Starbucks switched to its red holiday cups at the beginning of this month, and Santas have already appeared in window displays around Harvard Square, but the Harvard University Dining Services staff wasn’t about to let Thanksgiving go unremarked on campus.

Last night, HUDS made the House tradition of community night into a special Thanksgiving meal. In Cabot’s dining hall, red and yellow balloons and tablecloths set the Thanksgiving scene. 

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The House menus featured classics: roast turkey breast, cider-glazed ham, vegetarian stuffing and—of course—pumpkin pie. The Thanksgiving-averse could still head to the grill and order cage-free egg whites and fries.

Feasting students lauded their favorites. “The stuffing was definitely the highlight,” said Rebecca H. Newman ’16, who ate dinner in Leverett House.

Shirin Al-Houssein ’15 said she enjoyed all the traditional fare Cabot had on offer, but added, “I don’t know Thanksgiving that well because I’m not American.” 

Others also noted that tables at home were more varied: Chris H. Chen ’17 said he preferred the turkey to the ham, but neither reminded him of home because his Thanksgiving meal generally includes more Asian offerings.

This Wednesday, when the University closes, many students will head to their own homes to sit around a table with a traditional Thanksgiving spread similar to the one served last night in the dining halls. 

Some will go to the homes of roommates or to other adventure destinations. Al-Houssein, for one, plans to go to Las Vegas with her friends, well away from a kitchen because “none of us know how to cook.”

The short break starts Wednesday and ends the following Monday, when classes resume for the final three days of the term. Even so, HUDS director for marketing and communication, Crista Martin, said the dining halls usually host several students who stay behind. Martin promised that students who stay will be able to celebrate food and community as well. 

Although most dining halls will close, Adams House will stay open throughout the break, and on Thursday will offer a full New England Thanksgiving served “kind of continuously from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Martin said.