33 Thanksgiving Jokes: The 2010 “iPad & Instagram” Edition

In 2010, Thanksgiving was the year we stopped looking at each other and started looking at “magical and revolutionary” tablets. It was the year of spinning tops, square photos, and the beginning of the “The Walking Dead” obsession.

The 2010 Top 10: “Magical Tablets & Dream Layers”

1. The First iPad: Why was the 2010 dinner so quiet? Because Dad bought a “magical and revolutionary” device that was basically just a giant iPhone, and everyone spent the meal passing it around like it was a holy relic from the future.
2. Instagram Launch: Why did the turkey get cold? Because it had to sit through a five-minute photoshoot so the teenager could apply the “Earlybird” filter and share a square photo with 12 people on the internet.
3. Inception: Why was the dinner so confusing? Because after the movie, we weren’t sure if we were actually eating turkey or if we were just in a dream within a dream inside a basement within a kitchen.
4. The Meat Dress: Why was Mom so stressed about the leftovers? Because Lady Gaga wore a dress made of raw flank steak to the VMAs, and Mom was terrified someone would try to turn the leftover ham into a fashionable hat.
5. The Walking Dead: Why were the guests so hungry? Because the show premiered in October, and every time someone groaned for “more brains” (or more rolls), the whole table jumped in fear of a zombie apocalypse.
6. The Social Network: Why was the “techy” cousin so arrogant? Because he saw the movie and was convinced that if he “unfriended” his aunt in real life, he’d magically become a billionaire by New Year’s.
7. Toy Story 3: Why were the adults crying during the pie? Because Pixar decided to traumatize an entire generation by making them think about what happened to their old childhood toys in a furnace.
8. Angry Birds (The Fever): Why was Uncle Jim flicking peas across the table? He wasn’t being rude; he was just practicing his slingshot physics to take out the “pigs” (the salt shakers).
9. Katy Perry’s “Firework”: Why was the mood so explosive? Because the song was everywhere, and Mom kept asking the turkey if it “ever felt like a plastic bag drifting through the wind.”
10. The BP Oil Spill: Why was the gravy boat under such heavy scrutiny? Because after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Dad insisted on a “containment strategy” for every spill on the tablecloth.

The Full 2010 Archive (Highlights)

11. Despicable Me: Why did the kids call the rolls “minions”? Because they were small, yellow-ish, and seemed to disappear the moment Gru (Grandpa) turned his back.
12. Justin Bieber’s “Baby”: Why was the basement so high-pitched? Because the Bieb-fever was at 104 degrees, and “Baby, baby, baby, oh!” was the only lyric allowed during the kids’ table meal.
13. The iPhone 4 “Antennagate”: Why did Dad have to hold the phone with two fingers? Because if he touched the side of the new iPhone 4, the call with Grandma would drop faster than a dropped plate.
14. Tangled: Why was the niece obsessed with her hair? Because Disney’s Rapunzel made her think that 70 feet of golden locks was a reasonable health and safety goal.
15. The Old Spice “Man Your Man Could Smell Like”: Why was the uncle talking to the camera? Because he was on a horse (the ottoman) and kept saying, “Look at your man, now back to me,” while holding a bowl of stuffing.
16. Kinect for Xbox 360: Why was everyone waving their arms at the TV? Because Microsoft told us we didn’t need controllers anymore, so we spent Thanksgiving looking like we were trying to swat invisible bees.
17. Black Swan: Why was the ballerina cousin acting so intense? Because Natalie Portman made her believe that the perfect “dark” stuffing was worth losing her mind over.
18. The iPad “Kindle Killer” Debate: Why was Grandpa confused? Because he just learned how to use a Kindle, and now the family was telling him he needed a backlit slab of glass instead.
19. Pinterest (Closed Beta): Why was the aunt “pinning” pictures of napkins? Because Pinterest was the new “invite-only” secret club for people who wanted to plan a wedding they weren’t having.
20. True Grit: Why was the carving so rugged? Because Jeff Bridges inspired Dad to act like a one-eyed U.S. Marshal who takes his poultry very, very seriously.
21. The “Bed Intruder” Song: Why was everyone hiding their kids and hiding their wives? Because Antoine Dodson went viral, and the family was protecting the leftovers from “intruders” (the dog).
22. The King’s Speech: Why was the toast so long? Because after the movie won everything, Dad decided he needed to overcome a dramatic stutter just to say “Enjoy the meal.”
23. Foursquare: Why was the cousin “Checking In” to the dining room? Because he wanted to be the “Mayor” of his own house to get a 0% discount on the turkey.
24. Downton Abbey: Why was the dinner suddenly so formal? Because the show premiered, and Mom insisted we all act like British aristocrats who find “self-service” to be a moral failing.
25. The “Double Rainbow” Guy: Why was the cousin crying at the window again? Because the meme was still peak 2010, and the vividness of the cranberry sauce was “so intense.”
26. FarmVille (The Peak): Why was the dinner delayed? Because 80 million people (including three aunts) had to harvest their digital strawberries before the real food could be served.
27. Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie”: Why was the mood so fiery? Because Rihanna and Eminem were on every radio, and we all “stood there and watched the turkey burn” (but it’s okay because we loved the way it smelled).
28. The Burj Khalifa Opening: Why was the centerpiece so tall? Because the world’s tallest building opened, and the centerpiece reached such heights it was officially a flight hazard for the ceiling fan.
29. Kick-Ass: Why was the nephew wearing a green scuba suit? Because he thought he could be a superhero without powers, but he quickly learned his only power was making the dog bark.
30. The “Flash” War: Why was the tech-uncle arguing with the iMac-uncle? Because Steve Jobs wrote a letter “Thoughts on Flash,” and now the dinner table was a battlefield for the future of internet video.
31. Vuvuzelas: Why was the 2010 World Cup over, but the sound remained? Because someone brought a plastic horn from South Africa and buzzed it every time a touchdown was scored.
32. The 3D TV Hype: Why were we wearing sunglasses indoors? Because the tech-stores convinced Dad that 3D TV was the next big thing, and the football game looked “blurry but deep.”
33. The Final 2010 Vibe: Why was it a “Square” year? Because between Instagram and the iPad, we spent the whole year trying to fit our complicated lives into perfect 1:1 ratios.