Thanksgiving is a government holiday. That means federal offices, courts, and post offices will be closed. Other government institutions - think the DMV and local libraries - will also be closed. In Miami-Dade, all county courts and Clerk of the Courts offices will also be closed on Friday and reopen on Monday.

Several grocery chains will be open on Thanksgiving, the most food-centric of the all U.S. holidays. But major retailers will largely be closed, as the trend of luring people kicking off their Black Friday sales bonanzas before the table was cleared of Thanksgiving dinner dishes has slowed considerably.