I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. For both families. One on Wednesday and one on Thursday. That’s what you get when you get a new house. A big house with a big empty room that would be perfect for a dining room. So, I’ve had lots of Thanksgiving on the brain. Here are some of the most fun tips, traditions and ideas I’ve found so far…
1. Crackers. My Canadian friend, Lynse (I just had to say she’s Canadian because, you know, Thanksgiving is kind of an American holiday…*wink*) told me that every year at Thanksgiving, they did crackers. I’ve never done these before but always wanted to! Maybe I’ll start a new tradition this year!
2. Embroidered Tablecloth. I read this on a blog a long time ago—I just can’t remember which one! Each Thanksgiving everyone signed their names on a tablecloth and then throughout the year, the grandmother embroidered their signature. It is a beautiful keepsake of the growth of the family! Isn’t that sweet? You could do this for so many things–wedding shower guests, thankful sentiments, and more!
3. Fun Food. There are so many sites full of fun kid’s food! I love the oreo cookie turkeys, of course. But have you seen these Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats? Or this Turkey Pancake? And I still totally love this fruity Turkey, too!
4. Shadowbox. I saw this in a Pottery Barn catalog as a Christmas decoration. But for me, Thanksgiving is the meal that is more traditional. I’m thinking about doing this this year but letting each person write their favorite dish on the plate. I’d love to see everyone’s different handwriting!
5. Disney World. Last night on twitter I asked, “What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?” One of my new Disney Moms panel friends gave my most favorite answer ever:
6. Thankful Journal. I think this would be a sweet tradition to do with just my immediate family. Have a Thanksgiving Journal in which you write what you are thankful for every year. When you use the same journal every year, you’d get to see how your year had evolved, how your children had grown and what God had done in your life! I love this!
7. Traditional Food. My good bloggy friend, MamaHall also sent out a fun Thanksgiving memory on twitter last night. She said Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without her Grandmother’s Dream Salad. I asked her if I could blog it this morning and here it is:
Niniโs Dream Salad
1 tub Cool Whip Whipped Cream
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 jar maraschino cherries, drained & pat dry
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup coconut
1 small box pistachio pudding
Slowly mix fruit, cottage cheese, and dry pudding packet into the whipped cream. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
8. Over the River and Through the Wood
Did you know this was a Thanksgiving poem? I thought it was a Christmas song! I picked it up at the library and now I wish I could conveniently LOSE it because it is so adorable!
The second verse says,
“Over the river and thru the wood,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh, hear the bell ring,
“Ting-a-ling-ling!”
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day-ay!”
Isn’t that fun?! The version I have is this adorable little bunnies making their way to Grandmother’s house. Oh, I love it!!
9. Five Kernels. I heard about this several years ago…the idea is to re-tell the story of the first Thanksgiving. Then talk about how little the Pilgrims had to eat. Then give everyone five kernels of corn to represent this food. Everyone at the table then gets a chance to tell five things for which he is thankful.
10. An Organized Thanksgiving. I’m trying to do at least one thing for Thanksgiving every day this week so I don’t get inundated with it the two days before. Organizing Your Way has a cooking schedule and a step by step countdown to a stress-free holiday!
{and a bonus one for you today!}
11. Wishbone. I had forgotten about this one! I remember being a little kid and getting to pull the wishbone with my brother. I don’t remember wishing for anything or if I’m the one who “won” but it was always fun!
What is YOUR favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Tip? Fun activity? Please share in the comments so we can all see!
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vanessa says
I see we both have thanksgiving on the brain…
We used to do the corn kernel thing in our family (kept them in a jar that we added to every year) until one fateful year when my mom got hungry for popcorn, raided the thankful jar, popped them all, and ATE THEM!!!
We didn’t find out till Thanksgiving rolled around that year and our thankful jar was empty. So, we switched from corn kernels to chocolate chips and instead of placing them in a jar, we eat them immediately after saying what we are thankful for. It always makes us laugh to think about her eating all our “blessings.” We still tease her about this.
.-= vanessa´s last blog ..best thanksgiving crafts for preschoolers =-.
Hillary @ The Other Mama says
I love that recipe and have eaten it FAR too often, but am excited to make it, now! YAY!
And we did a wishbone, too. All throughout the year. Good stuff!
OK, we always had Thanksgiving on my uncle’s farm and played frisbee golf before it was known as frisbee golf. We called it “Frisbee around the pond” and you had to keep up with your number of throws. And someone ALWAYS ended up IN the pond fishing out their frisbee.
We also had a huge ping pong tourney complete with bracket (competitive much?) and the winner was pronounced the Ping King with a tin foil- covered Burger King hat.
Oh, good times. I love Thanksgiving! I’ll have to try some of your meaningful ideas instead of instilling competitiveness in my kids. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
.-= Hillary @ The Other Mama´s last blog ..In which the word "Douche" appears on my blog =-.
Heather @ Not a DIY Life says
It wouldn’t Thanksgiving without my mom’s homemade stuffing (or dressing or whatever you call it!). Now that I’ve learned to make it, she is free to visit her other child for the holidays ๐
I love that my Hubby and I are making new traditions together. This will be the 3rd year that we’ve fried a turkey – yum yum yum! And the nieces, LB and I will be making Thanksgiving placemats for everyone this year.
And of course, we HAVE to watch football on Thanksgiving. Oh, that’s right you don’t know what football is ๐
yes, I use far too many emoticons.
.-= Heather @ Not a DIY Life´s last blog ..Top Ten Things I Do Before Leaving the House =-.
Janna says
Our biggest Thanksgiving tradition is our every-other-year trip to Pigeon Forge with my parents, siblings, and all of the kiddos! This also leads to our other tradition…Thanksgiving dinner takeout from Cracker Barrel!
This year, I was planning our meal (at home, and remember that my goal in life is to NEVER cook a turkey) and Jeff’s response was, “Aren’t we going to get Cracker Barrel takeout?” I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!
.-= Janna´s last blog ..Top Ten Craft Items That Make My Kids Happy =-.
Heidi says
We always go see a movie on Thanksgiving. After we are all full, fat and happy and after our afternoon naps, we head to the movie theater. This year we plan on seeing “A Christmas Carol”!!
.-= Heidi´s last blog ..The Month of October =-.
Jean Stockdale says
I love your blog. You write with a great sense of humor! Thanks for hosting this meme. It is really fun.
We do Thanksgiving the Saturday after, so our married children can go to the inlaws (who also live in town) on Thursday. That way they don’t have to hit 2 Thanksgiving feast in one day. Now they have babies and no way that is fun to wag little guys from “pillar to post.” So we celebrate when we can all be together! Last year we did not have it at all do the schedules we could not arrange. We met at a resturant and ate out the week after. That is our tradition-to make the family gathering the highlight without being BOUND and forced into it!! This works well for us. Blessings.
.-= Jean Stockdale´s last blog ..Joy in the Journey Lecture 10 =-.
Cas Spaulding says
Love the 5 kernel idea. There are some more great family game and entertainment ideas at http://www.celebrationideasonline.com/index.html that will make your Thanksgiving celebration extra special. They are all free and fun!
Aldi says
Thanksgiving is about thanking God for the thnigs he does for us. We write anything that we want to thank in a piece of note then we place it to the small box. It has been our family’s tradition. It’s cool!Christopher Campbell recently posted..
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Shen says
I have sooo many things to be tkfnhaul for. I am tkfnhaul for my husband and my three little boys who bring joy and delight to my life every day. I am tkfnhaul that I was able to finish my PhD this year and have more time to focus on my family now. I am very tkfnhaul to all my family and friends who have always been there for me.