A Video Handbook for Thanksgiving Day

Today we’re all probably doing a lot of timeless things. Feasting with family goes back to the Pilgrims. Great Aunt Mindy’s cranberry sauce recipe hasn’t changed in generations, nor should it. Even watching football games feels like a prehistoric ritual at this point.

But that doesn’t mean new traditions, like gathering around the laptop to watch silly cat videos, are any less capable of sappy meaningfulness. Still, it can be a bit hard to translate what this whole YouTube thing is to your Luddite relatives, much less the ability to watch TV on your computer or see original online entertainment that’s actually good. So when you’re on the spot, with your wits a bit less quick from the tryptophan, and need the perfect video for any number of situations, we’ve got you covered.

Our picks of online video to queue up if you’re:

Showing your grandma YouTube:

Dancing dog. Best trick in the book.

Showing your crazy uncle YouTube:

Human Tetris. Not an online original, but it works every time.

Justifying to a skeptic that original online content can be compelling:

“Le Montage” by Handsome Donkey. Classic.

Showing off really awesome, high-quality video delivery over the Internet:

HD episodes of Lost on ABC.com. Warning: plug-in required. Or, Hulu just added a bunch of episodes in HD that run in Flash, which everybody except maybe your identity-theft fearing step-mom has installed already.

Reminiscing about Sarah Palin spoofs:

Surely everybody’s heard about Fey-lin already, but for your clueless auntie, here’s the Katie Couric interview parody:

If you’re holing up in your room with only your laptop to entertain you:

Clark and Michael is a nice pick because it’s a complete, wrapped-with-a-bow package of 10 wonderful episodes of Michael Cera sans intermediation.

If you’re needing proof that there are families more dysfunctional than yours:

YouTube star HappySlip — here’s her seminal “Mixed Nuts.”

If you get stuck babysitting the kids:

There’s always Nick.com.

If you’re looking for a family friendly movie:

Hulu has full-length movies, including family classics like 1992’s A League of Their Own and 1993’s Rudy.

If you’re seeking comfort and/or nostalgia from somebody else’s holiday joy:

Joost has a gallery of 11 Thanksgiving episodes — Friends, Beverly Hills 90210, Family Ties and more: