Since the late 20^th century, Thanksgiving also meant the official start to the holiday shopping season. Are you ready?

As we’ve previously mentioned in our Shopping Goes Social piece, many retailers are leveraging their social media clout to connect with consumers by offering them something extra they can’t see on a particular retail site or in a weekly circular. Other sites are there to aggregate this information for you – like Black-Friday.net.

Want to get a head start on those Black Friday deals? This site simply lays out the ads and deals in advance of the biggest shopping day of the year. You can see preview circulars, online deals of the day and even create your own shopping list.

Know what you’re cooking on the big day? Want the best pumpkin pie or green bean casserole recipe or have one to offer? Several popular recipe sites offer not only great recipes and tips, they also offer real reviews from real people who have made that particular dish. Sites like allrecipes.com are offering a free Webscast to show how dishes are made – you can watch it on their .tv site or from your iPhone.

And what would Thanksgiving (or one of my posts) be without the time-honored tradition of the NFL. Since the league’s inception in 1920 fans have been able to skip away from the Thanksgiving table to catch the games. Since the advent of the television, it makes getting up from the table a tad bit easier. As our mobile devices have become more sophisticated, we don’t even have to leave the table to get the scores. But don’t tell my family about that.

When all is said and done, it’s all about being with your loved ones, celebrating being together and giving a little bit of thanks. So to everyone out there, have a great Thanksgiving weekend, wherever and however you may be spending it.