The Moment
Thanksgiving 2025 gave us a full sampler platter of celebrity life – and yes, it was extremely on brand.
On one end, you have Jennifer Garner in jeans and a striped tee, quietly serving hot meals to unhoused people in downtown Los Angeles. On the other, you’ve got Hailey Bieber soft-launching her cinnamon rolls on Instagram like they’re a new beauty drop, with Kylie Jenner doing live commentary.
In between, the Mahomes family posed in coordinated fall outfits before Patrick hit the field, the Obamas posted a cozy family photo alongside a call to give back, Sydney Sweeney spent the day jet skiing in 42-degree weather (with rumored new guy Scooter Braun reportedly nearby), Kendall Jenner tried to redeem her viral cucumber-cutting skills, Ciara performed at the Macy’s parade in a full pink fantasy, and Meghan Markle wrote about timing the turkey while hosting friends and family at home.
Same holiday, wildly different vibes. Welcome to Thanksgiving in the influencer age.
The Take
Celebrity Thanksgivings used to be mysterious: maybe a grainy paparazzi shot of someone leaving a Malibu house with foil trays. Now the whole thing is practically a content category.
What struck me this year is how clearly each star chose a lane – and how hard they stayed in it.
Jennifer Garner is in her “America’s thoughtful ex-wife” era and she knows it. Volunteering in downtown LA, smiling behind serving trays, dressed like every mom at Trader Joe’s? That’s not accidental. It’s sincere, yes, but it also fits the wholesome, grounded image she’s been building for years. She’s the friend who shows up early and stays to clean.
Hailey Bieber and the Kardashian-Jenner orbit, meanwhile, gave us the deluxe kitchen edition of the holiday. Hailey posts her freshly baked cinnamon rolls, Kylie reposts with “Oh… my… God,” Kendall chops vegetables in a Williams Sonoma apron while her sister jokes about that legendary awkward cucumber moment – and then, of course, we get a shot of Kendall passed out afterward. It’s domesticity as a lifestyle brand: a little self-aware, a lot curated, still very much an ad for a highly photogenic life.
Brittany and Patrick Mahomes leaned straight into NFL Norman Rockwell. Matching sweater dresses for the girls, plaid shirt for little Bronze, game-ready look for Dad. It screams, “Yes, we are very famous, but we are also just a nice football family in Texas.” You can practically smell the casseroles and hear the pregame show in the background.
The Obamas took the statesman route – a family photo plus a reminder to give back, tying personal warmth to public duty. Meghan Markle did a softer, West Coast version: she’s timing the turkey, surrounded by kids and friends, writing about “full hearts and full bellies” in her newsletter. It’s not just a holiday note; it’s an extension of her lifestyle-and-values brand.
And then there’s Sydney Sweeney, ripping around on a jet ski in near-freezing weather, posting about her happy place as the lake ices over. It’s chaotic cozy – a very 2025 blend of “I’m relatable” and “I’m also fearless and a little wild.” Add in the reported Scooter Braun sightings leading up to the holiday, and it’s basically a soft relationship rollout with a side of frostbite.
Ciara, in all pink at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, reminded us that some celebs don’t get the day off at all. She’s working while her four kids and Russell Wilson cheer from the sidelines. That’s another lane entirely: the Working Holiday Mom who still looks like a Barbie dream sequence.
If you zoom out, the whole thing starts to look like a modern Norman Rockwell painting – if Norman had an iPhone, a ring light, and a brand partnership. Everyone’s expressing gratitude, but they’re also expressing strategy. Thanksgiving isn’t just a meal anymore; it’s a lifestyle pitch.
Receipts
How Hailey Bieber, Jennifer Garner, Sydney Sweeney and more celebs are celebrating Thanksgiving 2025
From Page Six:
• Jennifer Garner volunteered, serving food to Los Angeles’ homeless community.
• Hailey Bieber baked cinnamon rolls for a Thanksgiving celebration with Kylie… pic.twitter.com/H3POtRLBZi— nuprizm (@nuprizm) November 28, 2025
Confirmed
- Jennifer Garner spent part of Thanksgiving volunteering and serving hot meals to people experiencing homelessness in downtown Los Angeles, wearing jeans and a striped T-shirt, according to on-site photos and eyewitness quotes published in late November 2025.
- Hailey Bieber posted Instagram Stories showing trays of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, calling herself on “cinnamon roll duty”; Kylie Jenner reshared the treats with the caption “Oh… my… God,” tagging Hailey.
- Brittany Mahomes shared a Thanksgiving family photo featuring Patrick Mahomes and their three children in coordinated outfits before the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys game.
- Barack and Michelle Obama posted a new family photo with daughters Malia and Sasha and wrote about using the season of giving to give back to communities, ending with a Thanksgiving wish.
- Sydney Sweeney reposted a video of herself jet skiing, noting it was 42 degrees and “the last run of the season before it ices over,” and wished followers a happy Thanksgiving via Instagram Stories.
- Kylie Jenner posted video of Kendall Jenner chopping vegetables in an apron, joking about Kendall’s past viral cucumber-cutting scene, and later shared a pic of Kendall asleep with a caption about working hard on the cooking.
- Ciara performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, wearing pink and telling the “Today” show that all four of her children and husband Russell Wilson were there to support her.
- Meghan Markle wrote in her “As Ever” newsletter that she was hosting Thanksgiving at home for friends and family, sharing that she felt grateful while looking around at her husband, children, and loved ones and juggling turkey timing.
Unverified / Reported
- Reports that Sydney Sweeney spent the holiday with music manager Scooter Braun – based on the pair being photographed together multiple times in the days leading up to Thanksgiving – have not been confirmed directly by either of them.
Sources: Celebrity social posts and newsletters published around November 27-28, 2025 (Instagram Stories and feeds from Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Brittany Mahomes, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Sydney Sweeney, Ciara; Meghan Markle’s “As Ever” newsletter), plus mainstream broadcast coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and “Today” show appearance, late November 2025.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you’ve tuned out of celebrity culture for a minute, here’s the quick refresher. Jennifer Garner, now more beloved for her low-key mom energy than her blockbuster roles, has a long history of community work and co-parenting peacefully with ex-husband Ben Affleck. Hailey Bieber runs a successful skincare brand and lives inside the Kardashian-Jenner friend circle, where everything from a salad to a cinnamon roll can become content.
Patrick Mahomes is one of the NFL’s biggest stars; his wife Brittany has turned being a quarterback’s spouse into its own sports-adjacent platform, complete with fashion, kids, and brand deals. The Obamas have settled into their post-White House life as a kind of aspirational, politically aware first family of social media.
Sydney Sweeney rose to fame on “Euphoria” and has become a red-carpet regular and producer, while Scooter Braun is a powerful (and controversial) music manager. Ciara has been a pop and R&B staple since the early 2000s, now balancing music, motherhood, and a very public marriage to NFL quarterback Russell Wilson. And Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been building out her own media and lifestyle universe – newsletters, podcasts, the works – since stepping back from royal duties with Prince Harry.
Put all of that into a single holiday, and you get a pretty clear snapshot of what 2025 fame looks like: part cause, part commerce, part cozy, always online.
What’s Next
Expect the rest of the holiday season to keep following these lanes.
Jennifer Garner will likely keep showing up in volunteer settings – that’s just who she is at this point, and the public clearly responds to it. Hailey Bieber and the Jenner crew will probably elevate from cinnamon rolls to full-blown Christmas baking content, complete with matching pajamas and an expensive candle burning in the background.
The Mahomes family has the NFL calendar on their side, so you can bet on more game-day holiday photos. The Obamas and Meghan Markle will probably keep using this season to blend family imagery with messages about giving, gratitude, and community – with just enough behind-the-scenes warmth to keep people clicking.
What I’ll be watching most closely is Sydney Sweeney. If she and Scooter Braun pop up together at more year-end events or New Year’s trips, that rumored romance moves another inch toward confirmed territory. Until then, consider it an unwrapped present under the pop culture tree.
Underneath all of it, though, is a simple truth: even on a day that’s supposed to be about unplugging, the most famous people in the world still have to decide how thankful to be – and how public to make it.
Whose Thanksgiving style feels most genuine to you – the low-key volunteers, the kitchen content queens, or the full-on parade performers?
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