An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving is a television film loosely based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott.

[1] Widow Mary Bassett (Helene Joy) and her three children have hit difficult times on their farm; it is especially apparent when they cannot even afford a turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Oldest daughter Tilly (Tatiana Maslany) writes to Mary's wealthy and estranged mother Isabella (Jacqueline Bisset), exaggerating their situation in a lengthy letter.

When the film premiered on the Hallmark Channel, it gained 5.2 million viewers, delivering a 3.2 household rating and nearly 2.8 million homes, making it the highest-rated cable movie of the premiere day and week.

1 in the time period for household and total viewer ratings and deliveries, and boosted the network to rank first in prime Ttme for the day.