Tips to be Thankfully Inspired

Raise your hand if your Thanksgiving celebration is going to be different this year.

Loved ones may not be able to gather as they usually do, travel may not be a possibility, you may be in a quarantine or lockdown situation—you may even have family members who are fighting or have succumbed to the coronavirus, and I am so very sorry if you have. My heart truly goes out to you.

No matter what, Thanksgiving 2020 will be one for the books. For some it will be a time to just get through. Holidays can be extra hard and stressful when you have missing seats at the table. I get it. 

But even so, most Americans will celebrate Turkey Day and family traditions in one way or another.

For some it’s all about the bird and the pigskin. For others it’s pumpkin pie and anticipation of Black Friday.

For still others, it’s the almost 100-year-old Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, which has had to be reimagined and will only be on television, in order to keep people safe. This year those who typically would be lined up on the parade route in the Big Apple will be watching it along with the rest of us on tv. While we’re on the subject of Macy’s, if you have kiddos you might be interested to know that Macy’s will have virtual visits with Santa rather than the sit-in-Santa’s-lap, Miracle on 34th Street kind of visit for this untraditional year. You can find more about that here.

But it is first and foremost a day to express Thanksgiving to God while we share family time together. It just may look a little different this year. 

I remember one Thanksgiving that was definitely different. I was in high school and we had just moved from Oregon to the Midwest. My dad taught at a small Christian college, and was also the Foreign Student Advisor. The students from other countries were unable to go home, and had never celebrated an American Thanksgiving, of course. So we invited them to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. There were 11 of them, and as I recall there were Ethiopians, Nigerians, Arubans, Japanese, and Arabs. 

This was in a small town in Nebraska in the early 70s, so there was no way we could get ethnic food even if we’d known how to cook it. But the one thing they all had in common was that rice was a staple in their cultures, so Mom made mountains of rice. Even if they didn’t like anything else, she wanted to make sure they wouldn’t go back to their dorms hungry. 

Dad asked the guys to pray in their own language, and I’ll never forget when it was the three Arabs’ turns—they went on, and on, and on, and then started laughing and poking each other. They were fun-loving guys, and they were having fun with us! We joined in the laughter and moved on with the meal. We had a great day, and everyone loved the rice! Not so much the rest, so Mom was smart to provide lots of rice, even though it was probably flavored differently than some were used to. 

Afterwards we played simple games that didn’t rely on a common language, and everyone loved it. We all laughed so much, and they were our family that day. It’s a Thanksgiving I’ll never forget! 

It means so much to me to be with extended family on Thanksgiving. If it can’t happen this year because of the coronavirus I will be really disappointed. But I’m pretty sure I’ll survive. And future Thanksgivings with family will be that much more precious. 

But to make it a little easier for a holiday that may not be all we had planned, here are some ideas to mix it up this year so Thanksgiving will be memorable in spite of—not because of—the pandemic.

Do you plan to have a Thanksgiving meal, maybe turkey with all the trimmings? If the clan can’t gather, gather the recipes for everyone’s signature dish that they usually bring to the celebration instead, and you can still have the meal that is part of your memories. And share the recipes with others who are staying safe at home this year. If a turkey is too much for your small gathering, go for Cornish game hens–they look like individual little turkeys and taste divine! 

Alternatively, use this opportunity to try something new and different for your meal. Who knows, maybe you’ll start new traditions. Ordinarily I’d suggest inviting someone who’s alone to your Thanksgiving feast, but this is probably not the year for that, either, unfortunately! So maybe invite them to your Zoom party.

Oh, did I not mention the Zoom party yet? At some point during the holiday weekend, I suggest you try to get as many of your family as you can together for a Zoom holiday, or celebrate on another group communications app. Plan ahead so you can work out the scheduling for as many as possible. We’ve celebrated birthdays on Zoom, and they’ve been almost as much fun as an in-person party. And extended family who live far away and wouldn’t have been able to come anyway can join in on Zoom. That’s a blessing in itself.

If you want to add some spice to your gathering, here are a few ideas that will work in person or on Zoom.

Each person can write a letter filling the rest of the clan in on what’s been happening during this unique year, including what they are most thankful for, and their plans for next year. These can then be combined into a group family record for everyone. Bonus tip—you can use your letter for your Christmas cards.

Alternatively, ask each person to talk about or write about 3 of their favorite holiday memories. If they have a tradition in their family that is not shared by the larger family unit, talk about that as well. For instance, we have a Canadian in our extended family who has introduced new traditions, such as “crackers” (poppers) at Christmas. 

If you will be having a very small gathering like we are hoping to have, be safe by sitting outside at individual family tables (we’re using card tables) spaced at least 6 feet apart.

After cleanup, you can play fun and socially distant games like this delicious quick version of bingo. All you need to do is print a card for each person, downloaded here, a die or dice for each table, and enough M&M’s to play the game (with some left over for winner/consolation prizes, of course). The kids will love to get in on this one. Get the free printable card and instructions at Unoriginal Mom.

You can also play this if you get together on Zoom, as long as everyone has downloaded the game and has M&M’s and dice on hand.

A couple of games you can play either in person (at a safe distance) or Zooming, are classics that you play using word generators. Our family loves a good game of Charades, and the teams usually come up with the titles for the other teams to guess—but you can use this Charades Generator, and each person can generate the words to act out on their smartphone.

You can do the same thing for Pictionary and generate words to draw while others guess them. Use marker so your drawings can be seen from a social distance. Access the Pictionary word generator here.

Get out the M&M’s again for this Thanksgiving Gratitude Game, a twist on the going-around-the-table-telling-what-you’re-thankful-for tradition. You can download a printable card for free here, and each person says things that they are thankful for based on the list bulleted with M&M colors. The creator of the game doesn’t say what you do with the candy. I guess you get to eat an M&M when you answer a question? Or close your eyes and choose an M&M then answer the corresponding question? You decide. Personally, I think the candy is just a diversion in this one. But hey, any excuse to eat chocolate, amiright?

This year may be celebrated differently, but it is still a day set aside to focus on being thankful to the One who created us and loves us so very much. Even in a year like this, I know we can find things to be thankful for. Like the fact I’m going to be a Grammy for the second time!!!! 👶🏻🍼👣🥰 Yes, this is an announcement! 😍

I’d love to hear about your Thanksgiving traditions and memories. And let me know if you try any of these activities. Comment below, and while you’re at it, sign up to receive my newsletter and occasional goodies. I’m thankful for you! 🤗