Thanksgiving Ideas
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I've been considering some fun ideas for Thanksgiving this year to help us remember what the holiday is all about. Today, the girls and I made a "Count Down to Thanksgiving Turkey." We made 25 feathers (out of construction paper), colored a giant turkey (coloring page) and glued the ends of the feathers to the turkey. Every day, we'll remove one feather. On the backs of the 25 feathers, I wrote activities (i.e. "We are thankful for our family, let's do something to help our family today." "We are thankful for good food to eat, help Mom fix food for the family today." "We are thankful for friends. Let's write a note to a good friend today."). Each day, we'll participate in one activity to prepare for the Thanksgiving.
Here are a few more ideas:
Golden List: As a reminder to focus on blessings, ask each family member to write 10 things they are grateful for on their own personal Golden List (you may use pretty paper or stationary). Help young children by writing for them or letting them draw pictures. Hang the Golden Lists in places where you are sure to see them, such as the bathroom mirror, kitchen bulletin board, or in the car. You could write these on Construction Paper leaves and decorate a "paper tree" with blessings when complete.
Letter of Gratitude: Leave a blank note card and pen at each person's place setting. Ask them to write a note of thanks before dessert is served. The note may be written to anyone they would like t thank for blessing them over the year (family members, friends, teachers, ministers, neighbors). Children may draw a picture. Provide stamped envelopes so they may be mailed easily.
Homemade Placemats: Young children can make placemats, napkin rings, or centerpieces for the meal. Let them weave construction paper placemats, or buy large sheets of craft foam to be decorated with foam stickers for Thanksgiving, or children can paint handprint turkeys on construction paper placemats.
Wishbone: Ever since the Etruscans, people have been pulling apart the forked bone from a turkey, chicken or other fowl and making a wish. The Romans brought the tradition with them when they conquered England and the English brought it to America. Make a wish by snapping the dried bone, with each person pulling on an end. The person with the larger end of the bone gets their wish, otherwise known as the "lucky break." Each year pick two family members to battle it out for the bigger half. Take a picture of each pair holding the wishbone before and after it's pulled. Then place the photos in your album with a description of the winning wish.
Thanksgiving Eve Meal: The night before "The Big Feast" most moms would prefer "no cooking" to gear up for the following day. Celebrate "Thanksgiving Eve" with fun take out or delivered food. Eat together as a family in PJs or comfy clothes and enjoy board games or a movie. Relax and enjoy family time as much as possible before the extended family traditions of the next day.
Wake Up Call: Begin the morning by having the children imitate turkeys complete with struts and gobbling to wake daddy and siblings! Toddlers will LOVE this!
Two Kernels: Place two kernels of corn on each plate. Before dinner is served, remind everyone of the 1st Thanksgiving and the hardship the Pilgrims endured and how they gave thanks to God for the new bounty. Then, have each member name two things they are thankful for as they deposit their kernels in a basket.
Twenty Questions of Blessings: Play 20 Questions (asking yes or no questions) to guess what family members are thankful for today.
What are your Thanksgiving Traditions?