Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Spend Time With Family This Thanksgiving

When was the last time you had dinner with your extended family? Thanksgiving is an excellent time to do that. It gives everyone who attends Thanksgiving dinner time to interact with each other, make memories, and enjoy a meal together. Here are some simple things you can do while visiting your family.  Plan Ahead For Travel If you are able, it would be a good idea to plan ahead if you need to fly across the country to visit relatives for Thanksgiving dinner. There could be delays because of the sheer number of people who are traveling at the same … Continue reading →

How to Have a Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Ready to try something a little bit different this Thanksgiving? One great way to do it is by choosing to have a vegetarian Thanksgiving, It is a nice way to make your vegetarian relatives feel welcome on a holiday that is typically focused on turkey. One popular alternative to turkey is Tofurkey. It is meatless. Ingredients include vital wheat gluten, water, tofu, sea salt, several vegetables, oat fiber, and more. The stuffing in it includes water, brown rice, bread cubes, sea salt, vegetables, and more. Tofurkey also makes a vegetarian gravy to go with the Tofurkey. Campbell’s has a recipe … Continue reading →

Keep the Kids Entertained on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is family time. In previous years, you may have celebrated this holiday with plenty of family members. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it unsafe for large groups of people to gather together indoors. How will you keep the kids entertained while dinner is being prepared? Here are a few ideas to try. Thanksgiving Coloring Pages Gather up the crayons and print out some Thanksgiving themed coloring pages from the internet. Crayola.com offers some free Thanksgiving coloring pages for parents to download for their kids. Another option is to buy a large sketchbook and give each child a … Continue reading →

CDC Recommends Staying Home for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a holiday where people travel long distances so they can spend time with their families. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes it clear that staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from catching and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. The CDC has information about Thanksgiving related activities that are “lower risk”, “moderate risk” and “higher risk”. Understanding the risk of certain activities can help you make safer choices. Lower Risk Activities Having a small dinner with only people who live in your neighborhood Preparing traditional family recipes for family and … Continue reading →

How to Avoid Politics on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time when families get together, eat a traditional meal, and share what they are thankful for. Many families look forward to spending time with relatives on Thanksgiving. Other families, however, might not get along with each other very well. Here are some tips to avoid political arguments on Thanksgiving. You may have relatives that post way too many political things. This can be irritating if you disagree with their viewpoints. If you will be sitting at the table with those relatives on Thanksgiving – mute them as soon as possible. Doing so might make you hate them … Continue reading →

Tips for Coping with Politics on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be stressful all by itself. Things can get even worse when a presidential election happens a few weeks before Thanksgiving day. Some of your relatives might want to talk about politics. Here are some tips for coping with political discussions on Thanksgiving. Make a conscious effort not to talk about the election at Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t ask your relatives who they voted for. Stay away from topics that were especially controversial during the election. Thanksgiving dinner is not the time to wear a political t-shirt, button, or hat that came from the campaign of the candidate you voted … Continue reading →

Tips for First Time Hosts of Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is celebrated with family. It always includes a big dinner with tons of food. This can be overwhelming for first time hosts of Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t panic! Try these tips to help calm your nerves and make your first hosting a successful one. There are two things that can make a person who is hosting Thanksgiving dinner nervous. One is that the guests are going to expect specific foods that are made exactly the way that mom or grandma used to make. Their big expectations can be hard to live up to. The other difficulty, of course, is that … Continue reading →

The High Price of Being Thankful

Tis the season for homemade turkey. If you are a parent of elementary-aged kids, then “homemade” is code for “handmade,” which basically means that the exterior of your refrigerator is coated with dozens of construction paper birds. Mine is. With 10 days and counting until Thanksgiving, my 7-year-old has already come home from school with no less than 14 handcrafted turkeys. Kind of makes me wonder how much time is allotted for arts and crafts versus reading, writing and arithmetic. Regardless, I’m happy to display my child’s feathery masterpieces. In fact, I am particularly fond of the handprint bird she … Continue reading →

Fun Chocolate Thanksgiving Treats

My best friend from Hawaii and her husband will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year. I couldn’t be happier. We’re already planning a special feast and my 6-year-old is thrilled to put her first grade Thanksgiving-theme crafts on display for all to see. Given that our friends are traveling such a long way to celebrate the holiday with us, we thought it would be nice to incorporate some of their favorite foods into the meal and decor. For example, since my BFF’s husband is a chocoholic we’re planning to make a special chocolate tart to add to the dessert … Continue reading →