We're Skipping Thanksgiving. Saint Buddy Season Starts Now.

Who is Saint Buddy? Saint Buddy the Merry is Cleaver & Blade's patron saint of holiday cheer — the saint you light when the season gets dark, the hours get long, and smiling takes actual effort. His doctrine is simple, and it's printed right on the candle: "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite."

Thanksgiving can wait

Every store in America already skipped it. The Halloween candy wasn't even cold before the Christmas stuff hit the shelves, so we're done pretending November belongs to a turkey.

We're going straight to Saint Buddy season. Officially. As of now.

Why a saint for this?

Because this is the hardest stretch of the year for the people who actually make everybody else's holidays happen.

From now through New Year's it's doubles, banquets, buyouts, and a dining room full of people celebrating on the nights you're working. Your family does the holidays without you, or around your shift. Everybody needs support during this season — kitchen people just need it more, and get asked about it less.

That's what Saint Buddy is for. He's not here to fix the schedule. He's here to stand on your station, or your counter at home, grinning through all of it — a reminder that the smile is a choice, even in the weeds, even in week six of the gauntlet.

The support kit

The Saint Buddy Prayer Candle — $25. Light it when you finally get home. Get the candle

The Saint Buddy Poster — $25. 12" × 18", for the walk-in door, the kitchen wall, or wherever your crew needs to see it. Get the poster

Saint Buddy, packed up and shipping out — flanked by Saint Snoop and Saint Ol' Dirty Bastard. The support group is real.

One more thing, because it's today and not tomorrow: the FBF20 sale — 20% off everything — ends tonight at 6:01 PM. If Saint Buddy's coming home with you, that's the window.

Thanksgiving, we'll see you when we see you. The season starts now.

Smiling's our favorite.

— Cleaver & Blade