The time for Thanksgiving is fast approaching. The holiday season is busy in the US, with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all just a month from each other. Often Thanksgiving is sandwiched in the middle and doesn’t get fully appreciated. Let’s face it, the stores start playing Christmas music on November 1st these days. This year, let’s explore the best ways to spend your Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanksgiving weekend is generally a family-oriented time, filled with good food, a big dinner, some football, and catching up. Why not shake up your traditional Thanksgiving weekend plans with something new this year? Here are some ideas for great activities you can do with your family this Thanksgiving weekend.
Day of Thanksgiving
Get up early and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the TV in your PJs.
Skype members of your family who weren’t able to be with you. Watch the parade together, or chat while you enjoy your pumpkin pie.
Explore holiday favorites of your ancestors. A lot of my background is Norwegian and we often have lefse (yum) and lutefisk (yuck) when we gather for Thanksgiving. What did your ancestors enjoy?
Kick off your holiday giving before the stores open with an ornament exchange. Once you start this tradition, folks can spend all year finding creative and fun ornaments to exchange.
Start a New Tradition With a Holiday Video
Ask each family member to shoot a family holiday video before they arrive or during the day. Watch all of the videos after the meal and give a prize, or an extra piece of pie, for the most creative, thankful and humorous offerings.
Choose Someone Who Deserves Your Thanks
Have each person at the Thanksgiving dinner choose one person from outside the family that they are thankful for. Post-meal, make a treat or gifts as well as handwritten notes about why that person was chosen. Each family member will then deliver the gift and note to the person they are most thankful for during the next week.
Post-Thanksgiving Weekend
Cross an Item Off Your Bucket List
For most of us, Thanksgiving weekend is a four-day holiday. This is a great time to get out your bucket list and show yourself some thanks by completing one of the items on your list.
Some ideas to consider are:
- Hot air balloon ride
- Sleigh ride
- Weekend away you’ve been meaning to take
- Buy the person behind you coffee
- Watch a sunset
- Unplug for 48 hours (straight)
- Learn to make homemade pasta
Make christmas gifts
Instead of going shopping the day after Thanksgiving why don’t you make some holiday gifts yourself? Cookies or fudge can be made ahead of time. Your best brownie mix in a jar or homemade cards are also great ways to show appreciation to those you love.
Donate your time at a local animal shelter, homeless shelter, or some other way. The best way to give thanks is to help others who aren’t as fortunate as you.
Take a break from all the food with an outdoor activity. Many cities have events for charity runs and moonlight bike rides. Or simply go for a hike.
Have a football tournament…online. Play via your Xbox, Wii, or PlayStation with others online.
If you’ve got snow, make a snow gamily. Make at least three different snow Ppeople of different sizes.
Do a museum tour, be a tourist in your own city.
Have a game night. A great way to spend time with your friends and family is over games. Bring out your classic board games or even an interactive game console to play games. Scrabble, Monopoly, Dance Central, or Wipeout are all great options.
Host a Thanksgiving Brunch for Friends
Thanksgiving is often focused on the family, but we’ve all got great friends we are thankful for, too. Have a Thanksgiving brunch for friends on Saturday or Sunday.
Which of these ideas will you try this year?
Featured photo credit: Party At Home: Dancing Cranberries/VIKTOR HANACEK via picjumbo.com
