Make Thanksgiving Fun This Year With Family

Turkey, football and the Macy’s Day Parade may be Thanksgiving go-to, but the holiday can have so much more depth when you incorporate some truly unique family Thanksgiving traditions that will stick with people for years to come.

Looking to add fun Thanksgiving traditions to your family’s holiday repertoire? Here are 10 meaningful and creative ideas the whole family will cherish.

1. Pass around a Journal

A favorite Thanksgiving tradition I learned from a client was ‘pass the journal,’” says Stringfellow. “Simply pass a blank journal around the Thanksgiving table, asking all the guests to write at least one thing that they are thankful for. For kids too young to write, have an adult transcribe. Over the years, fill the book with comments and enjoy reading them aloud at Thanksgiving celebrations to come. It is absolutely wonderful to read how gratitude reflections change over time.”

2. Personalize the Table

“Some of the most beautiful Thanksgiving tables I’ve seen bring family stories to life by mixing and matching dishes, napkins and serving trays,” says Stringfellow. “Instead of reaching for the fancy china set, choose pieces with history — and be sure to tell stories about where you were when you collected it, who gave it to you and why it’s special. Even a chipped china plate can be reused with love and laughter as you share how that chip occurred and why that person, perhaps no longer alive or nearby, brought joy to your lives and hearts.”

3. Go for a Morning Family Walk

Sure, a rosy-cheeked morning walk is good for working up an appetite for the much-anticipated smorgasbord, but also… it’s just a nice way to connect to nature and to each other. It’s the perfect beginning to a busy — and often stressful! — day.

4. Give Kids an Important Job They do Each Year

Serving Thanksgiving dessert? Making coffee? Setting the table? Help kids feel like an important part of the festivities by giving them “their” job each year.

“When I was younger, my mom would always let my brother and I set the table on Thanksgiving,” says Kristen Gallo, of New York. “I’m not sure how great it came out, but I remember feeling so proud when all the grownups would make a fuss over how nice the table looked.”

5. Play a Thankful Game

Turn everyone’s gratitude’s into a little friendly competition with a “thankful game.” It’s a family Thanksgiving game, posted on Reddit, that has everyone writing down what they’re thankful for on a piece of paper, putting it in a jar and then having everyone guess whose is whose.

Sure, to get everyone cracking up? You bet. Now that is something to be thankful for.

6. Other Exciting Family Games

Get out those games you have in the closet since last Christmas and haven’t played yet. Scrabble, Life, Yahtzee, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, Trouble, Chutes & Ladders, whatever! Take them out and have the entire family having fun.

Sure, to get everyone cracking up? You bet. Now that is something to be thankful for.

7. Memory Sharing

Share stories. You can pick a theme such as:

• The greatest day of my life.
• The best thing that happened in my life this year.
• My favorite memory from childhood.
• The funniest thing that ever happened to me.

Have someone scribe the stories or videotape the event.

8. Kids Talent Show

There’s usually one grownup at family gatherings who likes to get the kids doing activities. If you’re that person, consider having the kids perform for the whole family after dinner. While everyone is watching football, you could throw it together. Of course, adults can join the show, too!

Sure, to get everyone cracking up? You bet. Now that is something to be thankful for.

9. Love My Family Because…

Gather round as a family and have each person share what they love about the family.

10. The Craziest Thing

Everyone in the family can tell a crazy story and the rest has to guess if it is true or not. The story doesn’t have to be something that they actually experienced.

11. Silly Dance Contest

Be silly and dance away. Make up your own rules to make the event a lot more fun.