Family & Homeschool

Thanksgiving Traditions

There’s something you should know about me.

I like to keep things simple.

I don’t like crafts that require a lot of work or time. I don’t prepare elaborate lessons. If a recipe has more than 10 ingredients, I won’t make it. My kids aren’t involved in 755 activities during the week. We try to keep STUFF to a minimum.

Even during the holidays, I try to keep things as simple as possible.

But, I still like to have traditions—stuff that we do to create memories. When it comes to Thanksgiving we have a few simple traditions we do as a family.

Here are a some of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions:

FOOD

Of course there has to be food as a Thanksgiving tradition. There are a few things we always eat no matter where we are. We love turkey (it’s cooked differently almost every year), rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Sweet potatoes and green beans are often skipped over. Don’t forget the desserts! Those are a favorite tradition when we have dinner with my in-laws. When we visit my parents, my mom loves to make candy turkeys and my dad smokes a ham along with the traditional turkey.

 

MOVEMENT

This includes the turkey bowl hosted by the men from church along with a walk around the block or a game of basketball or some other physical game like tag. This year I plan on going on a hike. Some people even participate in a turkey trot in the morning. As my family likes to say, they are making room for more food.

 

DECORATIONS

Another tradition for us is to eat on our best dishes and make the table look special. Sometimes we create crafty center pieces and other times we use store bought items to create something pretty. We’ve made place mats and name cards in the past, too.

 

 

 

GRATITUDE ACTIVITY

This happens every year, but it always looks different. Sometimes we do a round robin sharing at the table—each person taking a turn to say something they are grateful for. A couple of times we have created a thankful tree or a thankful turkey where each leaf or feather has something we are grateful for. We have also do a whole month of gratitude where we share everyday something we are grateful for. You can read more about the different monthly gratitude activities here.

 

THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES

We also include some Thanksgiving activities as part of our homeschool. This has changed over the years depending on the ages and interests of the kids. Crafts, writing prompts, turkey math problems, story books, art projects, and games.

 

 

 

There are a lot of things you can do as a family during the month of November and on Thanksgiving Day.

OTHER TRADITIONS TO CONSIDER

  • Watch the Macy’s Day Parade
  • Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  • Tell the story of the first Thanksgiving
  • Watch some football games
  • Take a family photo
  • Share a favorite family recipe
  • Watch a Thanksgiving movie
  • Invite someone over for dinner
  • Write Thank You cards
  • Watch old family videos
  • Play games or do a puzzle
  • Create a Thanksgiving Bucket List
  • Go Black Friday shopping
  • Make a wish on the wishbone
  • Have a gratitude scavenger hunt
  • Write a Thanksgiving story
  • Plan a Pie Night
  • Have a Thanksgiving breakfast

Leave a comment with your favorite Thanksgiving traditions.

I'm Ashlee and I pride myself on being ME. I'm your non-stereotypical mormon homeschool mom who loves a good book, green grass, conversation with friends, mountains, trying new things, and peanut butter and chocolate. My goal is to help you become your best you by sharing what I have learned.