Thanksgiving is a time of family, food, and fun. For students, it’s a week off where they enjoy hanging out with friends, eating a lot of food, and doing their packets of homework. For parents, it’s time off work, cooking delicious food (well, trying too at least), and being surrounded by their family. Thanksgiving day can be hectic. It can be exciting. And it can be rough. Here’s a guide to having a terrific Thanksgiving:

• First things first. Thanksgiving is time with family so having a hefty patience cap on and a smile smacked on your face is essential. Save the frustrations for the car ride home. Trust me, the tension is not worth it.

• Surround yourself with a few people in your family who you know you’ll enjoy whether that be your siblings, cousins, aunts, or uncles.

• Dress to impress. For Instagram and Snapchat of course.

• Thanksgiving and food seem to be synonymous with one another. Because of this, it is only in your best interest that you throw that diet out of the picture on Thanksgiving day.

• When it comes to the feast, get a little bit of everything. Who knows what you could enjoy this year.

• Never forget seconds. No matter how full you may be off the first plate, seconds are always more delicious than the first.

• Once it’s time for dessert, indulge in your favorites.

• To impress your the elders in the family, offer to clean up a bit. A couple of plates in the sink, and some cleaning of the silverware could earn you grandchild of the year.

With these helpful tips, Thanksgiving should be nothing but fun. You’ll be able to come back from break and talk about how wonderful it was and then realize that you have yet to finish your homework. But hey, you had a terrific Thanksgiving!