Why Fans Love Alfonso Ribeiro's 'DWTS Thanksgiving' Tradition So Much

By Kim LaCapria

Published Nov 30, 2024

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Although Season 33 of Dancing With The Stars drew to a close right before the holiday, cast camaraderie did not — as evidenced by Alfonso Ribeiro's DWTS Thanksgiving celebration.

Dancing With The Stars seems to encourage a level of cast bonding that sets it apart from many other reality TV competition shows, which makes sense — the nature of the show and its structure, pairing "pros" with "celebrities," is such that participants necessarily spend quite a bit of time together rehearsing, performing, and for some of the cast, taking DWTS on the road.

That closeness sparks new friendships, and, of course, "showmances" occur nearly every season.

As a host, Alfonso goes through this "bonding with the cast" cycle each season, and it seems he picks up new friends each time.

On Thursday, November 28, many Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, and the Ribeiro family engaged in their tradition of hosting a DWTS version of the holiday.

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Alfonso's DWTS Thanksgiving Tradition Goes Way Back

On Friday, November 29 – the day after Thanksgiving – Alfonso and wife Angela (@mrsangelaribeiro1) again invited the Dancing With The Stars crew over for the holiday.

Several DWTS cast members shared images and Reels to Instagram, documenting the well-attended event.

Pro Daniella Karagach shared a carousel of images and video, depicting scenes from Alfonso's DWTS Thanksgiving celebration.

Another pro, Sasha Farber, shared a group photograph in an Instagram Story, and a screenshot was shared on Reddit's r/dancingwiththestars:

DWTS fans on Reddit were in agreement that Alfonso's Thanksgiving tradition was "wholesome" as well as thoughtful, considering many among the cast are not American.

They gushed:

"Gosh Alfonso is a national treasure. I love him. He genuinely and deeply cares for the pros and cast 🥹🥹🥹"

"Something about seeing a bunch of the foreign born pros coming together to celebrate thanksgiving is so wholesome, I’m so glad they have a great place to celebrate with Alfonso’s family and the whole dwts family."

"Love this! It’s so thoughtful how family members such as Val and Maks parents and troupe members were also included. So welcoming!"

"I adore Alfonso. I just think he’s such a genuinely good & humble person who is so welcoming."

Several pointed out that the non-Americans from Dancing With The Stars might not otherwise have Thanksgiving plans, and Alfonso has spoken about that in the past.

In December 2023, Alfonso discussed the tradition during an appearance on The Talk:

In that clip, Alfonso said that his Dancing With The Stars tradition dates back to Season 14.

He explained that 2023 was a "supersized" year, because DWTS typically ends before Thanksgiving — but that season extended into December.

Alfonso added that he likes to host the holiday in part because so many pros and participants are not from the US:

"You got [people] from England, you got Australia, you've got Ukraine, you've got Russia, right? So, it's not really their holiday, but, yet, they're here, right? And so we've been having them over to the house basically since [Season] 14."

Alfonso skipped the tradition in 2021 due to a planned trip, but picked it back up — and as of 2024, DWTS Thanksgiving is something fans also look forward to each year.