Letter from the Editor: Finding Thanks When You Can

Catch up with Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Catherine Walters in the November Letter From The Editor.

Life can be hard, especially this time of year, and it is not always easy to summon the gratitude the season seems to demand. For those of us who have lost loved ones, the holidays can bring grief and loneliness back to the surface. Traditions change. Empty seats feel especially noticeable. Sometimes gratitude does not arrive as a grand revelation. We have to look for it in smaller moments and accept it wherever we find it.

For me, that will include making donations on Thanksgiving to several of my favorite local nonprofit organizations. Volunteering is another way to turn gratitude into something tangible. Whether you can give your time, money, resources or expertise, even a modest contribution can matter to someone who needs it.

Our annual Giving Guide is a good place to begin. The organizations featured in these pages care for children and families, protect animals, support the arts, improve access to health care and education, and help neighbors through difficult circumstances. I hope you will spend some time getting to know their work and perhaps find a cause that speaks to you. Giving back cannot erase the hard parts of life, but it can pull us out of our own worries for a while and remind us that we still have something valuable to offer.

For those hoping for a less stressful Thanksgiving, we also highlight local resorts serving some of the best holiday feasts in Central Florida. Gather the family, enjoy a wonderful meal and let someone else handle the cooking, cleaning and dishes. I am thankful for that option alone.

And when life is hard, I like to eat.

That makes November a fitting month for our 2026 Orlando Magazine Dining Awards, featuring the results of reader voting conducted earlier this year. With 74 categories and 222 winners, the list captures the restaurants, chefs, dishes and dining experiences you return to again and again. In our feature story, we take a closer look at 22 local restaurants and the people and flavors that keep Orlando hooked. Consider it your guide to old favorites, new discoveries and plenty of reasons to make a reservation.

Brendan O’Connor also takes us south for an escape to Embassy Suites by Hilton Deerfield Beach Resort & Spa, where ocean views and a slower pace offer a welcome change of scenery.

However you spend November, I hope you find comfort in good food, good company and the chance to help someone else. Gratitude may not come easily or all at once. This year, I am going to notice it when it does.