34 Thanksgiving Jokes: The 2018 “Baby Shark & The Snap” Edition

In 2018, Thanksgiving was about surviving the “Snap,” dodging the “Baby Shark” earworm, and realizing that a “Bird Box” challenge was the only way to avoid looking at the mountain of dishes.

The 2018 Top 10: “Thanos, Fortnight, and Yanny”

1. The Thanos Snap: Why was the table so empty? Because after Avengers: Infinity War, Dad insisted on “balancing the meal” by making half the side dishes disappear with a snap of his fingers.
2. Baby Shark: Why was the 2018 dinner so maddening? Because you couldn’t even pass the turkey without the kids starting a chorus of “Turkey shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo,” until Grandma threatened to banish the internet.
3. Yanny vs. Laurel: Why did the family fight start before the food was served? Because someone played a 3-second audio clip, and half the table heard “Yanny” while the other half was ready to go to war for “Laurel.”
4. Fortnite Dances: Why was the nephew constantly flossing? He wasn’t cleaning his teeth—he was just doing a “battle royale” celebration after successfully taking the last piece of dark meat.
5. The Kiki Challenge (In My Feelings): Why was the aunt jumping out of the slow-moving car in the driveway? Because Drake asked “Kiki, do you love me?” and she felt legally obligated to dance next to the minivan.
6. Black Panther: Why was the toast so powerful? Because everyone crossed their arms over their chests and shouted “Wakanda Forever!” before diving into the mashed potatoes.
7. A Star Is Born: Why was Mom screaming in the kitchen? She wasn’t hurt—she was just trying to hit the “Shallow” high note while pulling the bird out of the oven.
8. The Royal Wedding (Harry & Meghan): Why was the dinner so fancy? Because after the second Royal Wedding, Mom was convinced that we were all “Duchesses of Gravy” and required pinkies up at all times.
9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Why were there six different turkeys? Because of a “glitch in the multiverse,” each cousin brought their own version of the bird from a different dimension.
10. The Tide Pod Scare (Peak): Why was Mom guarding the laundry room? Because 2018 was the year the internet tried to convince teenagers that detergent was a snack, and she wasn’t taking any chances with the “forbidden fruit.”

The Full 2018 Archive (Highlights)

11. Bird Box: Why were the blindfolds on? Because after the Netflix movie, the family decided that looking at the calories in the pumpkin pie was a death sentence.
12. The “Elon Musk Smoking” Meme: Why was the tech-uncle looking so pensive? Because he saw the Joe Rogan podcast clip and thought looking “unusually focused” was his new holiday personality.
13. Red Dead Redemption 2: Why was Dad talking like a cowboy? Because he spent 80 hours in the Wild West and kept calling the turkey “Good boah” while carving it.
14. ASMR: Why was everyone whispering and tapping on the plates? Because “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” was the biggest trend, and the sound of crinkling stuffing bags was apparently “tingly.”
15. The IHOb Name Change: Why did the uncle call the turkey a “burger”? Because IHOP briefly changed their name to “IHOb,” and for one month in 2018, nothing made sense anymore.
16. Bohemian Rhapsody: Why was the dinner so theatrical? Because the biopic came out, and the whole family ended up doing a four-part harmony of “Galileo!” instead of saying grace.
17. The “Is This a Pigeon?” Meme: Why was the toddler pointing at the turkey? Because he was holding up a wing and asking, “Is this a butterfly?” like the guy in the anime meme.
18. The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch): Why was the atmosphere so “mean”? Because the new movie was out, and the kids were “stealing” the rolls just to see if their hearts would grow three sizes.
19. Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next”: Why was the break-up talk so empowering? Because the song was the anthem of the year, and we were all saying “Thank u, next” to the salad and moving straight to the dessert.
20. The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Why was everyone suspicious of the guest list? Because we were pretty sure Mark Zuckerberg already knew what we were having for dinner before we even bought the groceries.
21. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Why was the niece writing letters? Because Peter Kavinsky made “secret notes” cool again, though hers were mostly just about how much she hated the Brussels sprouts.
22. The “Bongo Cat” Meme: Why was the cat hitting the table? Because the viral animation made us all want to play a rhythmic beat on our plates with every bite of food.
23. Venom: Why was the uncle talking to himself? “We… are… hungry!” (He wasn’t possessed; he just really liked Tom Hardy’s performance).
24. The Mason Ramsey (Yodeling Kid): Why was someone yodeling in the Walmart aisle? Because the kid in the bowtie made “Lovesick Blues” the unofficial soundtrack of grocery shopping in 2018.
25. The “Sururised Pikachu” Meme: Why was the teenager making that face? Because they didn’t help in the kitchen and were shocked (shocked!) when there were no clean forks left for the pie.
26. Crazy Rich Asians: Why was the dinner so extravagant? Because the movie inspired us to treat the 2018 meal like a high-stakes mahjong game with extra gold-leafed yams.
27. The Tesla in Space (Orbiting): Why was Dad still talking about it? Because “Starman” was still out there in his Roadster, and Dad felt his old sedan was “basically a spaceship” if you ignored the check engine light.
28. Queer Eye (The Reboot): Why was the house suddenly full of “French tucks” and avocados? Because the Fab Five taught us that “self-care” means putting a lot of effort into the table setting.
29. The iPhone XR Colors: Why was everyone arguing about “Coral” vs. “Yellow”? Because Apple gave us bright colors again, and the family was split into “Vibrant” and “Classic” tech factions.
30. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Why was the turkey “prehistoric”? Because it had been in the freezer so long it was technically a fossil, but Dad said it was “curated for flavor.”
31. The “Moth and Lamp” Meme: Why was the cousin staring at the porch light? “Bröther, may I have some… läämps?” (Actually, he just wanted some lamps—and more pie).
32. A Quiet Place: Why was everyone eating in total silence? Because the movie made us terrified that if we made a sound, a monster would hear us and take the last piece of cornbread.
33. The “Johny Johny Yes Papa” Viral Video: Why was the toddler being interrogated? “Eating sugar? No, Papa! Telling lies? No, Papa! Open your mouth… Ha! Ha! Ha!” (He definitely ate the sugar).
34. This Is America: Why was the music talk so “deep”? Because Childish Gambino’s video was a cultural reset, and the cousins spent three hours analyzing the background details while ignoring the yams.