By Ellen Bryant Lloyd, TMoM Team Member

The hallmark of Thanksgiving Day is enjoying a great meal, but it is also the perfect time to connect and engage in fun activities as a family. Here are a few ideas for things to do as a family this Thanksgiving Day that will surely bring lots of laughter and possibly become new traditions for your family!

Macy’s Day Parade Watch Party

Prepare light brunch items and settle in around the television to watch the iconic Macy’s Day Parade as a family. Tell everyone the dress code is “pajama casual” to set the tone for a comfortable time. Give each family member a notepad to record the name of each float and ask them to rate every float on a scale of 1-10 as they view them moving along the parade route. Come up with various categories to rank such as the most creative, most outrageous, the most fun, and overall best float. At the end of the parade, ask everyone to share their top three in each category. You may be surprised to discover that some people have the same top picks.

Ugly Thanksgiving Sweater Contest

Instead of an ugly Christmas sweater contest, why not start and ugly Thanksgiving sweater contest? Scour thrift stores or online outlets for candidates. You may consider making your own by painting Thanksgiving-themed things on a plain sweatshirt with fabric paint. You could even glue on adornments from nature like acorns and twigs, or add colorful “jewels,” feathers or glitter. Be creative! The tackier, the better! Let everyone submit their vote for the ugliest sweater and come up with a simple, funny trinket to give as a first-place award that can be handed down to future winners should you decide to make the contest a family tradition.

Family Flag Football Game

After enjoying a Thanksgiving Day meal, grab a football and have everyone head outside to enjoy a game of flag football. Depending on the size of your family and the ages of everyone, you will need to modify the game accordingly. You can use long socks or bandanas tucked in waistbands for the flags. Creatively mark off the “football” field in your yard with jump ropes, chairs or even children’s toys. You may have each team member wear a special color or pin a symbol or fabric/paper letter on his/her back to identify the teams. Remember, it’s all about having fun together, so make sure to keep a lighthearted attitude and don’t take the game too seriously, especially if young children are participating.

Backyard Games

Playing backyard games are another great way to have fun together. Set up corn hole and ladder ball and play a few rounds. Make a candy corn ring toss game by painting a yellow, brown, and white stripe on orange traffic cones (available online and at box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot), and use some plastic tubing connected with colorful duct tape for the rings. Set up badminton and play round robin games. Croquet is also a classic game that can be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. Spoon and egg races, three-legged races, relay races, hot potato, and water balloon toss games are also easy “throwback” additions to outside game time.

Decorate for the Holidays

Decorating for the holidays after enjoying a Thanksgiving feast is a tradition for many families. Whether your family celebrates Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or another winter holiday, why not give this idea a try? As holiday decorations are brought out, enjoy sharing stories and memories behind each item, especially if it is a decoration someone made as a child or something handed down in the family. Spending time going down memory lane will be a great way to reconnect everyone to holidays past, bring all closer together, and kick off an extra special holiday season.

Secret Gobbler Gifts

Thanksgiving is the perfect day to do something kind and thoughtful for others. Set aside time before or after the big meal to make homemade gifts to share with neighbors. Paint ceramic pots and plant a few pansies in each, make a tasty snack mix and pour some in colorful bags tied with fall-colored ribbons, or make a basket or gift bag full of small gifts like notecards, tea towels, tissues, hot chocolate, mug, chocolates, hard candies, a paperback book, or small items your recipient might enjoy. Write a special note of appreciation, signed from “Your Secret Gobbler,” to attach to each gift and secretly deliver to neighbors, making sure to stay out of sight when they open the door so the identity of their “secret gobbler” will remain a secret.

Have an extra fun Thanksgiving with your family this year by incorporating some of these activities into your Thanksgiving Day itinerary. Not only will you have a good time, but you are sure to create special memories and even a few new traditions to continue for years to come. Happy Thanksgiving!

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