Thanksgiving table with a family table cloth.

Family Thanksgiving Tradition Ideas + Inspiration

Julie Miller

A wonderful roundup of Thanksgiving Traditions to Try with Your Family

Your family probably already has a few traditions of your own for Thanksgiving. Maybe you have a special routine for saying what you’re thankful for, or maybe everyone looks forward to grandma’s signature pie all year long. Thanksgiving is also a great time to start some new traditions, particularly if you’re looking for fun activities that kids will love to take part in.

1. A Thankful Book
Instead of simply saying what you’re thankful for around the dinner table, how about having each person write it down? Then save the notes in a scrapbook or binder. You can look back on it together every Thanksgiving.

2. Pin the Feather on the Turkey
If you have a lot of young kids in your family, pin the feather on the turkey is a great game to keep them entertained and get them in the Thanksgiving spirit. This is just like pin the tail on the donkey, except you’re using a paper turkey and feathers of different colors. For added fun, have each kid write their name and what they're grateful for on their feather so you can see everyone’s contribution to the final turkey. Make sure you take a picture as a memento!

3. Family Tablecloth
This is a tradition that you can see growing over time. Take a large white (or light-colored) tablecloth, and each Thanksgiving have each family member write a short note with their signature on it with a fabric pen. Over time, you’ll love looking back at what everyone wrote, and it’s a great record of kids growing up. table set for Thanksgiving with a family table cloth signed with thankfulness by each family member.

4. Volunteer
A big part of Thanksgiving is expressing gratitude for what you have, and a great way to do that is by giving back to those who have less. Volunteering each year on or around Thanksgiving can be a meaningful tradition for your family. Homeless shelters, animal shelters, and nursing homes could all use some extra helping hands around the holidays. Even if you're still keeping a bit to yourself because COVID is stinky, you can have your kiddos help put together a big bag of groceries for the local food pantry. farmer's market groceries for the food pantry.

5. Create Found Bouquets

Have the kiddos gather a "found" bouquet for the table. Our boys loved this tradition! While the turkey was cooking, and the house was buzzing with family, we sent the littles out with all of their extra energy to pick bouquets for the table. They always came back with such fun things! Bits of grass, leaves from the tree, ivy, bay leaves...always fun and they felt so proud decorating the Thanksgiving table. Thanksgiving bouquet of flowers and grasses and weeds.