Thanksgiving Games

No matter how you plan on celebrating Thanksgiving during this, The Year of Covid, it might not be a bad idea to go back to the holiday ideals of hearth and home. Family and food. And gratitude. 

This year we will celebrate with our family outdoors; Covid aside, it seems especially appropriate to break bread together while surrounded by Nature's Bounty. 

Because despite everything 2020 has thrown at us, there is still so much for which to be thankful. 

And it's important to remember how to have fun. To laugh and be silly. So no matter how you are choosing to celebrate, here are some fun Thanksgiving games we did last year. Nothing fancy, but just good old fashioned games to stimulate conversation, generate laughter, and inspire some good natured teasing.

1- Pictionary, the Thanksgiving version: a dry erase board set on an easel, Thanksgiving-themed ideas to draw, and two teams. Have you ever tried to draw a green bean casserole?

2- The Turkey Bowl: a bowl, some blank papers, and instructions to write down one thing about yourself that most people don't know. Later, take turns reading the entries aloud and guess who wrote it. Here are just a few things we learned about members of our family: 

I can't stand sweet potatoes no matter what form they are in. 

I got pulled over once for running a red light.

My favorite ride is Slinky Dog Dash.

I once crashed my Segway in Rome.

The first time I ran my dishwasher in my apartment, I used dish soap and flooded my kitchen with bubbles.

Once, I was sitting on my bed and the globe from the overhead lamp fell off and hit me in the nose. Nobody believed me.

I secretly love inflatables.

My favorite television show of all time is Fargo, Season Two.

I used to pretend my droid was a baby.

I used to have a crush on Tommy Lee Jones.

3- Photo Booth: some corn stalks, a bench, and fun Thanksgiving photo props. Look how fun this was (and notice how Nonno tried to steal a kiss).

4- Count the Kernels: a large vase of Candy Corn, slips of paper to guess the number. The prize was a Lego Turkey Brick Headz. (Of course, the exact number of Candy Corn was disputed when it was discovered that some people had been eating some of the Candy Corn, thus skewing the total number ;-) (Sheesh. The simplest game turned into a THING.)

5- Cornhole: Because we are outside, and anyone and everyone can play. Just look at my sweet nephew demonstrating the finest Cornhole technique ...

1. Too far away     2. A little closer     3. Perfect distance!

6- Finally, our family's Thanksgiving prayer (you can find more tips at my post, How to Host Thanksgiving Outdoors.)

Our family has celebrated Thanksgiving in many ways -- inside, outside, at grandparent's homes, at the beach, and even in Italy. But no matter where we are, we always read our family's Thanksgiving prayer. It's a special prayer, written by Lino Villacha, and my mother became pen pals with Lino through her best friend who was a missionary in Brazil. Lino's poem, Obrigado Senhor, is a prayer thanking God for everything he had -- and when you read his words in light of the fact he suffered from leprosy and lived in poverty, it puts things in perspective.

In his poem, Lino thanks God for healthy limbs when so many are crippled; for a voice that sings when so many are mute; for hands that work when so many have to beg; and for a home to return to when so many don't know where they are going. And as we read the poem reminding us to celebrate what we have instead of focusing on what we don't, it's always the last two lines which capture the essence of Thanksgiving: It is wonderful, Lord, to have so little to ask and so much to be thankful for.