1- Surprise
A year after we had moved to Florida, we had one ornery brother decide to place a baby in a carrier outside our front door step, ring the doorbell and run away! I thought, “WOW! Who would leave their baby on Thanksgiving?!! “ Their family surprised us all the way from Illinois. Try it!
2- Watch a movie!
A few great movies for Thanksgiving are: Miracle on 34th Street, Free Birds, Blind Side, and the Family Stone. Choose one appropriate for your family and snuggle on the couch!
3- Cook real ham, not spam
One year, I decided to host about 40 people for Thanksgiving at my Art Academy. Being a new business owner, I had very little time to cook but I was in charge of the Ham. I’m not a big meat eater and basically brought black forest ‘spam’ to the event. Yuck!
4- Family recipes & cookies
Growing up, my Grandmother, (who is now 91), made us pumpkin cut out cookies EVERY fall season. Now, we make the cookies in honor of her since her arthritis has taken over. What is your family’s favorite recipe?
5- “Three Young Pilgrims”
As an educator, I love the story “Three Young Pilgrims” by Cheryl Harness. It discusses the harsh winter as a Pilgrim, the Indian friendship meeting, and has beautifully illustrated pictures. Read this after dinner with apple cider.
6- Nature Hike Art
Get outside wherever you are and look for sticks, acorns, and leaves. It’s good for the soul to get out in nature! Come back inside and use those items for decoration, paint with them, or make a nature collage!
7- Watch the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade
The balloons, the turkey, the talent, the smiles! This is a show you will want the whole family to watch together.
8- Thankful tree
I know it sounds cliche, but when you really step back and look at your life, you can find many blessings. Have children cut out leaves from construction paper to place on a construction paper tree. Each family member gets 5 leaves of thankfulness to place on their tree placemats.
9- Bible Verse to be thankful
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” 1 Chronicles 16:34
10- Serve thanksgiving dinner to the homeless
Here in Orlando, there is a homeless problem. Let’s get outside our comfort zone and reach out to others’ on this day.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!