reason toast smells better than bread.
4. The Oven Door
The squeak and thump of the oven opening for another basting, and the rush of heat into the kitchen. Every opening let heat escape, which is why the cook always told everyone else to stay out of the oven.
5. Steam on the Windows
Not a sound, but everyone remembers it. All that boiling and roasting put moisture in the air, and when that warm, damp air hit cold November window glass, it turned back into water droplets. Kids drew in it with their fingers.
6. The Cranberry Sauce Leaving the Can
A can opener working its way around the lid, then that slow, wet schloop as the jellied cranberry sauce slid out in one piece onto a dish. The ridges on the side? Those are from the can itself. A lot of families sliced it right along the lines.
7. The Green Bean Casserole
The smell of cream of mushroom soup and crispy fried onions baking. It was a fairly new tradition: Campbell's test kitchen introduced the green bean casserole recipe in 1955, and by the 1970s it was on tables all over the country.
8. The Electric Mixer
The whine of hand mixers going through a pot of mashed potatoes, and someone asking whether they needed more butter (they did). Electric hand mixers made smooth mashed potatoes a lot easier than the old hand masher.
9. The Phone Ringing
Relatives calling from out of state to say happy Thanksgiving. Holidays were often one of the cheaper times to call long distance, which is one reason so many families called on the holiday itself.
10. The Football Game
By early afternoon, the parade gave way to football. The Detroit Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving game since 1934, except during World War II, and the Dallas Cowboys joined them in 1966. In a lot of homes, the sound of the game coming from the den meant dinner was almost ready.
What's the one Thanksgiving sound or smell that takes you right back?
Sources
- "9 Fascinating Facts to Celebrate 99 Years of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," NBCUniversal, Nov. 2025
- "How the NFL Popularized Thanksgiving Day Football," HISTORY, Nov. 2013
- "Thanksgiving retrospective: How cooking, eating has changed," *The Wichita Eagle*, Nov. 2020
- AT&T rate schedules, FCC records
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