11 Family Activities For Your Thanksgiving Get Together To Create Memories And Stay Busy
Thanksgiving is typically food-centric, so we already know we’ll feast on decadent foods. But eating on Thanksgiving only takes up so much of the day. If you’re looking for something fun that builds family memories, this list will keep you busy and together for hours.
Fall Foliage Viewing
If you’re a sucker for vibrant colors glinting across the sky, you’re probably in for a treat. Hundreds of bright yellow and orange leaves slowly cascade from the trees to the ground; fall foliage creates a scene straight out of a painting.
The best family-friendly fall foliage activity is buckling up in the car and driving through your state’s nature park. You and your family can explore the fall foliage while you enjoy the road trip and even pick up items for unique crafts and other activities.
If you’re a family of all adults, you can aim for a more adventurous experience by hiking or trekking while exploring the fall foliage.
Crafting
Children are the most creative people in the world. You can give a child a stick, and they’ll craft some of the most unique and beautiful things.
To encapsulate the experience, gather a bunch of craft work and spread a picnic blanket in your backyard. You and your family can craft something beautiful together, and its simplicity lies up to you.
People with toddlers can work with paints or messy crafts children love to explore. Older family members can take workshops like woodworking to work on collective projects. It’s a fun, creative, and skill-making family-friendly activity.
Play Board Games
Sometimes, all we want to do is close our laptops, shut off our phones, and relax for a little bit with calm and relaxing activities. You can easily travel back to when technology was scarce and we occupied ourselves with board games.
Board games are an exciting, family-friendly activity that enhances logical and observational skills and encourages family bonding. Parents of toddlers and young children can play educational board games like Scrabble.
Make a Family Tree
There’s no better feeling than sitting with your family and learning about your parent’s or grandparents’ glorious past. We’ve all whipped out family albums at one point, so doing it during Thanksgiving is even more memorable.
You can enlighten your kids about your past and share pictures of your family members. Gather everyone around and make a family tree; it’s the perfect way to introduce little ones to their ancestors and uniquely encourage their curious minds.
A Traditional Fire Pit
You don’t have to abandon the turkey dinner completely, but you can get into the Thanksgiving spirit earlier. We highly recommend gathering around a big fire pit and enjoying smores while you share your childhood stories and talk about happy moments.
It’s family-friendly and age-proof; sitting around a fire and sharing stories works with every generation, so it’s perfect for family bonding. It’s also an excellent way for people to reminisce about the year and consider the obstacles they’ve overcome.
Play Sports
Is there anything better than hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet and heaps of chuckles as your kids play ball outside? While this activity is more child-friendly than adult, you can easily include yourself to bond with kids.
Kids love it when their parents join in on games, so they’ll be delighted you’re playing ball with them. You can also invite guests to an exciting game of dodgeball, flag football, or basketball, an experience that will only make your Thanksgiving merrier and tire those kids out.
Write Letters
We never think about our soldiers protecting the nation so we can have a happy life. While enjoying a Thanksgiving feast, we’re clueless about the soldiers who march off to remote destinations.
If you’ve always wanted to express gratitude to those who serve, contact Operation Gratitude, a caring community that aims to connect brave soldiers with their nation.
Watch a Fall-Themed Movie
Not every family wants to take to the road every time the holidays roll in; most want to stay cooped up in their house and enjoy a cozy activity that doesn’t impede their joy.
If you’re a family of introverts, why not set up a projector and enjoy a fall-themed movie? It’s the perfect activity to get some family time without erupting into meaningless chatter. Fall-themed movies are ideal for people with teenage or grown-up children because they enable healthy relationships and an understanding of each other.
Put a Puzzle Together
Puzzles are one of the simplest, cheapest, and easiest family-friendly activities this Thanksgiving. They’re an easy way to keep kids occupied and even excite grownups.
We recommend getting a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle so you can spend an hour or more arguing about which piece fits best. Jokes aside, putting up a puzzle together is a fantastic way to spend time with your family and laugh. It also helps toddlers and younger children learn about geometrical shapes and encourages problem-solving skills.
Make a Time Capsule
What will your life be 5-10 years from now? Why not put your predictions in a time capsule and bury them in your background?
Building a time capsule is one of the most exciting activities because it works for people of all ages. You can ask your kids to add their predictions in the capsule and dig it out when they’re adults, or you can bury cute memorabilia to unearth together decades later. It gives an exciting look into the future and something to look forward to. It’s also one of the few activities teenagers enjoy, so it’s perfect for families.
Group Art
Even if you or your family members are not gifted artists, there’s nothing better than creating something together. You can buy easels and set them up in your yard; this way, you can enjoy the beautiful weather and paint whatever you want.
Or buy one oversized roll-out drawing sheets or blank paper and let everyone make something together.
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Thanksgiving get-togethers mean you’ll be socializing with family with different interests and financial situations than you. With massive job layoffs and inflation squeezing people’s budgets, should you talk about your past or upcoming vacations with people, or is it narcissistic?
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What if I told you about a place in Orlando near it all, but feels like you’ve been whisked to a tropical island?
A day destination that’s nestled in between resorts and iconic theme parks but feels worlds away from the crowds and long lines of America’s vacation capital. Well, starting November 9, you can go to the theme park voted Orlando’s best for as much as 50% off.