Thanksgiving week, when the children are home from school and (most of us) have a few days off from work, is a great time of year to soak up extra moments with your family. But, let’s be real, as busy parents we can have a hard time carving out those moments in the middle of planning, cooking, hosting, and traveling.
Sometimes you just need a fun tradition that forces you to be intentional and spend quality time together as a family. No, I’m not talking about baking turkey-shaped loaves of bread or fighting traffic to run the Turkey Trot. The holiday doesn’t need to be more stressful for busy parents. Rather, I’m here to share five fun ways to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family that are easy and don’t include food (or fighting your way through crowds of runners). Read on to see which tradition you’d like to incorporate into your week to help your family celebrate this year.
1. Thankfulness Tree
At the beginning of Thanksgiving week take a few pieces of brown construction paper and tape them to the wall in a prominent place. This will be your tree trunk. Feel free to leave it rectangular or make it as fancy and tree-like as you want. Next, cut out leaves in various shapes, sizes, and colors, and place them in a bowl nearby. Let your kids write down things they’re thankful for and tape them to the tree throughout the week. Share a few examples of big and little things you’re thankful for such as “Grandma coming to visit” and “Pumpkin pie” so they know they can be thankful for all sorts of things. Take a few moments every day to talk about the new additions. Your kids will love seeing their Thankfulness Tree fill up with leaves all week long!
2. Make Kindness Bags
If your children are like mine, they comment on all the people they see on Austin’s street corners holding signs. The Holiday season is a great time to remind your kids of the joy they can find by giving to others. This Thanksgiving week, show your kids how everyone can help someone less fortunate by making kindness bags to hand out when you stop at a stop-light. Have your kids help pick out items such as toiletries, warm socks, and non-perishable snacks. Fill resealable bags with your items and keep the bags in the car. Your kids will get to experience the warmth and joy of giving to others, and hopefully remember to be thankful for the things they have.
3. Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Sometimes what your family needs is just to slow down and snuggle on the couch, and what better way than with this Thanksgiving classic! A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is short, around 30 minutes, but packed with the silliness your kids will love. I said these activities don’t include food, but feel free to pop some popcorn to go along with your viewing party. Or, if you’re feeling inspired, go the extra mile and make some buttered toast, popcorn, jellybeans, pretzels, and ice cream sundaes. Your kids will have a blast snacking on the same food as Charlie Brown’s gang, even if it isn’t a traditional Thanksgiving meal!
4. Take A Nature Walk and Make a Suncatcher
One of the highlights of living in Austin is the great weather we get in November. Take advantage of it by going for a nature walk around your neighborhood or in a local park. Bring a basket and let your kids collect leaves, flowers, and other small bits of nature to take home. Make a sun-catcher by first cutting out a circle in the middle of a paper plate. Lay out a piece of clear contact paper cut just wider than the circle you cut from the plate. Let your kids arrange their nature finds on the contact paper, then place another piece of contact paper on top to trap everything in between. Tape the contact paper to the plate and punch a hole near the top. Run a piece of string or yarn through the hole, then hang the suncatcher in a window and watch the light shine through onto your nature finds. If your children are extra crafty, let them decorate the plate around the contact paper with paints, markers, or stickers.
5. Make Gratitude Rocks
This activity is not only fun, but it allows your family to reflect on the things they’re thankful for every time they pass by the rocks. Start by either buying rocks or going outside to collect them, try to get one to three rocks per person. You’ll need the rocks to be big and smooth enough to write on. Wash and dry your rocks if they’re from outside, then grab some paints and permanent markers. Let your kids paint their rocks any way they want. After the paint dries each person should write something they are grateful for on their rocks. Much like the Thankfulness Tree above, they can be big things or small things as long as they’re genuine. When your rocks are finished, find a spot inside, such as in a bowl on your coffee table, or outside, such as along a garden path, to keep them. The best thing about this activity is that your family can keep adding to it and reflecting on it year after year.
Catherine Michalk is a native Austinite, writer, and mom of three. You can follow her family’s adventures at
www.catherinemichalk.com
