Thanksgiving Fun for the Whole Family

Thanksgiving Fun

Do your family members bring their baggage to the Thanksgiving table?  Do they serve out their hurts, their inner conflicts and grief? Does it douse the joy of gathering like Aunt Mabel’s lumpy gravy? Is there a way we can come to the table and join together in thanksgiving?

Being human and living life on Earth can be hard. And, sometimes it’s challenging to be thankful. We are over a year and a half where we have been in and out of lockdown, torn from our family and friends, our places of worship. Many of us haven’t had the luxury of cheering our sports teams on or going to the movies. For some the pandemic has brought fear, for others anger but something that we can all agree upon is that it has brought us change.

Your Thanksgiving dinner may be different this year. Last year you may not have even had an opportunity to gather. So, how do we gather with gratitude and joy?

Reiki helps us shine our light in the world. The more attention and focus we give to our light, the more grounded we become to manifest our success and live in harmony with the earth.  When we gather together with our gratitude,  the light combines and is magnified so that we experience  greater peace and contentment. Joy!

Here are a few tips to help you and yours focus on gratitude this Thanksgiving. These activities can be orchestrated before, during or after dinner. Get creative and schedule a time that works best for you to share in what you are grateful for. I’ve had several solo Thanksgiving dinners as a result of the pandemic and studies abroad and I found that taking time to write down what I was grateful for kept me out of a pumpkin-fuelled pity fest.  Whether you give your gratitude on your own, with two or fifty (currently the allowed number for us to congregate due to COVID-19 restrictions) I hope these tips will make your gathering special.  

1. GAMES. Make it a fun game for the family. This works especially well with children to teach them the importance of being grateful and saying thank you. Start by going for a walk to collect coloured leaves or if the snow has fallen early, cut as many leaves from coloured construction paper as you have guests at your Thanksgiving table.  Ask everyone what they are grateful for in their lives at this very moment. It could be that Mom is serving mashed potatoes instead of boiled. Don’t complicate it for the children or the adults. And, don’t let them poo-poo the game. How do you stop the negativity for the game from Grandpa? Keep it light, don’t insist and ask please, just write the first thing that comes to your mind. And, if you have to, give him a few examples by way of a question – are you glad to have turkey tonight? Did you have hot water for a shower this morning? Keep it light with words like, “you don’t have to write down your inner most secret thank you’s, just the first thing that comes to mind. Then have everyone write on the back of the leaf what they are grateful for that the world provides. This could be water to drink, fresh air, etc.

A sweet loving twist to the game is if you ask everyone to look to their  right. Who are they sitting beside? Write down their name and one thing you are grateful for that pertains to that person. Again, throw out some  suggestions for the negative nellies, is the person beside you smiling at  you? Is the person beside you going to pass you the stuffing?

 

2. FALLING LEAVES AROUND THE WORLD. Using the same paper construction leaves, have your guest write their wishes for the world. Often this opens up conversation between the generations and at times can even forge an understanding. What do you wish for our world? Clean water? Peace? Joy? A certain politician to retire?

 3. CLAIM YOUR INTENTIONS. Have everyone around your holiday table write down their intention. What is an intention? An intention is what you want to do, what you want to accomplish for yourself, for others or the world. It’s a commitment to what you want your personal journey to be about as you move through life at this moment.

Again, use the colourful leaves as a notepad for all to write their intentions on and then share throughout the dinner. Some share after the appetizer, others share while the main course is being set out. And, others can share after dessert and/or coffee. Sharing all at once has never worked for me but if your family is keen, then pick at time before, during or after your dinner.

4. POSITIVE POT. The positive pot can be part of your centrepiece. It’s usually best if it is in the centre of the table to radiate the positive words and phrases it collects. It can be a carved out pumpkin, a vase or simply a plate. Be as creative as you like. I’ve even seen a pot decorated to look like a turkey. Another like a rainbow. Get the children involved and let them decorate it or take the time and enjoy a DIY craft day for YOU. Some pots are passed down through the generations. Get creative and have fun.

If you have a family that aren’t wordsmiths and find it difficult to come up with a phrase to share, take the work out of the activity and  copy out phrases that motivate you on to a sheet for them to write down on their leaves. Or, print out one of my favourite berries:  https://www.berries.com/blog/positive-quotes for your guests to choose one or two chosen quotes to throw into the pot!

The objective of all the above activities is to communicate and share in what you are grateful for. Share how you are feeling. Commit to how you want to make a difference in the coming year. And, most importantly to come together in fun and understanding – grateful for this opportunity.

I’m grateful for you being here and wish you a Thanksgiving holiday to remember. Please take time to share in the comments below if you tried any of the above suggestions. And, feel free to share your own holiday traditions and games with the community.  Stay connected.