As Thanksgiving dawns, you do the math.

You have the entire day off, but you really don't expect to spend the whole day eating. Or talking. Or thanking.

There is free time, to be spent watching TV. Fortunately, there are plenty of choices; here's a sampling:

THE PARADE

The Macy's parade rules the morning, from 7 a.m. on CBS and 9 a.m. on NBC.

There are no weather guarantees. "It was rotten," Meredith Vieira recalls of last Thanksgiving, her first as co-host. "It was cold and rainy."

Still, there will be plenty of noise and spectacle. Nine high school bands will be there, plus ones from the University of Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. There will be Broadway casts, including "Mary Poppins" and "Legally Blonde," plus 24 floats, 11 giant balloons and singers.

The emphasis is on youth — with Jordin Sparks, Jonas Brothers, Menudo, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale and more.

Matt Lauer, who hosts for NBC with Vieira and Al Roker, admits he once tended to shrug at all this. "My view changed 180 degrees when I watched it with my kids. ... It touches a place in them."

CBS' telecast will be hosted by Hannah Storm and Dave Price, with Neil Patrick Harris and Maggie Rodriguez as street reporters. It will add performances by Trisha Yearwood and Rascal Flatts.

THE FOOTBALL

People tend to turn to football next — for good or bad.

The annual network games are hosted by the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, which have had some bad football seasons lately. This year, there's been a turnaround.

The Lions and the Green Bay Packers have been surprises, competing for the division title. They face each other at 7:30 a.m. on Fox.

The Cowboys have also soared. They face the New York Jets, off to a rough start, at 11 a.m. on CBS.

THE ALTERNATIVE

Yes, some people — 18 million of them — actually skip football and watch the National Dog Show, from noon to 2 p.m. on NBC.

David Frei, the show's expert commentator, savors the irony of that. "My father was a football coach," he says. "Thanksgiving Day, it was just always sort of automatic that we'd have the television on and watch football."

MARATHONS

There are marathons and mini-marathons throughout the day. Examples include: