I have always approached Thanksgiving with general apathy. Family is (mostly) fun to have around, and the food is overrated — it’s a fine holiday. Nothing more, nothing less. It is telling that my favorite part of Thanksgiving day for much of my childhood was the few moments after we finished eating and started washing dishes, because it meant that it would be another year until our next Thanksgiving feast. Steady maturation has led me to enjoy the holiday more in recent years, to the point where I actually look forward to the fourth Thursday of November.

This year, however, was different. With my older sister working at a hospital in Denver both the Wednesday before and Friday after Thanksgiving, we delayed our celebrations in Kansas City, Mo., until Saturday. At first, I was unsure what to think of the switch. However, after experiencing it, I’m here to do some reporting you probably didn’t think you needed.

Firstly, Thanksgiving Thursday — even without celebrating — is … fun? That morning, my parents and I woke up early before heading to my hometown’s quaint downtown for a Turkey Trot attended by more than 3,000 people. It was an enjoyable experience, significantly influenced by the fact that I was happy with my race time. After we got home, however, the real bliss: there was nothing to do. No cooking, small talk, or table setting — just hanging out. It was amazing. Our afternoon was spent watching football — curse you, Chiefs, for being a constant source of disappointment this season — and our night spent relaxing. I highly recommend experiencing Thanksgiving Thursday without the Thanksgiving part.

My entire family bunkered in our house all of Saturday for our version of the holiday. I was unsure of what to expect throughout the day. Would it feel anything like Thanksgiving? Would high-level college football on TV be a significant distraction in food preparation? It turns out it felt almost the exact same as the first 20 Thanksgivings of my lifetime. This year, I realized how accurate the clichés of Thanksgiving being about family and food are. These are the two pillars of the holiday, and they don’t need a specific day to hold special meaning. In all honesty, we should celebrate Thanksgiving multiple times per year. It’s not the Pilgrims having their feast in the 17th century that matters, but the idea of people intentionally being together. We should still keep Black Friday to once a year, though.