Thanksgiving Frolics, Family, & the Future

Thanksgiving frolics usually involve family, food, and the future–as in kids.

How do you do it?

It’s a question I’m pondering as I anticipate the big bird day coming up in America.

For my Italian family, Thanksgiving was a reunion.

For my smaller and thoroughly American family, it’s a joint effort.

In our past while living far from relatives, it was a chance to share a meal.

But in all those settings, we had Thanksgiving fun and food.

Thanksgiving frolics and schoolchildren

If you’ve got any school children in your family, Thanksgiving fun can take many forms. (See Pinterest).

• Decorations like candy corn turkeys or Pilgrim hats
• Definitions games–What’s a Pilgrim? Who do we honor on Thanksgiving? Do you like turkey?
• Gratitude practice–“What are you thankful for?”
• Place card creativity
• Table setting decorations
• Read-aloud stories

Family reunion activities

It’s always a time of catch-up for all my relatives.

We’ve used our Italian reunions as learning and sharing Thanksgiving frolics.

Here are some of the ways we’ve done so:

• Always bringing specific dishes to share.
• Genealogy name tags.
• Sharing family photos.
• Reviewing family history questions and answers.
• Celebrating family events: mostly engagements and pregnancies. (Have champagne on hand).
• Introduced special people.
• Meeting “strays” who need a place to go for dinner.

Alternate Thanksgiving frolics ideas

You don’t have to go home for the holidays if it’s too far, you’re too poor, or your family is too . . . much.

Many years we didn’t make the large gathering.

So, we made our own celebration:

• Gather together new friends, particularly at school. (We ate curry).
• Take a trip–like to the beach. (We had to pick out sand from our turkey.)
• Ask your church family for an invitation. (Delightful, plus I got leftovers!)
• Why not eat vegetarian food rather than turkey?

Thanksgiving frolics mean fun and games

Frolics simply means fun. “Bonding” experiences for families is always important.

Pinterest is full of ideas.

We’ve tried some with mixed success. But, as long as we’re laughing, who cares about outcomes?

• Family photo gatherings–whether three or 54.
• “Decorating” butcher-paper “tablecloths” (Cover the tables and provide crayons.
• Or a real tablecloth.
• More dessert choices than entrees
• Family post-dinner hike (We hike the next day).
• Post-Thanksgiving rodeo.
• Square dancing
• Football games (Two days later, UCLA vs. “the other team”).
• Why not try a Thanksgiving church service? (Pilgrim descendants read the Mayflower Compact!)
• Bring an empty picture frame and take fun pictures!

The ultimate goal of Thanksgiving frolics is fun, love, and food–whether good or not!

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