Making Thanksgiving About More Than Turkey

You spend all day cooking in the kitchen. Your family devours everything in twenty minutes in a face-stuffing contest devoid of conversation. Then you spend the evening cleaning every dish, ramekin, and pot you own while the men in your family watch football.

Ah, Thanksgiving.

I’ve had my share of Thanksgivings that I’ve felt less than thankful for. But despite the sad reality of what the holiday can be, I am still totally in love with the idea of what Thanksgiving could be. A day to celebrate what’s good in our lives, to spend time with the people we love, and to eat. In theory, what could be better?

This year, I’m determined to add a little more meaning to my holiday and to find the emotional richness and depth the holiday has so often lacked in years gone by. Before the feasting and inevitable cleaning begins, I’m going to ask everyone at my table to pause for a second to reflect on what makes them feel grateful. And as a child of the public school system, I can’t think of a better way to do this than…drumroll, please…a worksheet!

Download printable version here.

Now the goal of this little worksheet is simple. To avoid rote answers and to help ease writer’s block, I came up with a few specific things for guests to think about as they consider their blessings. Once everyone has had a chance to write, we’ll share our answers. My guess—and my hope—is that by counting our blessings together, we’ll feel like there’s more reason to celebrate than ever.

A few other ideas for a more meaningful Thanksgiving:

• Ask guests to bring nonperishable food items to dinner instead of side dishes and donate to a local food bank. Feeding America has a national food bank directory. Here are a few organizations that accept food donations in the Seattle area:
  Northwest Harvest
  Emergency Feeding Program
  Food Lifeline
  Hopelink
  Union Gospel Mission
• Before the meal begins, hand out a piece of paper to everyone and have them write their name at the top. Then pass the paper around the table, giving each person one minute to write something they love or are grateful for about the person whose name is written on the top. Fold the paper up with an accordion fold with each turn so the next person can’t copy the previous writer.
• Instead of turning on the TV after dinner, play a game that encourages family interaction. Taboo, Guesstures, and Catch Phrase are all good options. Or try a card game like Uno, Phase 10, or Rook.
• Make recipe cards of a favorite family recipe (new or old) as a favor to send home with guests, along with leftovers.
• Invite someone who doesn’t have a place to go. A little scary for introverts like me, but well worth it.

We’d love to hear your ideas! What do you do to make Thanksgiving meaningful?