Thanksgiving is a time for family, traditions, food, fun table favors, games, and activities. As you gather with family and friends for Thanksgiving, try these ideas for food, favors, and fun! Maybe you’ll start some new Thanksgiving traditions!

Thanksgiving Table Favors:

Sugar cones filled with fruit snacks or seasonal candies make great cornucopias on each guest’s plate. For an extra touch, place the pointed end of the sugar cones over a pot of boiling water for 10 to 20 seconds to soften. Then gently fold it (in the shape of a cornucopia) and let it dry for a few hours so that the shape hardens.

At Thanksgiving, fill the “cornucopia” with fruit snacks, Brach’s pumpkin candies, candy corn, etc. for an eye-catching table favor. It’s also fun to scatter candy along a streamer or table runner in the center of each table. And don’t forget to order Thanksgiving plates, cups, napkins and rugs to complete the picture.

Thanksgiving Activities:

Invite an outgoing family member to emcee a talent show for kids or adults. Ask family members to come prepared with a musical number, poem, play, etc. Also include songs to sing along with the whole group, like “Over the River and Through the Woods,” as well as some Christmas carols to usher in the season.

Prepare a Thanksgiving craft for the kids who get restless in the afternoon. One idea is to make an Indian headdress using a 1 1/2-2″ strip of colored construction paper, measured to fit around the child’s head. Have the child decorate the headband with crayons, markers, stickers, or glitter. Then secure several colored feathers using tape, staples, or glue around the band. Finally, staple the two ends of the band together and place it on the child’s head.

A Thanksgiving fish pond is always a favorite with younger children. You can get small, inexpensive prizes at party stores (small toys, pencils, balloons, etc. that come in fall colors can be used).

Bring some video cameras and lots of old clothes, including hats, jewelry, etc. Break into groups and come up with skits for others to see. Skits can be performed live or played on a television screen. Skits can be Thanksgiving-themed or be original, with each group coming up with innovative ideas. (One year, a group of my family played out the same scenario (ie a parent coming home from work…) doing it a different way each time. (Everyone acted sad, then everyone acted excited the next time, while saying the same lines) It was a huge success and filming the skits provided us with fun memories for years to come.

Thanksgiving Games:

Here are some great games to get everyone up and moving, and to work off that second piece of pumpkin pie!

PASS THE PACK GAME

Number of players: any number

Wrap a candy bar (or some other gift) in a layer of paper. Now wrap it in additional layers until you have around 10 layers. Then wrap it in some nice wrapping paper.

Have everyone sit in a circle and start playing music. Ask them to pass the gift around the circle. When the music stops, the person holding the gift removes ONE layer of the wrapping. Start playing the music again and continue scrolling. Stop the music and the person holding it removes another layer of wrap.

Repeat until the last layer of wrap has been removed. The person who unwraps the last layer is the winner and keeps the gift.

Port and starboard

Number of players: any number

On command (from the list below), the children have to do the appropriate action. After they get familiar with the commands, start eliminating the last player to comply, until only one player remains:

Port (run to one side of the area) Starboard (run to the other side) Captains coming aboard (stand to attention and salute) Submarines (lie down on the floor) Hoist the mainsail (run in place, such as climbing the rig) Mess Deck (Sit cross-legged on the ground – ready for lunch) Davey Jones (Climb a tree, stand on a chair – anything to get off the ground) Up Periscope (Stand up straight and bring your hands to your eyes as if looking through binoculars)

If desired, other commands can be created and added to the list.

RELAY RACES Number of players: 8 or more

Description: Here are several relay races that are fun. For each relay, each member of each team will take turns doing the following, and the team that finishes first wins.

egg balance relay– Balance an egg on a sticky spoon from your mouth to one spot and then back again. If you fall, you have to start over.

Relay of clothespins– Each person in the team has a clothespin. When it’s their turn, they have to run with the tong between their knees and drop it into a bucket. If they drop the clamp before they reach the bucket, then they start over. If they lose the bucket at the end, the clothespin has to stay there. The team with the most clothespins in the bucket wins.

gum relay– Run to a table, use gum to make a bubble and run back.

cookie relay– Run to a table, chew a cookie and, without swallowing, whistle Yankee scribble. Then go back and tag the next team member in line.

truck relay– Teams are divided into pairs (but remain teams). Each partner takes turns doing the following: One person takes their partner’s legs and walks to one end, while the partner walks on their hands, like a wheelbarrow. When they reach the end, they switch places and go back. The first team to have every partnership go back and forth wins. If they fall, they start over from where they are.

I hope these ideas make your Thanksgiving a memorable one for your family and friends!