Barack and Michelle Obama deliver family photo with a difference for Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving, which means families across the country will be celebrating with a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes, likely watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Even the Obamas are celebrating the special holiday as a family, sharing a glimpse of their day with fans on social media.

Barack and Michelle took to Instagram to share an adorable photo of their celebrations, as their dog Sunny wore a special Thanksgiving ascot, colored an appropriate pumpkin orange plaid, which read: “Happy Turkey Day!”

© @barackobama @michelleobama

The Portuguese Water dog, formerly the First Dog of the United States, looked incredibly happy as she sat obediently on the cream-toned couch piled high with cushions. 

© Handout

The couple captioned the photo: “From our family (and Sunny!) to yours, wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!”

It was certainly a sweet insight into the former First family’s Thanksgiving celebrations, which Michelle and Barack will undoubtedly be spending with their two grown daughters, Malia and Sasha, respectively 26 and 23.

The girls are all grown up and making their way into the world. Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California with an undergraduate degree in sociology in 2023, with all her family in attendance, while Malia is making her name as a filmmaker.

The eldest Obama daughter has distanced herself from her famous family through her work behind the camera, as earlier this year she took to Sundance Film Festival to show the film she wrote and directed under the name Malia Ann.

© Dia Dipasupil

The short film, named The Heart, is about a grieving son who finds something unusual in his late mother’s will. She revealed it was specifically about “lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in those things.”

“We hope you enjoy the film and it makes you feel a bit less lonely, or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are,” she continued.

Responding to his daughter’s decision to change her name publicly, Barack said on The Pivot Podcast: “I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are,'”

“And she’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch [my film] that first time and not in any way have that association.’ So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,” he added.