Tag: Thanksgiving

20 Drawing Prompts for Thanksgiving

Do you want to keep the kids busy while preparing your Thanksgiving feast? Or perhaps you just want to be creative over the Thanksgiving weekend. Drawing is a fun and enjoyable art form. The only limit is your imagination. If you are searching for inspiration, check out the following drawing prompts for Thanksgiving.

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  1. Thanksgiving food
  2. Favorite pie or dessert
  3. Turkey
  4. Falling leaves
  5. Sunshine
  6. Thanksgiving table
  7. Cornucopia
  8. Family
  9. Friends
  10. Tradition
  11. Football
  12. Thanksgiving Day parade
  13. Acorns
  14. Trees
  15. Pumpkins and gourds
  16. Corn
  17. Wagon
  18. Lantern
  19. Pilgrim hat
  20. Autumn scene

Get creative! Happy Thanksgiving!

The Best Photos to Take on Thanksgiving

Yes, Thanksgiving comes every year. Unfortunately, over time, those who gather at your table may no longer be here to celebrate. Use your camera or cell phone to preserve your holiday memories with photographs.

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Photos to Take for the Best Thanksgiving Memories

Are you ready to capture the laughs, the food, and the joy of Thanksgiving? Get snapping.

Getting Ready

Setting up the table, preparing the kids’ table, decorating, or dressing up for the day are all special moments Snap a few photos during this busy time. The process of getting ready is a major part of Thanksgiving.

Cooking

A large meal usually means more than one person in the kitchen. Capturing the laughs that occur during the preparation of a Thanksgiving feast is always a special memory.

Group Photos

If everyone arrives early, get group photos before the dinner. Spills and dropped food easily stain the best apparel. A large family gathering means a person is always available to watch the kitchen while group photos are being done. For a photo of the entire family use your self-timer on your camera or bribe a neighbor with pumpkin pie to take a quick photo.

Dinner Time

Before everyone digs into the delicious meal, snap a photo of the dinner table. Get the full table with all the decorations, place settings, and the entire food spread. Next, take a photo of everyone coming to the table. And finally, one of everyone sitting around the Thanksgiving table.

If prayer is part of the feast, you have two options. One, skip the photo entirely. Or two, set your camera on self-timer to get a picture of everyone in prayer.

Outdoor Time

Do you play football or hike as a family on Thanksgiving? As long as someone is watching the kitchen, grab your camera and head outdoors to take photos.

Candid and Creativity

Posed photos are great but candid shots are extra special. Photos of your aunt laughing too hard at a silly joke or your grandfather sharing a story with the children invoke emotion. The photos will always be a lasting memory.

 Do not be afraid to try different angles, use natural light, or a zoom lens. Try to capture what you are thankful for at Thanksgiving.

Enjoy your day! Happy Thanksgiving!

25 Thanksgiving Journal Writing Prompts

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on the past, appreciate the present, and look to the future. A journal is a great way to preserve memories, explore feelings, and be creative. If you need help on writing about Thanksgiving, check out the following prompts for inspiration.

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Journal Writing Prompts for Thanksgiving

  1. Make a list of 10 things that you are grateful this Thanksgiving. (Yes, there is 10!)
  2. How do you show gratitude or thankfulness to people in your life?
  3. What are you and your family doing this year for Thanksgiving?
  4. Are you hosting a Thanksgiving? Or traveling? Describe your plans.
  5. If cooking, what type of meal do you plan to make for Thanksgiving? Traditional? Or something unique? Why did you pick this type of menu plan?
  6. What is a traditional Thanksgiving dish that will not be on your dinner table? Why?
  7. Who are you planning to invite to your Thanksgiving meal?
  8. Are you using an old family recipe? Why is this dish so important to you?
  9. What Thanksgiving tradition do you plan to start this year?
  10. Why are Thanksgiving traditions do important to you?
  11. If you could invite anyone to Thanksgiving, who would be at your dinner table? Why did you pick this person?
  12. When you were a child, did your family host big Thanksgiving dinners? Describe a typical Thanksgiving from your childhood?
  13. Do you still incorporate things from your childhood into your own Thanksgiving? What do you do?
  14. What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving as a child?
  15. What is your earliest memory of Thanksgiving?
  16. Are you planning to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? Why or why not?
  17. What was your best Thanksgiving ever? Why did this holiday stick out over the others?
  18. Write about your first Thanksgiving as a couple.
  19. Write about your first Thanksgiving as a family. (Yes, your cat counts as family)
  20. Have you ever been to restaurant on Thanksgiving? Describe your experience.
  21. Did you ever march or attend a Thanksgiving parade? Describe your experience.
  22. Describe how your kitchen smells when cooking or baking on Thanksgiving?
  23. How would you describe your Thanksgiving celebrations to someone from another country?
  24. Do you watch the Thanksgiving parade? What is your favorite part? Why?
  25. Do you believe Thanksgiving should receive more recognition as a holiday? Why?

Happy Thanksgiving! Keep writing!

50 Quotes for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here. Are you looking to add quotes to your social media posts, company email, or your bulletin board at work? The following quotes are great for remembering Thanksgiving.

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  1. “Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.” – Nigel Hamilton
  2. “In November, people are good to each other. They carry pies to each other’s homes and talk by crackling woodstoves, sipping mellow cider. They travel very far on a special November day just to share a meal with one another and to give thanks for their many blessings.” — Cynthia Rylant
  3. “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  4. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – John F. Kennedy
  5. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward
  6. “If you think Independence Day is America’s defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands-down.”—Tony Snow.
  7. “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” – W. T. Purkiser
  8. “Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.” — Kevin James
  9. “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”—Henry Van Dyke
  10. “The more we express thanks, the more gratitude we feel. The more gratitude we feel, the more we express thanks. It’s circular, and it leads to a happier life.”—Steve Goodier
  11. “Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside.” – Willard Scott
  12. “I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased.” — Oprah Winfrey
  13. “Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.”—Amy Grant
  14. “Although Thanksgiving comes but once a year, every day should be a day of Thanks.” -Monique Hammond
  15. “To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”—Victor Hugo
  16. “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” — Henry David Thoreau
  17. “I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy, happy and I am loved.”—Reba McEntire
  18. “Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.”—E.P. Powell
  19. “Reflect upon your present blessings.”—Charles Dickens
  20. “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. ”—W. Clement Stone
  21. “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
  22. “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is.”—Ernest Hemingway
  23. “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.”—Harry A. Ironside
  24. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”—Friedrich Koenig
  25. “Good mashed potato is one of the great luxuries in life.” — Lindsey Bareham
  26. “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” — Frank A. Clark
  27. “Over and over I marvel at the blessings of my life: Each year has grown better than the last.”—Lawrence Welk
  28. “We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”—Neal A. Maxwell
  29. “Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast.”—Melody Beattie
  30. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”—Willie Nelson
  31. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” – Joyce Giraud
  32. “Gratitude, help us to see what is there instead of what isn’t.” — Annette Bridges
  33. “The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about?” — Nora Ephron
  34. “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”—George Bernard Shaw
  35. “I love Thanksgiving because it is a holiday centered around food and family, two things that are of utmost importance to me.” Marcus Samuelsson
  36. “What I love about Thanksgiving is that it’s purely about getting together with friends or family and enjoying food. It’s really for everybody, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from.”—Daniel Humm
  37. “The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.”—Henry Ward Beecher
  38. “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”—Aesop
  39. “There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person.”—Joyce Meyer
  40. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”—Marcel Proust
  41. “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’”—William Arthur Ward
  42. “I’m thankful to be breathing, on this side of the grass. Whatever comes, comes.”—Ron Perlman
  43. “I do think that Thanksgiving is a very nice holiday because it’s all about saying thank you; it’s being thankful.”—Jacob Tremblay
  44. “A basic law: the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for”—Norman Vincent Peale
  45. “I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.” – Erma Bombeck
  46. “Thankfulness is the quickest path to joy.” –  Jefferson Bethke
  47. “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
  48. “Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home.” – Wilbur D. Nesbit
  49. “My fondest memories are generally the day after Thanksgiving. I get the total decorating Christmas itch.” – Katharine McPhee
  50. “What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” – Erma Bombeck

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Hashtags

The holidays are just around the corner. Are you planning your Thanksgiving social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or other platforms? Using hashtags on your personal or business accounts is essential for attracting attention.

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Hashtags for Thanksgiving

#Thanksgiving (Basic but always effective)

#HappyThanksgiving

#TurkeyDay

#Thanksgiving2021

#Thankful

#Blessed

#Grateful

#BeypndGrateful

#SpreadBlessings

#ThanksgivingBlessings

#ThanksgivingPrep

#MealPrep

#Thanksgivingfeast

#Thanksgivingfood

#ThanksgivingTable

#Thanksgivingmeal

#ThanksgivingDinner

#ThanksgivingBreak

#Family

#FamilyTime

#Friends

#Friendsgiving

#HolidaysAreComing

#Turkey

#GiveThanks

#FoodComa

#ThanksgivingRoadTrip

#ThanksgivingTravel

#Holidays

#Love

#Life

#Celebrate

#Homemade

#PumpkinPie

#ThanksgivingEve

#AfterThanksgiving

#Leftovers

#CleanUp

#BringOnChristmas

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Family Photos to Capture this Season

Fall is a busy time of year. Apple picking, visiting pumpkin patches, viewing colorful foliage, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are all a part of the fall season. Each day provides numerous opportunities for family pictures. Are you capturing the best photos for lasting memories? If you need a little inspiration, check out the following list of ideas for fall family photos to capture this season.

Fall Family Photo Ideas

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  1. Walking down a hiking trail. (If you can do it, get your children to hold hands).
  2. Searching for the perfect pumpkin.
  3. Sitting in the pumpkin patch.
  4. Going apple picking.
  5. Baking a apple or pumpkin pie together.
  6. Doing leaf crafts.
  7. Attending a football game.
  8. Tailgating before the game. (Food is always a major part of game day photos).
  9. Playing catch football.
  10. Around a bonfire.
  11. Standing in front of trees with vibrant fall colors.
  12. Holding leaves out front of you. (For added fun, write names or wishes on the leaves)
  13. Raking and jumping in the leaves.
  14. Vising a local farmer’s market.
  15. At a community event.
  16. Making Halloween decoration together.
  17. Dancing to Halloween music.
  18. Carving pumpkins.
  19. Roasting pumpkin seeds.
  20. Volunteering.
  21. Drinking homemade hot cocoa in a new mug. (Do not forget the marshmallows.)
  22. Dressing up in Halloween costumes.
  23. A Halloween photo shoot in the back yard.
  24. Trick or treating.
  25. Decorating for Thanksgiving.
  26. Photo with extended family at Thanksgiving.
  27. Photo of everyone sitting at the Thanksgiving table.
  28. Kids choice. (Often children create the best photo shoot for your family.)

How to Make Thanksgiving Special This Year

Thanksgiving weekend usually brings large family gatherings, traveling, and community events. The ongoing pandemic, social distancing guidelines, and other restrictions are changing your typical Thanksgiving plans. But, staying close to home provides the perfect opportunity to start new traditions.

Ways to Make Thanksgiving Special This Year

This year, celebrating Thanksgiving at home may result in smaller family gatherings. In whatever way you define your family (yes, your dog or cat counts), check out the following ideas to make Thanksgiving special.

Decorations

Before Thanksgiving, make decorations together. Crafting is a fun activity. Younger children love to create.

  • Placemats: Make paper placemats. Use construction paper to draw, paint, or color designs. If you want to save your creation, laminate the final product. You do not need a laminator machine. Clear contact paper works exceptionally well, especially for larger pieces.
  • Place Cards: Create place cards as part of your table setting. Color a design on folded notecards for easy place card settings.
  • Centerpiece: Create a centerpiece for a focal point on your Thanksgiving table. A basket with fall-themed flowers is an easy task to add beauty to your table. If your budget’s tight, check out your local dollar store for inspiration.
  • Other Table Embellishments: Gourds, miniature turkeys, and other small items create the perfect Thanksgiving table decorations. Allow your children to decorate the table.
  • Tree of Thanks: Create a tree of thanks. Using a small branch or painting a tree on a poster board, add different colored leaves. On each leaf, write down why you are grateful.

Time to Eat

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is the meal.

  • Traditional Home Cooked Meal: Bake a large family meal together. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, yams, or your version of a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Don’t forget dessert.
  • Buffet Style: Place everything on the table or counter. Allow everyone to pick and choose from the options.   
  • Picnic in the Living Room:   Is your Thanksgiving going to be a casual affair? Turn your simple meal into an indoor picnic.
  • Pre-ordered Meal: Order your meal from a local restaurant. Many restaurants are hurting due to the pandemic. Pre-ordering a Thanksgiving meal helps small shops stay open. A pre-ordered meal is simple to heat and serve.
  • Candle Light Meal: Light candles or use flameless ones to add a special touch to your Thanksgiving dinner.
  • Toast or Prayer: Say a toast or prayer before eating. Depending on your children’s age, ask each member of your family to give a gratitude toast.
  • New Recipes: Is there an old family recipe or a new one you want to try? Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to try something new.

Starting New Traditions

Staying at home for a long holiday weekend is a great time to start new traditions.

  • Go Hiking: Hit the local trails to burn off all the extra eating.
  • Nature Walk: Get outdoors and go for a slow nature walk.
  • Toss the Football Around: Playing football is a long-standing tradition on Thanksgiving.
  • Go for a Ride: Pack up some leftovers and go for a long drive.
  • Decorate for Christmas: Put up your Christmas tree, decorate your home, or put lights up outdoors.

Enjoy every minute of your Thanksgiving weekend. Take lots of pictures to use in a scrapbook later.  

 

Pet Safety on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a festive holiday. Gathering friends and family members together to enjoy a large meal is part of the Thanksgiving tradition. While everyone is busy enjoying the festivities, your pet could be heading for trouble. Large gatherings mean a change in routine for your pets. Keeping pets safe on Thanksgiving requires extra attention to their surroundings.

Tips for Keeping Pets Safe on Thanksgiving

Keeping a close watch on your pet is essential for safety on Thanksgiving. Consider the following areas to help you with pet safety.

The Door

Pets love to greet people at the door. Your dog may enjoy barking and running to see who is coming in the door. When people start arriving, your dog or cat can easily slip out through the open door. Watching the door closely ensures your pet stays inside.

The Kitchen 

During cooking times, your kitchen may be chaotic. Pets love to be near people. Having a pet in the kitchen may cause you to trip. Or you may accidentally spill something hot on your pet. If you unexpectedly drop raw food or other ingredients, your pet may quickly eat the substance, which could cause stomach distress.

The Food

Along with ingesting raw food, overfeeding your pet on ThaThanksgiving can cause stomach issues and more. Thanksgiving is about indulging in a great meal.

  • Limit Food Scrapes:  Thanksgiving is about indulging in a great meal. Limiting food scraps to your dog or cat is essential for your pet’s health. A small piece of boneless, unseasoned turkey is a tasty treat for your pet.
  • No Fat or Seasoned Food: Fatty or seasoned foods can make your pet sick.
  • No Chocolate: Chocolate or other rich desserts are all part of the Thanksgiving feast. But chocolate is toxic to dogs. High doses of chocolate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and even death in dogs.

The Trash

Pets are curious. Sniffing out the trash is natural for them. Pulling out wrappings, food pieces, bones, and other substances can cause stomach distress. Keeping the garbage out of reach of pets is necessary to avoid health issues.

The Safe Space

Pets can quickly become overwhelmed with all the people in your household. Allowing your pet to retreat to a crate or safe place will help reduce anxiety. Inform your guests, especially children, the area is off-limits.

Thanksgiving is a festive occasion. Keeping your pet safe during the activities means you will not spend an evening in the vet emergency room.

Hosting a Friendsgiving

The word Friendsgiving is a term to describe the combination of gathering friends and the Thanksgiving holiday. Reasons for hosting a Friendsgiving vary. Family members may not live nearby. Or you consider your friends like your family. Regardless of your reason, hosting a Friendsgiving is a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tips for Hosting a Friendsgiving

Honestly, there is no right or wrong way to host a Friendsgiving. The basic concept is about having those you cherish around you for Thanksgiving. Your gathering can be a causal or fantastic dining experience. Here are a few tips to help you plan your Friendsgiving gathering.

Invites

Grab your favorite writing instrument to prepare a list of people to invite to your Friendsgiving. Next, use your list for sending invites. There are five basic ways to invite your friends over for a Thanksgiving meal.

  • Digital: Create a private group on Facebook to invite and discuss your plans for the Thanksgiving meal.
  • Call: If you are short on time, give everyone on your list a quick call.
  • Text: Send your invites via a text or private message.
  • Mail: Make out your invitations and send them through the mail.
  • In-person: This method is great for handing out homemade invites

Menu

After you know how many people are coming to your Friendsgiving event, you must plan a menu. There are three basic ways to prepare and serve your meal.

  • Do it Yourself: Cook and bake the entire meal yourself. The DIY approach is excellent for individuals who love to cook.
  • Pot Luck: Pot luck is a wonderful way to add variety to your meal. This option is perfect when serving a buffet-style meal. Ask people attending your Friendsgiving to bring a dish to pass. Keep a running list of dishes and desserts to ensure a wide array of food.
  • Catered: Have your Thanksgiving meal delivered. The catered approach is perfect for busy individuals.

Use the menu approach that is best for you. If needed, combine the methods to make your Friendsgiving a meal to remember. For example, you could cook the main meal but have the desserts delivered. Or one of your guests could make desserts. The choice is entirely up to you.

Activities

Yes, you may serve your food, eat, and just chill with your friends. Or you can have other activities to make your Friendsgiving fun.

  • Watch football
  • Watch a movie
  • Play board games
  • Play video games

Create a Photo Booth

Remember your Friendsgiving with pictures. Create an area in your home for a photo booth.

  • Use a backdrop (a new sheet or cloth is excellent for an instant backdrop).
  • Add props for more fun. For example, you can use a turkey hat, signs, fake mustaches, and funny sunglasses. The accessories do not have to be expensive. You can even make your own.
  • Develop a unique hashtag for your Friendsgiving.
  • Post the photos in your private group so everyone can see the results.

Whether you are only having a couple people over or an entire household, planning a Friendsgiving is a fantastic spin on the Thanksgiving holiday gathering.

 

 

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Start a New Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to give thanks for everything in your life. Gathering friends and family for a bountiful meal is a long-standing holiday tradition. Are you looking for a new tradition to go beyond gathering around the dinner table? Consider the following ideas:

  • Donate one or two turkeys and all the fixings for a family in need
  • Volunteer at a homeless shelter or other community organization
  • Donate groceries or money to your local food bank
  • Invite your elderly neighbor over for Thanksgiving dinner
  • Unplug for social media. (Yes, wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, but then put your device on vibrate.)
  • Bake (or order) an extra pie for your neighbor, dog groomer, hairstylist, postal worker, child’s teacher, bus driver, etc.
  • Stay in your pajamas, eat a buffet-style breakfast, and watch the Thanksgiving parade together
  • Make homemade Thanksgiving decorations, placemats, and name tags
  • Set up a craft area to occupy children while you are preparing the meal.
  • Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 
  • Binge-watch your favorite series
  • Host a Friendsgiving
  • If the weather allows, get aside as a family, go for a walk, go for a nature hike, or play touch football.
  • Play cards or board games
  • Participate in a Turkey Trot
  • Go on a trip
  • Take a group photo
  • Write your Thanksgiving blessings on leaf-shaped notecards and hang on a tree. Or collect them to save in your scrapbook

Spending time together is the best tradition. Enjoy each other’s company during the downtime of the busy holiday.

 

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