My mother and I used to think we were so clever sneaking out of the house after the post-pumpkin pie haze to spend our tryptophan relaxing time at the movie theater, while our extended family lay sprawled on the couches in front of the boob tube ... until a few years later when the entire world caught on and every theater had lines around the block on Turkey Day. Lucky for you, we're in Washington, D.C., so if you need to get some fresh air after Aunt Betty gives you the third degree about when you're going to come home with a ring or a barrel of children or something, or if you're a transplant and just decided not to brave the airports and highways home, you've got way more options than the latest blockbuster down in Chinatown.

Every Smithsonian museum will be open on Thanksgiving Day with regular hours -- except the National Building Natural History Museum, which will actually have extended hours. Most are open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but check their web site (and get some useful maps) before you head out. Here's a quick summary of what you can find:

>> We continue to recommend highly the locally focused Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Stop by to see East of the River: Continuity and Change, and check out their many event listings, especially the upcoming holiday programs, some of which require advanced (but free) registration. For more local history, take in Washington: Symbol and City at the National Building Museum. [Ed. note: Just kidding! the NBM is actually closed Thanksgiving; apologies for the error. They will be open the rest of the weekend, however.]

>> Be thankful for two iconic painters at the National Gallery of Art in separate exhibits for Edward Hopper and J.M.W. Turner. Catch a Washington local painter, Morris Louis, and his color field works are over at the Hirshhorn. All three exhibits close in January, so it might be worth taking some holiday time to check them out.

>> If you literally need some "fresh air," step outside into the new Kogod Courtyard at the Reynold's Center. Read more about the venue and its beautiful new canopy here. While you're there, take in some old Hollywood glamour with the National Portrait Gallery's Katharine Hepburn exhibit. In the same building, the Smithsonian American Art Museum is featuring some Over the Top war posters, and celebrating their annual Lucelia Prize Winners.

>> We just checked out the Sackler Gallery and recommend a relaxing browse through the intensely detailed scenes that make up much of this Edo-era art exhibition.

>> Want to see the history that made possible your Mom and Pop's flight out to visit you this weekend? Bring them over to the National Air and Space Museum for their new permanent exhibition, Air in America.

>> Forget the tryptophan -- get your good vibes from Discovering Rastafari at the National Museum of Natural History.

>> We enjoyed learning the culture of some Saharan nomads in the Art of Being Taureg at the National Museum of African Art, and tracing the history and art of Native Americans in three fantastic exhibits at the National Museum of the American Indian.

>> Though not a Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of Medical History will also be open on Thanksgiving, and might be the perfect solution for your rambunctious cousins who need to be entertained by the gross and creepy.

Though private galleries, including the Phillips Collection and the Corcoran, will be closed Thursday, quite a few will be open Friday and just about everyone will have regular Saturday hours. Browse through our recent reviews and call the gallery ahead of time to make sure.

Photo of Smithsonian Castle by quidproquotogo. Photo of the National Musuem of the American Indian by LaTur.