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The trend involves more than just taking a walk before dinner
Amber Raikenin New YorkFriday 21 November 2025 21:07 GMTComments
CloseRelated: Thanksgiving travel rush begins
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Families are taking a traditional past time and putting a new spin on it.
Deemed the “cousin walk,” the physical aspect of the trend is exactly as it sounds, with young adult family members taking a stroll together on Thanksgiving Day. Whether it’s around the block or just to the local store, it’s usually an activity before the day’s big meal.
However, relatives may choose to do more than just chat on this walk. To potentially stimulate appetites for Thanksgiving dinner’s turkey, stuffing, string beans, and pies, some may choose to smoke marijuana.
Many Americans have shared their take on the trend, with 36-year-old Priyanka Pulijal telling The Wall Street Journal that she and her relatives just “give each other a look” and ask if they’re ready to go on the walk.
“We have a couple puffs and just laugh about something, roll our eyes at our silly uncle, just have a good time,” she said.
open image in galleryFamily members take a ‘cousin walk’ to smoke cannabis before Thanksgiving dinner (Getty Images)Chris Sayegh, a 33-year-old Los Angeles chef who cooks with cannabis, also told the publication that the best stories are shared during that walk — not around the Thanksgiving dinner table.
“Looking back on this, it’s some of the very best times in life,” he said.
Others have shared their takes on the holiday tradition via social media. Last year, a man named Landon shared a video about taking the cousin walk either before or after dinner on Thanksgiving.
“It is a moment when we have come together as a whole, and then a few of us are going to separate off in our own little age-appropriate group,” he said. “Everything else that happens on the walk is classified,” he quipped, perhaps referring to smoking cannabis. “I can confirm that there are shenanigans.”
Another TikTok user named Abby poked fun at her own family’s take on the tradition. “Cousin-walked a little too close to the sun if you know what I mean,” she wrote in the text over her clip.
Known as “Green Wednesday,” the day before Thanksgiving has become a phenomenon for cannabis companies.
open image in galleryPeople might use cannabis products before Thanksgiving dinner to stimulate their appetites (Getty Images/iStockphoto)According to Perfect Union, a weed dispensary in California, the holiday originated in 2016, after “a California-based cannabis delivery service noticed an unexpected surge in sales on the day before Thanksgiving.” As a result, that day was deemed “Green Wednesday” and “became a significant event in the cannabis calendar.”
In fact, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is “considered the second-largest cannabis celebration,” falling just behind 420 on April 20.
New York City cannabis dispensary Gotham recently posted an ad on Instagram for its travel-size pre-rolled joints, leading up to Thanksgiving.
“The cousin’s walk is more than just a stroll,” read the video, which shows the joints being lit outside. “It’s a sacred time, an honored tradition. A secret society that meets once a year.”
But food companies are marketing their products with the cousin walk trend in mind, too. Last year, Jif shared an advertisement on Instagram of someone opening his jacket, with a squeeze peanut butter pouch inside.
“Pre-Thanksgiving-dinner cousin walk,” read the text over the clip, which showed a few people strolling outside.
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