• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Thanksgiving Traditions for Families

October 26, 2018 by Jeanne

It seems as if every family has its own version of Thanksgiving traditions for families. From watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade to snapping the wishbone, family traditions are an important part of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Traditions for Families

What are your Thanksgiving traditions for families? Does your family fly in from all around the country to celebrate the third Thursday in November (in America) or the second Monday in October (Canadian Thanksgiving?) Some people celebrate by finding special ways to give thanks for the little things. Others celebrate with food or family gatherings.

Special Family Recipes

My family isn’t big on travel at any time of the year, so we rarely journey further than our own kitchens for the big Thanksgiving feast. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without our traditional foods, however: a big turkey stuffed with my husband’s ancestral Italian spinach stuffing recipe, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, and pumpkin pie for dessert.

In my family of origin, our Thanksgiving traditions included the turkey, of course, but with baked potatoes and onion dip served in an old sugar bowl we called the bell jar because of its shape. My sister’s homemade crescent rolls were the centerpiece of the table; I still haven’t figured out how she manages to bake such light, fluffy rolls!

And her creamed onions…delicious. My own, using the identical recipe, always come out slightly lumpy. I think the next time I visit her in New Jersey I will ask her to make the creamed onions so I can hover over her should and watch while she cooks.

Desserts

Dessert included pie but also vanilla ice cream with frozen strawberries made into a light sauce. A bowl of walnuts was always in the center of the table. Cracking walnuts without breaking the half shell was a treat because the half shells became fodder for craft projects later.

These were my traditions growing up. Now, as an adult, Thanksgiving traditions include watching football and a marathon of reading. That may not sound like an exciting Thanksgiving day to most but to me, after a full week of work, it’s a treat to curl up on the sofa with a novel and just relax!

Thanksgiving Traditional: Family-Friendly Traditions to Start

If you’re looking for your own family-friendly Thanksgiving traditions, here’s a list you can choose from for your own family this year. It may take a few. years to build up to a full-fledged tradition.

  1. “I am thankful for…” The ubiquitous “give thanks” round robin offers a sound family tradition of being thankful. Try it this year. Go around the table and ask each family member to say what he or she is grateful for.
  2. Family movie marathon:  Cue up movies that appeal to the average age in the room, sit back, and enjoy!
  3. Board games after dinner: Board games offer a fun activity everyone can participate in.
  4. Church services: A morning church service or mass starts the day by recalling the One to whom we give thanks for everything.
  5. Craft time: For younger children, bring out the paper and crayons and ask them to draw pictures to decorate the table. Use the pictures as placemats.
  6. Remember: Bring out the old family photo albums and remember those who have passed away. Share the pictures along with stories to help the next generation remember aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents who have passed on.
  7. Fall walk: Walk off the turkey and pumpkin by with a family walk through the crisp autumn leaves.

Football, Macy’s parades, turkey…it’s all part of family traditions this Thanksgiving. Make your own traditions or rekindle treasured family traditions this Thanksgiving.

Filed Under: Thanksgiving & Christmas

Previous Post: « Winter Raised Bed Gardens
Next Post: Parsnip Recipes – Roasted Parsnip Cauliflower Soup »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

butternut squash growing in a raised garden bed

How to Grow Butternut Squash Organically

Learning how to grow butternut squash organically ensures you know how to grow this tasty, nutritious vegetable in your home garden. I’ll share with you some basic information on growing butternut squash, followed by some organic gardening tips that have been helpful for me here at Seven Oaks Farm in dealing with the various pests…

Read More

herbs in a pink dish

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea

Make the perfect cup of herbal tea, right from your own garden! In May, I gave two free talks on how to grow, harvest, dry, and create your very own herbal teas. This lecture proved so popular that I recorded the narration and uploaded it to YouTube. You can view it below: Supplies to Make…

Read More

tent caterpillars on a pear tree

How to Get Rid of Tent Caterpillars

I spent last Saturday morning getting rid of Eastern tent caterpillars from the apple and pear trees in the orchard here on the farm. Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar, is a regular visitor each spring. We first spot the shimmery webs on a clear spring day. The small ‘tents’ built by the caterpillars quickly…

Read More

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme