The fourth Thursday in November means a lot more to DePaul students than turkey and cranberry sauce. It signifies the beginning of the blissful, long-awaited and well-deserved six-week winter break. The stuffing is just a bonus.

Each year after finals, students say goodbye to their peers until the new year, and life on campus becomes almost nonexistent.

But what about the students who are stuck on campus during the holidays? With December Intersession just around the corner – it starts Dec. 2 – there are more students around campus for Thanksgiving than you might think.

“I live in 1237, so I’m just staying on campus over break,” Anne Crowe, a sophomore from Beverly, said. “I would rather stay here than go home.”

Though the Student Center will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, there are other options to get your holiday meal fix. Plenty of restaurants are open and serving special menus, so call up all your friends who are also miserable on campus sans turkey and make some new memories.

For those of you who can’t pass the day without eating a good meal, Dine, located at 733 W. Madison St., will be offering a traditional Thanksgiving meal for $39 from 1-10 p.m. Stay warm with their butternut squash bisque as an added bonus.

For all you vegetarians, vegans or carnivores that don’t mind nixing the turkey, Native Foods Caf’ÛΩ is hosting a vegan Thanksgiving dinner at their Wicker Park location (1484 N. Milwaukee Ave.) from 12-7 p.m. It’s just $24.95 for a full Thanksgiving dinner featuring mashed potatoes, their “native stuffing,” Waldorf salad, pumpkin pie and more.

If you’re not one for tradition, try out one of the restaurants serving Thanksgiving meals with a spin. Big Jones, a Southern-inspired restaurant located at 5347 N. Clark St. in Andersonville, will serve a $48 fixed price menu that includes deep-fried turkey, she-crab soup and bourbon bread pudding. It’s a little on the pricey side, but the sixcourse meal will surely leave you in a satisfied post-Thanksgiving stupor.

When you’re not slow roasting a turkey and spending time in the kitchen, the Thanksgiving meal is not likely to take up the entire day. To further celebrate the holiday, catch the annual Macy’s Day Parade on NBC. Spice it up a little by playing drinking games with friends – even if you’re just drinking eggnog. Take a sip every time you see a float with a creepy oversized cartoon that you’ve never even heard of before.

If you’re more concerned about where you’re going to be drinking the night before Thanksgiving than what you’re going to be eating the next day, you’re in luck. A lot of bars and clubs in Chicago are celebrating Black Wednesday,” a notorious college party night, with drink specials.

The Grid, located at 351 W. Hubbard St., is hosting their “Black Wednesday at The Grid.” There will be a DJ, giveaways and, most importantly, drink specials. How can you say no to $3 Coors Lights, $5 Absolut and Malibu cocktails and $6 Jameson cocktails? You can’t? That’s what I thought.

If you’re into rap, or if you’re just looking for an excuse to go to what will surely be an insane concert, Juicy J and Machine Gun Kelly are performing at the UIC Pavilion on Black Wednesday as well. The show starts at 7 p.m., so you can definitely fit in a few cocktails at The Grid afterwards.

And on Black Friday, there’s no better place to be than downtown Chicago. Walk off that extra piece of pumpkin pie you snuck when no one was looking. Grab your friends, a piping hot peppermint mocha from Starbucks and your warmest pair of gloves and head to Michigan Avenue for a hectic shopping spree.

If you’re not into the crazy crowds in the department stores and boutiques, you can still enjoy the downtown festivities. Head over to Millennium Park for some fresh winter air and ice-skating. The Millennium Park ice rink opens Nov. 15, so the ice will be nice and fresh.

If just the thought of being downtown on Black Friday makes you cringe, stay local. Lincoln Park Zoo’s ZooLights starts the day after Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. New this year, the zoo will also have an iceskating rink. Bring your own skates and pay just $5 for admission. No skates? Not a problem. Ice skate rentals are just $5.

If you aren’t going home or are unable to spend time with family this Thanksgiving, don’t waste the holiday. Take advantage of what Chicago has to offer.

“I love to be in the city,” Crowe said, “and there is a lot more to do here than from where I’m from.”

Thanksgivukkah

Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah land on the same day this year, a coincidence that hasn’t happened since 1888 and won’t be happening again for 77,798 years.

If you celebrate Hanukkah, and the thought of planning both holidays on the same day makes you say, “oy vey,” there is a solution for you: Thanksgivukkah (not to be confused with the OC’s Seth Cohen’s “Chrismukkah”).

“Like a lot of people – mainly because of Buzzfeed – my family is doing a Thanksgivukkah,” Michelle Chiera, a 22-year-old Jewish student at Roosevelt University, said. “We’re having all the traditional Thanksgiving foods and then some Jewish twists like sweet potato latkes and cranberry applesauce. Just as a Christian family would say grace, we will offer the same prayer of thanksgiving along with the blessings over the candles.”

Take a few tips from Chiera and try incorporating both holidays into one, instead of stressing over celebrating both in different ways.