Although traditional Thanksgivings Day celebrations bring to mind Norman Rockwell paintings of families at home, the way some families actually celebrated Thanksgiving was much more active and diverse.

In Northwest Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day, more than 300 people turned out for the sixth annual NWA Turkey Trot 5K run at 8 a.m., about 100 volunteers put together more than 400 Thanksgiving meals for strangers and friends at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Rogers and families lined up outside their favorite stores to get a jump start on Christmas shopping deals.

While some Americans planned to nap Thursday, others were up early to race.

Tyler and Willis Rutledge said the Turkey Trot, which raises money for the Springdale Police Department’s benevolence fund Sheep Dog-Impact Assistance, has become a Thanksgiving tradition for their family. The couple and Tyler Rutledge’s grandparents have run in the race for past four years.

The family was out in near-freezing temperatures to run Thursday.

Running the race helps the family feel less guilty for napping and eating, which they planned to do the rest of Thanksgiving, Willis Rutledge said.

The average traditional Thanksgiving meal is at least 2,150 calories or more, according to an online calorie counting website. That means eating those pies and turkey and dressing can rack up at least 2,100 in calories that will take 21.5 miles of walking to burn off.

Kyle Reynolds, a retired firefighter from Rogers, said at the race Thursday morning he knows the 3.1-mile run probably won’t be enough to burn off the food he plans to eat.

Not everyone was up for a race; some wanted to hit the stores. In Rogers and Fayetteville, a handful of hardcore shoppers started lining up before the trot began.

Luke Renner, 18, and John Gibson, 15, spent Thanksgiving morning camped out on an air mattress in front of the Best Buy store on Joyce Boulevard in Fayetteville. Renner hoped to snag a laptop and save about $200, he said.

The Fayetteville High School students got to the store about 5:30 a.m. Thursday and were fourth in line at 11 a.m.

At the Best Buy on Promenade Boulevard in Rogers, Justin Morris, 21, of Rogers, said he arrived about 7:30 a.m. to land his first-in-line spot. He planned to get two 40-inch TVs for friends.

“I don’t have anything else to do today,” Morris said, shrugging.

About 62 percent of shoppers who plan to get deep discounts Friday start shopping Thanksgiving Day, according to a survey by www.retailmenot.com, a digital coupon site. Stores like Kohl’s and JCPenney planned to open at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to news releases from stores. Best Buy planned to offer special doorbuster bargains at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Nationwide, 33 million shoppers plan to shop Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Retail Federation.

At the Target on Promenade Boulevard in Rogers, Andy Ward, 49, and daughter Bethany Ward, 24, sat in line waiting for a chance to grab a camera for Bethany’s early Christmas present. The pair were “just kind of kicking back,” Andy Ward said.

He’d already made a big meal and ate it with family, he said. If the two were home, they’d be sitting around and visiting, so they might as well do that at Target, Ward said.

At the head of the line, Jackson Christopher, 18, of Rogers, sat in his tent — complete with a generator outside and a heater inside. He set up his tent at 7 p.m. Wednesday, he said. Christopher and his friends listened to music and played “Call of Duty” video games on a large-screen TV in the tent Thursday afternoon.

Christopher said, as a Jehovah Witness, he doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so he didn’t feel he was missing out on anything by camping in front of Target. He and his friends said it was fun.

His friend, Zak Fields, 19, of Rogers, said it seemed like the shopping season was encroaching on Thanksgiving for those who celebrated it.

“It’s like nobody cares about Thanksgiving anymore,” Fields said.

Back at Best Buy in Rogers, just down the line from Morris, several people said the stores were opening so early they planned to shop and have Thanksgiving dinner with their families. They didn’t feel they were missing out.

“Right after this, the food will be done,” said Jose Albarran, 20, of Rogers.

But, Thanksgiving is also a time for volunteering for those who have the least, some Rogers residents said Thursday.

“Nobody should be alone on Thanksgiving,” said Ed McClure, a co-chairman for the First United Methodist Church’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Nationwide, about 64.5 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2011-2012. The No. 1 volunteer activity was collecting, preparing, distributing or serving food, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in a February 2013 news release.

On Thursday, volunteers from as far away as Bella Vista cooked, cleaned or served a turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls to hundreds of residents. An array of colorful pies were arranged across tables, silverware was laid out on pristine, white tablecloths and food was served on white plates.

“We want folks to have — not just a meal — but a really nice experience,” McClure said.

Volunteers worked until 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, McClure said. Men were still carving about 18 turkeys by Wednesday evening. By 5:30 a.m., more volunteers arrived to make dressing and green beans.

The number of people needing a meal this year over last year has doubled, McClure said.

By 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Sandra Jefferson, who has been carving pies annually at the event for more than 10 years, arrived to start cutting and placing pies on dessert dishes and in foam containers. Church volunteers delivered about 178 meals, including a slice of pie in each, to people who just couldn’t leave their homes Thursday, McClure said.

Other organizations also offered Thanksgiving meals. In Fayetteville, volunteers at the American Legion post on Curtis Avenue said they expected to make and deliver 150 meals Thursday.

Jefferson said she loves to volunteer for her church’s meal. The Thanksgiving dinner means a lot to people, she said, and she still spends time with her family. Her son, daughter and daughter-in-law joined her Thursday to help out.

Sitting at a table with friends, Lorna and Kenneth Ives, 81 and 92, said they didn’t have family to celebrate with. The church is their family, Lorna Ives said.

“We had to go some place,” she said.

Just two tables away, 11-year-old Cade Cox, of Rogers, sat beside his dad and family members. He wore a white dress shirt and tie because he wanted to dress up for his out-0f-state relatives, he said. It was Cade’s first time to eat Thanksgiving at the church. He liked the rolls the best, he said.

Thanksgiving is important, Cade said. He looked at his relatives and said he was thankful for family, food and shelter.

“(Thanksgiving) just reminds us of what’s important in our life,” Cade said. “We should give thanks for what we do have.”