turkey day destinations

Dallas gobbles up top-20 spot on list of best U.S. cities for Thanksgiving

Dallas even has its own Thanks-Giving Square.

Courtesy photo

For Dallasites, there's no place like home for Thanksgiving feasts and festivities. So says a new WalletHub study, "Best Places to go for Thanksgiving (2023)," which ranks Dallas the 17th best city for Turkey Day this year.

Dallas fell four places from its No. 13 ranking in WalletHub's 2022 report but still landed highest among North Texas cities.

The study analyzed the largest 100 American cities based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The category that Dallas ranked the highest in was the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 2), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 93). Other categories that determined Dallas' overall ranking were affordability (No. 44), a "giving thanks" rank (No. 33), and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 48).

Abundant lists of local restaurants offering dining-in or to-go options on Thanksgiving surely can't hurt the city's ranking (and offer more reason for home cooks to give thanks). A big Dallas Cowboys game starring Dolly Parton at halftime doesn't hurt, either.

Other Dallas-Fort Worth-area cities that made it into the top 100 include:

No. 29 – Irving
No. 36 – Fort Worth
No. 38 – Plano
No. 55 – Garland
No. 78 – Arlington

Those who plan to travel over the holiday weekend should note that San Francisco, California (No. 1) tops the overall list, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Jose (No. 2) and San Diego (No. 3). Rounding out the top five is Scottsdale, Arizona (No. 4) and Raleigh, North Carolina (No. 5).

Thanksgiving weekend spending
The study also revealed that Americans spent an average of $325 per person during the brief window between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday in 2022.

For Texans wanting to celebrate Thanksgiving while adhering to their budget, Queens University of Charlotte professor Bradley W. Brooks suggested keeping an eye on the cost of the household's food purchases.

"Most Thanksgiving hosts prepare far more food than necessary for the number of guests," Brooks explained. "Having leftover food can be good for a couple of days, but it is not essential. The turkey is often the most costly item on the Thanksgiving menu, and it is often the item with the most leftovers. Serving multiple dessert options is often an unnecessary added cost to the menu as well."

Brooks further reminds Americans that the commercialization of Thanksgiving shouldn't outweigh the true purpose behind the holiday: Being thankful for your loved ones and your inner community.

"The commercialization might seem excessive," Brooks said. "But, at its core Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. No amount of commercialization can take that away. It is up to the consumer to have the right attitude – regardless of how commercialized Thanksgiving has become."

More information about the report can be found at wallethub.com.

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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