TL;DR: American remote executives face a rare operational advantage today - US colleagues offline, Spanish systems fully staffed. The smart play: morning deep work, midday admin blitz, evening dinner without martyrdom. Four options from a luxury hotel (€453+ nightly) to DIY ingredient scavenging (€5 canned pumpkin, anyone?). Plus: what happens when you share Thanksgiving with people who've never experienced it?

Your US colleagues are currently arguing about turkey preparation with relatives they see annually. Your inbox? Silent until tomorrow's "hope you had a great holiday" wave.

Spain, meanwhile, is on Thursday. Open. Functional. Blissfully unaware.

This creates 24 hours where the strategic thinking you've deferred since October can finally happen. That report hanging over your head? This morning. The silence is temporary - use it before New York wakes up caffeinated and chatty.

The ayuntamiento — town hall — is fully staffed. Your gestor — administrative agent — is answering calls. The residency office has no line of Americans ahead of you because they're at home watching football.

What gets done today:

Spanish bureaucracy functions optimally when Americans are otherwise occupied. This is the annual day the cita previa — appointment system — works in your favor.

Now, you can go off to get your feast ready, or go out to celebrate if that’s how you do it. What are you thankful for this year?

Reply WISHBONE if you're doing Thanksgiving bureaucracy today. Tell me what you're finally clearing.

Option 1: The luxury outsource
Gran Marbella Resort & Beach Club — 20% off rooms (from €453/night), daily breakfast included, traditional Thanksgiving brunch at Terraza Restaurant. Roasted turkey, seasonal sides. Drinks separate. The entire operational load: zero. Book at granmarbellaresort.com or +34 952 764 100.

Option 2: The marina experience
Jack's Smokehouse, Puerto Banús — Thanksgiving special starting 19:00. Roast turkey, proper trimmings, stuffing, pumpkin pie. Live music. Marina views. The social atmosphere handles itself. Book via jacks-smokehouse.com or walk-in if you're feeling optimistic.

Option 3: The private chef middle ground
ChefMaison Costa del Sol — It’s a little late for this year, but if this year goes poorly, here’s the magical way to do it next year. €59- € 194 per person for four courses (pricing varies by menu complexity). Minimum six guests. They cook in your kitchen, you receive compliments, and nobody needs proof that you made anything. Book at chefmaison.com/en-es/services/private-chef/marbella.

Option 4: The scavenging challenge
This is where it gets interesting. Everything's available - finding it just takes effort and strategic ordering.

Amazon.es: Pumpkin puree €13+ per can (search "pumpkin puree" or "calabaza puré"). Cranberry sauce occasionally surfaces. You'd better have ordered last week for tonight’s feast.

El Corte Inglés: The British section sometimes stocks cranberry sauce. Your mileage varies by location and whether someone cleared the shelf yesterday.

Local butchers: Turkey available with advance order. Call Monday-Tuesday. Specify size. Expect €60-120 depending on weight.

Fresh pumpkin: Available everywhere November-December. Roast it yourself, add your own cinnamon/nutmeg/mace. Genuinely better than canned, but it requires the afternoon you're theoretically saving with the US holiday.

The year-one move: paying €13 for canned pumpkin on Amazon feels absurd until you're standing in your kitchen at 22:00, realizing fresh pumpkin needs 90 minutes you don't have.

Year three: you've learned the timing. Fresh pumpkin, local oranges substituting for cranberries (works surprisingly well), and a Spanish butcher providing a perfectly adequate turkey.

Year five: you’re doing what I did, get Thanksgiving catered, I even got custom cocktails while the private chefs did all the hard work.

Sometimes, the lack of effort and the simple enjoyment of your friends and family become the point.

Here's what happens when you host Spanish and expat friends for Thanksgiving who've never experienced it.

They don't understand why you're emotional about a Thursday in November. The cranberry sauce confuses them. The pumpkin pie gets mixed reviews.

But when you explain - a day set aside purely for gratitude and gathering, no religious overlay, no gifts expected, just food and thanks - something clicks.

Not everything America exports is worth importing. But a holiday that asks only "what are you grateful for?" translates across every culture at the table. That's probably the best thing we can all bring.

Thanksgiving is a strange one from the outside. Americans disappear for a day, reappear full of turkey, gratitude, and vague regret, and insist it all makes sense. But strip away the folklore, and it’s basically this: a non-religious excuse to pause, appreciate what’s good, and eat far too much with people you actually like, plus watch American football and root for Charlie Brown.

So even if this holiday isn’t yours, feel free to steal the useful parts. A day built around gratitude, good food, and zero obligations is a pretty decent export.

Nearly there — A. a single American amongst the stunning WayPoint Sur team

With Waypoint Sur, you can always expect plain-English guidance to land, settle, and thrive on the Costa del Sol—work, schools, healthcare, visas, taxes, home, and daily life.  
Made Mostly Under the Costa del Sol Sun. 💛