I moved to Stockton a little over a year ago, 53 weeks to be exact. So I basically arrived right before Thanksgiving 2022, which meant that I got to familiarize myself with all of the late Fall/Winter festivities that go down out here. Today, I look forward to spending time with the Filipino side of my family. That’s right, just a friendly reminder that I am half Filipino, which means I will not come home hungry today. It also means that I will have leftovers set aside for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to shake President Marcos’s hand at APEC, however, I still look forward to sharing other OTM stories with the cousins at dinner today. Without further ado, here are 5 reasons you can’t beat Thanksgiving in Stockton.
5. Tis’ the Season
I’m sure this definitely happens in other parts of the country, but right after Halloween ends, all of the neighbors start to go ham with the Xmas decorations. I was literally at my boys house yesterday and his family had EVERYTHING up already- big ass tree in the living room (the frosted looking one so it looks like it got snowed on), Christmas lights in and around the house, and seasonal fragrance in every room. The only exception to this reason would be Asian families. Because for the most part, Asian people (and I’m speaking from experience here) will put their lights up once and leave it up year round until- well forever, or until they fall down. Anyways, the Xmas decorations that are already up definitely warm up the mood for Thanksgiving- and you’ll see a lot of that in suburban Stockton.
4. Dead Streets
This was definitely a phenomenon that I experienced during Christmas 2022 in Stockton- shoutout Tony Bautista, he came through for this Holiday. However, it definitely takes place during Thanksgiving as well. With most businesses closed and everyone inside their homes, it makes Stockton look like it’s been through the apocalypse. There’s no traffic on the roads and hardly any cars moving around through the neighborhoods. It’s pretty dead. Perfect opportunity for a pickup football game in the streets though.
3. Weather
Out of all the months here in Stockton, late November has the most ideal weather. It is the closest to San Francisco weather that you will get. December to February is when you start to really freeze. March and April is heavy rain and cold weather. May to October it’s fuckin’ hot 24 hours of the day. This is the only time of the year where you can layer up in the morning and start to strip down later in the day because the sun is burning you up.
2. Te De Canela
I’ll be honest, this reason almost took first place. For those who don’t know, Te De Canela is just cinnamon tea. But boy does it hit differently on a cold morning/evening. It also works wonders when you’re super duper hungover. Anyways, the neighbors will put some on the stove every now and then and share a few cups with us. It warms you up inside and smells exactly how you would think holidays are supposed to smell- cinnamony I guess…
1. Kickbacks!
Saved the best for last here. Stockton might be the official city of kickbacks. Any opportunity to throw Asada on the burner, crack open Modelos, and gamble a little will be taken- Thanksgiving is one of those opportunities. You get the idea, kickbacks are a year round thing. So, after dinner with my primary family tonight, I will probably be kicking it with my second family (my neighbors) in their yard, taking part in the activities mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph.
This year, I am thankful to have a blog to post this article on. Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.
God Bless,
Producer Reese
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That’s hype man… but not as specific as Dedham. Happy TG !!