Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays! We love gathering with our extended family to celebrate—grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Here are a few ideas to help keep the clan busy!
Playing outside
While the kids are waiting for dinner, playing games outside helps pass the time and keep them occupied. Activities such as soccer, badminton, knee tackle football, or any other game you can think of, weather permitting—are fun, will use up some of the kids’ energy and also help them sit more happily through the holiday meal.
If playing outside is not appealing or the weather is frightful, you may want to gather the children to create Thanksgiving crafts together. You can use the crafts to decorate your holiday table! Having one adult who is the designated crafts person is a great idea—so is getting your supplies in advance. If you have loads of kids in attendance, a little "crafty" planning will go a long way. Here are some craft links for you to explore:
Holiday stories
Another option is to go around the room with each person adding to a made-up holiday story. One person could start with "A long time ago a family was gathering for Thanksgiving." Then the next person could add to it, going around the room… Or, you could read the children holiday stories. If you haven’t found anything helpful in the library, here is an online site that offers some Thanksgiving-themed stories:
Board games or Charades
Many families enjoy playing board games such as Monopoly or Scrabble when they gather. Others prefer Charades or similar games. The advantage of Charades is that usually young children can think up something in their lives that they can act out, and so it often works (with a little coaching) for the whole family.
Watching football on TV
Watching football games on TV is popular with some families, and something that people might look forward to doing together. If the family divides up between those who like to watch football and those who don’t, then having the crafts or board games available might make everyone happy.
Telling true family stories
Other families like to take advantage of a family gathering to tell and record family history. They have the older adults share family stories of why and how the first members of the family came to the United States, and what happened once they arrived. Some people then videotape the event, others tape record them, and others just listen.
Enjoy and count your blessings
Whatever you choose to do that day, or in preparation for the big day, we hope you’ll enjoy your family gathering and remember to count your blessings!
Cheers,
Sheila
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