Start New Family Thanksgiving Traditions

With Halloween now behind us, everyone at my house is ready to start thinking about the next big fall holiday – Thanksgiving! As this is a time of family togetherness and food, we’re always excited for our Thanksgiving plans to begin coming together. Putting together a menu and finding out which relatives can attend is loads of fun, but what is even more fun are the family traditions that take place on the holiday. Here are a few ideas for new traditions that can help you to make some wonderful memories with your loved ones this Thanksgiving.

Create an Ornament – One of our favorite family traditions is to create ornaments to take home. This started as a tradition for the kids to do after dinner, but the grown-ups often get into the action, too. We purchase ornament kits or craft supplies and let everyone make a memento of the season to help them deck the halls at home.

Give Back Together – Spending some time as a family doing volunteer or charity work on Thanksgiving Day serves a dual purpose. Not only are you making memories with your loved ones, but you’re also making the life of someone less fortunate a little brighter. Alternately, if you don’t have room in your schedule for volunteer work on Thanksgiving, have a conversation during dinner to make plans for a group effort later in the season.

Family Photo Shoot – With everyone’s lives being so busy, it’s difficult to have everyone in the same place at the same time. Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time to take some family photos. Get the whole group together for a timed picture, then break out into groups – siblings, cousins, individual families, generational photos – the more pictures the merrier! Pro-tip: Take pictures before dinner so that people like me who tend to wear at least part of their meal are looking their best. Trust me.

Trim the Christmas Tree – Thanksgiving in our family is the kick-off for Christmas. Rarely does a Thanksgiving weekend go by without our tree and other holiday decorations going up. This year, why not have the extended family help you decorate the tree after Thanksgiving dinner? Play some Christmas carols and have a sing-along while you start to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.

After Dinner Board Game Tournament – Have every family bring a favorite board game to share and while you’re snacking on pie after dinner, have an extended family game night. You’ll likely learn about some new games to add to your own family game night rotation and have lots of fun making memories and bonding with your loved ones.

We’re so excited to enjoy our favorite traditions this Thanksgiving and are always on the lookout for new ideas to help us make more memories. What Thanksgiving Day traditions do you keep in your family?