A thank you they can keep, this Thanksgiving
For the parents back home, the friends who became family abroad, the roommate who drove you to the airport at 4 AM. Old photos, your words, one link that opens anywhere.
Thank You, Maa & Papa
An old trunk, a sepia album, and recipes for the childhood they gave you
Open When…
Sealed letters for the moments you can't be there.
If you study or work in the US, Thanksgiving is the long weekend when campus empties, someone hosts a Friendsgiving with three kinds of biryani and a turkey nobody knows how to carve, and you suddenly miss home a lot. In 2026 it falls on Thursday, 26 November (Canada's was on 12 October). It's also a good excuse to do something most of us never do: tell the people who made us, properly, what they did.
Thank You, Maa & Papa (₹29) was made for that. It opens with an old painted trunk: a sepia family album, 'recipes for my childhood' cards, folded chits of the things you only understood later, a letter on an inland letter card and a long hug they press and hold. The buttons can switch to Hindi, so it works for parents in India too. For the friends who got you through a first winter, a host family or a roommate, Open When… (₹29) is a bundle of sealed letters you name yourself, like 'open when you're the last one in the lab on a Friday'.
It's a private link, so it opens in any country, on any phone, straight from WhatsApp or iMessage. Preview everything first, schedule it for Thanksgiving morning in their time zone, and read their reply when it comes.
Ideas to put in it
- Ask your parents for old photos over a video call, then scan them with your phone.
- Write a 'recipe for my childhood' card for each parent: two cups of Papa's adrak chai, one pinch of Maa's scolding.
- Make one Open When… for your Friendsgiving host, with an envelope for every person at the table.
- Add the first photo you sent home from abroad, and what you were actually feeling that day.
- Schedule it to open at breakfast time in their city, not yours.
- End with a question, like 'what was the hardest year for you?', and read their answer.
Questions
When is Thanksgiving in 2026?
US Thanksgiving is on Thursday, 26 November 2026. Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday, 12 October 2026.
Is there a Thanksgiving template?
Not a Thanksgiving-only one. Thank You, Maa & Papa (₹29) is the best fit for parents, and Open When… (₹29) works for friends, a host family or anyone else you want to thank.
I live abroad and my parents are in India. Will it work?
Yes. It's a web link that opens in any phone browser, anywhere in the world, with no app and no login. You see the exact price before you start and pay once.
Can I write it in Hindi?
Yes. Type in any language your keyboard supports, and in Thank You, Maa & Papa you can switch the buttons and headings to Hindi too.