A Thanksgiving playlist, from the first onion to the last dish

1. The five songs both top-ranking lists share

Nine songs appear on both Esquire’s list of 50 Thanksgiving songs and the popular “Thanksgiving Playlist 2026” by Holiday Vibes on Spotify (both checked October 20, 2026). Five of them are the safest core for any Thanksgiving playlist:

• “Thanksgiving Theme” — Vince Guaraldi Trio. Quiet piano jazz; it belongs at the table.
• “The Thanksgiving Song” — Adam Sandler. Silly, short and better after dinner than during it.
• “I Want to Thank You” — Otis Redding. A thank-you song with enough groove for the end of the night.
• “We Are Family” — Sister Sledge. The arrivals anthem.
• “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” — Jay & The Techniques. Upbeat enough for the kitchen, on-theme enough for dessert.

The other four that both lists share are George Winston’s “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”, Bing Crosby’s “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For”, Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Give Thanks & Praises” and Ray Charles’s “Sweet Potato Pie”. All nine are spread through the blocks below. One note on the Spotify list: it mixes in Christmas songs such as “Jingle Bell Rock”, which is fine if your family starts early and grating if it does not. The list on this page keeps Christmas out.

2. Cooking: 10 songs to keep the kitchen moving

Ten songs built to repeat. Cooking music wants a steady beat and lyrics you do not need to follow, because you are reading a recipe and your hands are busy. Soul, funk and food songs do the job.

1. “Mashed Potatoes USA” — James Brown
2. “Mashed Potato Time” — Dee Dee Sharp
3. “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” — Jay & The Techniques
4. “Let’s Turkey Trot” — Little Eva
5. “Soulful Strut” — Young-Holt Unlimited
6. “Kitchen” — Mary J. Blige
7. “Cooking Up Something Good” — Mac DeMarco
8. “Right Back Where We Started From” — Maxine Nightingale
9. “Here Comes the Sun” — The Beatles
10. “Everybody Eats When They Come to My House” — Cab Calloway

If cooking starts at breakfast, this block will loop several times. That is the point of section 7: the cook can run this list privately all morning while the rest of the house watches the parade or sleeps in.

3. Arrivals: 10 songs for coats, hugs and appetizers

Ten songs for the hour when the doorbell keeps ringing. This is the loudest the room speaker should get all day: familiar songs people half-sing while they hang up coats, about family and friends without being sentimental.

1. “We Are Family” — Sister Sledge
2. “Family Affair” — Sly & the Family Stone
3. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang
4. “Thank You for Being a Friend” — Andrew Gold
5. “Waiting on a Friend” — The Rolling Stones
6. “Better Together” — Jack Johnson
7. “Three Little Birds” — Bob Marley & The Wailers
8. “Old Friends” — Ben Rector
9. “Crowded Table” — The Highwomen
10. “Home” — Phillip Phillips

4. Dinner music: 10 quiet songs for the table

Ten songs, mostly jazz and soft vocals, at a volume where nobody has to raise their voice. Music for Thanksgiving dinner is background: if people stop talking to listen, it is too loud or too interesting. Instrumental jazz carries most of this block.

1. “Thanksgiving Theme” — Vince Guaraldi Trio
2. “Great Pumpkin Waltz” — Vince Guaraldi Trio
3. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” — George Winston
4. “’Tis Autumn” — Nat King Cole Trio
5. “Autumn in New York” — Billie Holiday
6. “Stuffy Turkey” — Thelonious Monk
7. “What a Wonderful World” — Louis Armstrong
8. “(What a) Wonderful World” — Sam Cooke
9. “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” — James Taylor
10. “Harvest Moon” — Neil Young

A full Thanksgiving dinner usually outlasts ten songs, so set this block to repeat, or add more from the same artists. The Guaraldi and Winston tracks repeat well because they have no lyrics to notice.

5. Pie and dishes: 10 songs for the end of the night

Ten thank-you songs and sing-alongs for dessert, coffee and the sink. The table is relaxed, the room speaker can come up a notch, and this is where the novelty songs belong.

1. “Sweet Potato Pie” — Ray Charles
2. “Pumpkin Pie” — The California Honeydrops
3. “I Want to Thank You” — Otis Redding
4. “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For” — Bing Crosby
5. “Give Thanks & Praises” — Bob Marley & the Wailers
6. “Thank You for the Music” — ABBA
7. “American Pie” — Don McLean
8. “Thank You” — Dido
9. “Family Tradition” — Hank Williams Jr.
10. “The Thanksgiving Song” — Adam Sandler

6. Putting the Thanksgiving playlist together

Four blocks of 10 songs make the core list; repeats fill the rest of the day. Build it the night before, in whatever music app you already pay for, so you are not searching for songs with flour on your hands.

• Make four playlists, not one. Shuffling one long list drops a James Brown track into the middle of grace. Separate blocks let you switch the mood in one tap.
• Set the dinner block to repeat. It is the block most likely to run out while people are still eating.
• Save it to the phone ahead of time where your app allows. A busy house with every guest on the Wi-Fi is not the moment to find out the stream stutters.
• Mind the volume, not just the songs. The same song can be right during arrivals and wrong at the table. Turn it down when people sit.
• Ask the oldest and youngest guest for one song each. It costs two tracks and buys a lot of goodwill.

If the music lover in the family is the one hosting, our gifts for music lovers guide sorts ideas by where they actually listen.

7. A private playlist for the cook

Open-ear audio glasses give the cook music, podcasts or a call without earbuds and without taking over the room speaker. The room gets the arrivals playlist; the cook can stay on the cooking block, or take a call from a relative who is lost on the way, with both hands in the stuffing.

Honesty first: these are personal speakers. Small speakers in the temples aim the sound at the wearer’s ears. They will not fill a room, the bass is lighter than sealed earbuds, and at high volume people beside you hear some of it. What you gain is that your ears stay open, so you still hear the oven timer, the doorbell and the person asking where the gravy boat is.

Prices checked 2026-10-20; checkout price may change. The M08 is $99 at checkout (listed $149). It weighs about 42 g, pairs with your phone over Bluetooth 5.4 and is rated 7 hours of listening and 4 hours of calls, enough for a cooking morning plus the meal. Choose the Clear lens for indoor wear. It has no published water rating, so keep it away from the sink.

The M02C is $109 at checkout (listed $159). It has the same 7 h / 4 h audio rating, weighs about 41 g and is rated IP65(dust and water jets, not immersion), with magnetic charging and the “Hey Cyan” voice AI. Both have an 8 MP camera that starts only with a touch on the temple, which is handy for a photo of the finished bird when your hands are greasy. Ask before photographing relatives and guests, especially other people’s children.

Neither frame has a display or takes prescription lenses, and both need the phone for music and the app. For more on how the sound works, read glasses with speakers; for how they compare with other designs, see glasses with headphones. US delivery takes 5–9 business days; to have them by Thanksgiving, order by about November 13. Two or more pairs in one order are 50% off all eyewear.

Shipping, refunds and warranty. Free shipping from $99. US orders typically arrive in 5–9 business days; international orders take 9–14 business days. OXIVUE does not offer refunds except for an order damaged in transit, which is replaced or refunded. Faults after delivery are covered by the 2-year warranty through repair or replacement. None of our frames take prescription lenses. Compare every model on the comparison page.

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