This is the first year that my DD24 hasn't come home for Thanksgiving. She went to school in the college town where we live, so there was never a problem during her college days. The last 2 years they came home for T-giving, but this year, with everyone's holiday obligations, they decided it was too much driving (his family has a gathering, she comes home for Nutcracker reunion, then there's t-giving, Christmas, my family's holiday gathering, and New Year's Eve) so instead, DH and I, as well as DD's boyfriend's parents and brother, will drive to CT to their house; DD is hosting her first Thanksgiving! I am SO GLAD, because I wasn't quite sure what we'd do. Last year they didn't come home for Christmas, and it was an abysmal holiday!
More on topic, as I referenced above, we live in a college town. There are ALWAYS students who cannot go home for the holidays. Sometimes Residence Life will host a T-giving dinner. Other times, different dorms will get together and do something for their students who can't go home. We normally go to a friend's home for T-giving, as all our relatives are pretty far away and all their relatives are in CO. Their home is always full for T-giving: Other faculty families with distant relatives, grad students who don't have the time to go home, undergrads who live to far away to make the trip. The holiday meal is always a festive combination of traditional Thanksgiving foods and amazing examples of international cuisine, depending on the home countries of the grad students in attendance. We always have a wonderful time, and as excited as I am to be going to DD's, I will admit to feeling just a little sad that we'll miss our usual Thanksgiving celebration!