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3 Fun Activities To Do with Your Family This Thanksgiving

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The turkey and trimmings have all been devoured and put away, but your family is here to stay for at least a few more hours. Right about now you might be thinking it is time to succumb to the usual post-Thanksgiving feast food coma or lay around the living room watching football. However, it may be a rare event when family members all come together, making this the most opportune time to participate in a few fun activities instead of just watching the back of your eyelids.

If you are stumped for ideas that can get both the young and the young at heart involved, then look no further than these three amusing activities that are sure to be remembered for many Thanksgivings to come.

1. Share Your Favorite Thanksgiving Memory

3 Fun Activities to Do with Your Family on Thanksgiving

Photo: Unsplash

Over the years, your family has probably made some wonderful Thanksgiving memories and this activity is the perfect way to get everyone talking. Old Uncle Hank may dig in his heels if you expect him to do too much on a full stomach, but he probably won’t pass up a chance to share his thoughts with an attentive audience. Start with the oldest family member and work your way down through the generations. For added fun, after someone shares a story see if everyone can recount all the tales told up to that point. As a final touch, be sure to get your video camera out to record the whole scene. A few years from now it will be nice to listen to Grandma reminisce about her childhood memories.

2. Play a Game of “Who Am I?”

3 Fun Activites to Do with Your Family This Thanksgiving

Photo: Unsplash

There are different ways to go about playing this game, but however you choose to do it, this activity is a great way to get your family moving while creating hilarious Thanksgiving memories. Here are two ways you can choose to play:

  1. Write the name of each family member on a sticky note. Then, mix them up and place the sticky notes on everyone’s forehead, making sure no one receives their own name. See who can guess their identity the fastest by asking questions that can only be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”
  2. This version is much like charades, except you only use the names of your fellow family members. After writing everyone’s name on a slip of paper, mix them up and draw them one by one out of a jar. You can split up into teams, or keep individual scores. Everyone takes a turn pretending to be another relative. Remember, no talking!

3. Start a Backyard Game

3 Activities to Do With Your Family This Thanksgiving

Photo: Unsplash

Now that everyone has gotten warmed up, it is time to move outside if the weather permits. Whether you channel your inner Houston Astro in a game of baseball, or take the football off the screen and into the backyard, the focus is less on winning and more on spending time together. If needed, nominate an elderly family member to keep score but don’t leave them out of the fun, after all, Grandma’s touchdown dance may just become a treasured Thanksgiving Day recollection.