15 Meaningful Traditions to Start With Your Family This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has traditions, but who says you must follow them to a T every time?
A holiday centered around gratitude is unique to each person based on life experiences, and starting new traditions to reflect them better is by starting your traditions with family and friends this year.
Whether you’re putting out pictures of loved ones who passed on the side table to include them, volunteering your time, or finding creative ways to share what you’re grateful for, these can all help shake up the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
In this article, we’ll share different Thanksgiving traditions that you can start with your family this year and how they can help you create special memories now and beyond. Which ones will you adopt this year?
1. Set Gratitude Intentions
Have guests write their intentions on a card as they walk in or gather in the living room before dinner. Then, the cards can be read out loud at the dinner table.
If you want to get a head start with your thank yous, consider sending thank you cards a week or so before Thanksgiving to family and friends who cannot join you on the day of.
2. Give Back to Others
Start the tradition of volunteering at a local organization, whether it’s a soup kitchen, donating time at a nursing home, or spending time with animals at the local pet shelter.
Tons of great organizations would appreciate the help, and Thanksgiving is a great day to give a little back to others.
3. Add a Family Touch to Thanksgiving
A beautiful tradition and way to honor those no longer living is for families to search for photos of someone who has passed and bring them to Thanksgiving. Their photographs and a few candles can be set near the dining table during Thanksgiving dinner.
It’s a touching way to include those no longer living and enjoy their presence now and beyond. This also brings up conversations about memories, funny stories, and other lighthearted moments.
Plus, it’s a great way for younger family members to get to know those who have passed.
4. Start at Thanksgiving Time Capsule
Tell your guests to bring one item they would like to put in a “Thanksgiving Time Capsule” so they can open it up in a year at the next Thanksgiving dinner.
If you don’t want to store physical items in the capsule, have guests write funny little anecdotes, recipes, stories, or thoughts and feelings of the moment that can be placed inside the capsule and be read a year later.
5. Spend Some Time Out
Whether you spend time on a walk feeling grateful for nature or go for a nature drive with coffee or hot chocolate, Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to get out for a little while and slow down to appreciate the day.
Growing up, one of my favorite family traditions was going for a fall foliage drive with hot chocolate and donuts.
Another fun tradition we had was driving to our local mall to see the long lines of people waiting outside years ago when Black Friday drew large crowds.
6. Assign the Kids an Important Task
A great way to include the kids every year in the festivities and prep work for Thanksgiving is to assign specific tasks to get them involved.
Growing up, my parents always assigned my siblings and me different tasks, from baking a simple dessert to setting up the table, which made the holiday extra fun.
As the kids grow up, their tasks can become more complex, like making a side dish or planning family entertainment for the night, like Thanksgiving charades, a contest, or a scavenger hunt.
7. Come Up With Your Own Family Toast
Whether you go the whacky or meaningful route when creating the family toast, coming up with your own family toast is a fun way to make Thanksgiving memorable, enjoyable, and personalized.
When writing your toast, consider specific memories you share with those at your table, add some lighthearted jokes, and express something you’ve felt gratitude for lately.
8. Call Up Relatives From Out of Town
Make it a tradition to call or video chat with relatives who can’t visit you on Thanksgiving and include each other in the festivities.
Much like during 2020, you could host a virtual Thanksgiving dinner with friends who live abroad or in a different state than you.
You can enjoy each other’s company as you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, share what you made, and catch up with each other.
9. Play a Game With the Family
Play your favorite board games with the family, and make it a tradition to play them during the day or after dinner.
From Charades to UNO or Scrabble, or if you’re celebrating with your older cousins or relatives, bust out a funny game like Cards Against Humanity, or for more profound and more insightful questions, check out conversation starter cards like Let’s Get Closer.
You could make your own conversation starters for a personal touch. The older kids can get involved by creating a fun Thanksgiving trivia or bingo game, which can begin as a tradition.
10. Tune Into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been part of traditional Thanksgiving festivities in the U.S. since the 1920s. Many families play it in the background as they prepare Thanksgiving dinner.
Gather the kids, grab a cup of hot coffee, and make it a fun tradition to tune into the parade from the comfort of home, relaxed.
Other traditional shows to watch on TV on Thanksgiving include the National Dog Show and the NFL’s Thanksgiving Tripleheader. You also can’t go wrong with watching a Thanksgiving movie like “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” or any other holiday movie.
11. Jazz Up the Menu
Deviate from the traditional Thanksgiving menu and create your own with your family and friends!
Nothing screams creating traditions more than everyone coming up with their own dish to include on the menu this year and beyond.
In my family, we have this tradition, and it’s always fun to see our favorite dishes return year after year. Since I come from a Mexican family, we’ve had years where we make Turkey with a spicy brine or seasoning, along with other Mexican-inspired dishes. It makes Thanksgiving uniquely ours.
You and your family can choose anything from a dessert to a twist on a side dish or a family cocktail.
12. Create a Kid’s Activity Station
A kid’s craft station or activity station is a great tradition to start, especially if your family is growing and you are looking for ways to give the kids their own fun while making it a fun tradition they look forward to year after year.
Ideas for a kid’s activity station include making an old-fashioned cornucopia or fun Thanksgiving activity sheets with their cousins.
13. Go on a Thanksgiving Vacation
Ditch traditional Thanksgiving at home and opt for a sunnier, warmer Thanksgiving at a beach or elsewhere.
Enjoy escaping for the holidays with your family and spending Thanksgiving uniquely your way while avoiding the stress and the hustle and bustle of the holidays, which everyone needs occasionally.
Plus, nothing says gratitude than celebrating in a beautiful place that inspires the feeling even more.
14. Make a Family Donation
Strengthen the feeling of thankfulness by starting a meaningful tradition of helping others during the holiday season.
Much like donating time, another great tradition is donating a certain amount of money as a family.
Everyone contributes a specific amount and donates it to a cause that means something to them. If you can’t donate money, other resources are great, too, for example, books, old clothes, canned goods, etc.
15. Host a Friendsgiving
A Friendsgiving celebration is a little more relaxed and less traditional than a Thanksgiving dinner with family, making it the perfect opportunity to start your traditions with your friends.
Some traditions to start include a book swap, a potluck-style dinner, making up your own menu, having everyone dress up or dress in their pajamas, setting up a gratitude jar or journal that guests have to fill out and then read out loud before dinner, or having a fun photo corner to capture moments every year.
Which Thanksgiving Traditions Will You Start This Year With Your Family?
Do you have any unique Thanksgiving traditions not mentioned in this article? Which one of these will you consider starting this year?
Let us know in the comments!
