Unique Thanksgiving Traditions to Start with Your Family
Whether you’re hosting two or 20 in your Chesterfield VA homes this Thanksgiving, take a moment to consider adding a special tradition to your Thanksgiving Day. It can be a fun way to create new memories, think more deeply about the meaning of the holiday, or simply get everyone more involved. Plenty of families already add special foods to the classic Thanksgiving favorites to represent their culture, so why not find some other ways to make Thanksgiving unique in your family.
A really great way to celebrate the spirit of the holiday is to get the family involved in helping out at a soup kitchen. Contact local soup kitchens and organizations serving food and volunteer your time. You may also want to see if it would be better to help the day before or the day after if they have a lot of volunteers for Thanksgiving Day. You could also create a list of food items for a food pantry or shelter and ask family members to contribute to deliver the day after.
Another way of giving back and being grateful, while also making room for all that food, is participation in a Turkey Trot. The earliest of these running events date back to 1896. For many, it’s a way to raise money for a charity. It’s also a surprisingly fun way to get the family to bond, wearing team t-shirts or even silly costumes. There are typically a variety of distances for the races, so you can find options that will suit most family members.
It’s common for many families to take a moment and go around the table and say what they’re thankful for each year. An alternative to that is to turn the tablecloth into a keepsake of all of those thanks and memories. Take a simple white tablecloth (preferably with a waterproof liner underneath) and set out fabric markers in glasses. Then let your guests draw or write what they’re thankful for or put down their favorite memories. There’s bound to be a few artistic members of the family who may even add a few decorative elements to really make a fun memento.
If you don’t want to do the tablecloth option, you could always set out cards with stamped envelopes at each place at the table. Have each guest write a thank you note to someone who has been important in their life that year. Then, they can easily be mailed out the next day!
Finally, after all the food and thanks, inevitably there’s a chance everyone is going to end up in front of the television, whether it’s watching football or a favorite film, such as A Christmas Story. Other options include the National Dog show aired on NBC right after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Or, you could put together all of the Thanksgiving episodes from your favorite shows, such as Friends, The Brady Bunch, How I Met Your Mother, The Simpsons, Gilmore Girls, and did we mention Friends? Hopefully you haven’t eaten so much that it hurts to laugh!
Whether you’re celebrating at your Chesterfield VA homes or elsewhere with family and friends, it’s always nice to have a tradition that is special to you all, whether it’s simply a certain serving dish, a special recipe, or getting the kids involved in serving up dessert. Thanksgiving is already a celebration and one that seems to welcome the creation of personal traditions.
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