Stephen, I can see why T-Giving may be such a downer for you. It gets better with time though.
We Cherokees use Thanksgiving as a time of reflection for us and a time to help put our elder folks' home and farms in order. We gather for the work like fence mending and roof repairing and then do the eating. Not always on T-Giving Day. We talk and sing in Tsa La Gi (our language) and forget about the white culture for awhile.