Thanksgiving in Spain

You read that shops would be closed. It is different all over so the answers to why you are interested in going there would help folks map it out whether Madrid or Barcelona or Seville or Malaga.

I've been to all those cities most recently over xmas break

Hello, I am not sure what gives the indication that shops would be closed, but in Spain we do not celebrate the Thanksgiving. To help you narrow down could you give us some info about what you guys are interested in?

I want the girls (1 is 19 and 3 or 14) to experience the excitement of life in other countries. The wonderful squares with shops everywhere. I would love a flea market that also had antiques and local crafts. Unusual architectural, great food and some of the countryside. Big city and quaint old villages.

I guess what I really want is to spend time in 2 cities. What are your 2 favorite cities and why.

Everything is open year-round except some of the places that cater to beach-goers along the southern coast. Andalucia is the warmest, driest part of Europe. Sevilla/Cordoba/Granada would be my top pick for a week. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities and there's plenty to fill a week.

Thanks for the clarification :)
Based on your interests, with 6 nights available, I would chose one of the two options:

Fly in to Madrid
Madrid (3 nights) - day trip to Segovia
AVE high speed train to
Toledo (2 nights)
AVE train back to
Madrid (1 night)
Fly out of Madrid

or

Fly in to Barcelona
Barcelona (3 nights) - Day trip to Montserrat monastery
AVE high speed train to
Girona (2 nights)
AVE train back to
Barcelona (1 night)
Fly out of Barcelona

I feel like both these itineraries give a good mix of the large cosmopolitan city and smaller historic town. Girona and Toledo are both ancient towns that have layers of history dating back to the Roman times. Girona was actually the filming location of quite a few scenes from Game of Thrones, if you and your granddaughters are interested, they do filming locations tours.

How are you sure that the kids are going to like those places?

American Thanksgiving? November. Canadian Thanksgiving? October. Spanish Thanksgiving?Never.
Specific dates help us help you with any specific Spanish holidays or city saints days that might affect your travel. I remember there are a number of Saints Days in November and your girls would be lucky to see how traditions work elsewhere. Few tourist activities are closed except for the biggies. You can check their websites for these closed days.
For 7 days, Madrid and Barcelona might be too big and overwhelming to try and do it all in one shot.....particularly considering jet lag.
I would think Seville and Granada would be a nice combo, but you might need to fly from Malaga for Granada. I was able to tag it onto my one ticket from Canada ar a nominal price and a code share. You'll need to see whether it is cost effective.

As a teenager, I think one big city would be preferable just for the excitement factor. You could do 3 days in Madrid with a day trip for one of the days and then go to Cordoba for a day and then Granada.

But what are the other's interests? Some people love museums and culture. Others go to Spain just to veg out by the beach.