Want to go beyond the Thanksgiving essentials and add a few fun Thanksgiving traditions to your family’s day this year (and for years to come?) These are the time-tested and family-loved thanksgiving traditions you should consider adding to your turkey day pre-and post-feast.

There are a few essentials for every Thanksgiving celebration: family, friends, festive tunes, a few bottles of wine, tasty cocktails, and an even tastier menu, pie, and more pie! Beyond that, well, it’s up to you! 

Now is a great time to think about (and plan + prepare for!!) additional beloved fun thanksgiving traditions associated with Turkey Day? So, what do you and your family want to do pre-and post-feast? We rounded up some of our favorite thanksgiving day traditions! 

Fun Thanksgiving Traditions

Pre-Feast Traditions

Run in a Turkey Trot

• To start Thanksgiving on the right foot – and make room for the big meal! – we love taking part in a turkey trot. It’s essential to sign up early, so now is a great time to research and register for the turkey trot near where you will be celebrating this year.
  • FIND A TURKEY TROT \\ Here is a link to all turkey trots this year
    • You can also google “turkey trot 2023 near me” to get a quick shortlist!
  • HOST YOUR OWN TURKEY TROT \\ If there aren’t any turkey trots near you, organize your own! Plan out a 5K run, invite your family (and friends in the area!), make a great t-shirt for everyone, and ENJOY!

WATCH THE PARADE

• For many, it simply wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a viewing of the Macy’s Day Parade, so consider this your permission to keep it on in the background while you load pies into the oven (not that you needed it).
  • THE BEST PART, NO PREPARING NEEDED! 

Put A PUZZLE OUT 

• We love having a puzzle out. It’s a great way to pause between cooking and family/friends always love to gather idly around it throughout the day when they need a break or something extra to do while watching the Parade, Westminster Dog Show, football, etc.  
  • • I have my eye on this puzzle this year

CAPTURE WHAT YOU’RE THANKFUL FOR 

• In all the fun and frenzy, it can be easy to forget the true meaning of Thanksgiving: gratitude. Hand out black sharpies and, before digging in, invite each guest to write what they’re thankful for on a butcher paper cloth laid over the table. You can archive the sheets to look back on fondly.
  • FOR INSPO \\ click here for a great example of a gratitude tablecloth  

get the family together for BACKYARD FOOTBALL

• Thanksgiving is synonymous with football! Get everybody together for an invigorating game of touch football before dinner. This is guaranteed to become one of the family’s favorite traditions  
  • FIND OR BUY THE GEAR \\ Make sure you have a great football in the house! 

Feast Traditions

MAKE A TOAST

• We love the tradition of going around the table and having everyone say what he or she is thankful for. In the end, raise a glass to toast to food, family, friends, and fun!

CELEBRATE GUESTS FROM THANKSGIVING PAST 

• In our research for this post, we found this tradition and loved it! Remember all the guests who’ve graced your Thanksgiving table by creating a memory table runner. To make, have guests sign the runner with a disappearing pen, then embroider over the signatures.
  • For inspo \\ click here to see the tradition after 16 years! 

SET UP A KIDS’ TABLE

• Surprisingly to me, kids’ tables are a dying tradition! 61% of parents report forgoing the kids’ table instead of having kids sit next to grown-ups. The horror (in my book!) We love the tradition of anyone without a driver’s license getting to sit at a separate table surrounded by siblings, cousins, and friends and letting them have their own fun dinner conversations. 
  • • If you want to do a bit extra \\ Throw down a butcher-paper tablecloth, give them crayons (+ encourage them to write what they are thankful for!), and set up a turkey-themed craft to keep them occupied.  

Post-Feast Traditions

Host a Family game night 

• My husband and his family introduced me to this, and trust me, it’s so fun!! Hosting a game night is an excellent way to keep your family together after the meal.
  • Play a game of charades, catchphrase, cranium, or any of your family’s favorite games!

BREAK THE WISHBONE (WITH A TWIST ;))

• While carving the turkey, set aside the wishbone to dry while everyone eats. After you finish the dishes, draw names to decide who gets to break them. Make a wish — legend has it the winner will see theirs come true in the upcoming year.
• For a fun twist, let the winner get dessert first!

That’s it! Those are the 9 top fun thanksgiving traditions we think are beyond the beyond fun and have the potential to make thanksgiving day that much more special for you and your family. We hope we inspired you to give at least one, if not a few, a try this year! If you have a Thanksgiving tradition you cherish, we’d love to hear about it!

This post was all about fun thanksgiving traditions.