7 New Traditions for Thanksgiving 2020

The 2020 holiday season is sure to be unlike any we’ve experienced before. For many families, typical holiday traditions and celebrations may have to be put on hiatus or adjusted to make sense within our current reality. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still share a meaningful and enriching time – it may just require a few new traditions. Here are some ways to think outside the Thanksgiving box:

1. Express gratitude. If you don’t already share moments of gratitude around the Thanksgiving table, this would be a great year to pause and express one thing you feel especially thankful for this year.
2. Play charades. Sharing a game together is a great way to laugh and connect – and charades is a game you could actually play over video call with those who live far away.
3. Eat outdoors. Do you live in an area where temperatures allow for outside dining? Why not move the Thanksgiving meal outdoors so you can maintain social distancing without sacrificing time together? If you live in a cold weather state, think about investing in an outdoor heater or build a fire everyone can gather around. You could also turn the meal into a tailgate party.
4. Share a craft instead of a meal. If you want to gather with loved ones but remain masked and safe, consider limiting the visit and make a holiday craft together instead of dinner. Bracelets, painted pumpkins, or holiday wreaths could be easy and fun.
5. Make cards. If celebrating with loves ones just isn’t an option this year, spend the time you would have been eating together making handwritten cards for them.
6. Create a memento. There are lots of reasons we’ll be happy to see 2020 go, but years from now, we’ll likely remember the things that made this season unique and intimate, too. Spend some time creating a memento to honor this year and write down your hopes for the next.
7. Decorate for Christmas. If your Thanksgiving is shaping up to be an especially quiet one, it could be a great time to stay in jammies and haul out the boxes of holiday décor. One holiday is as good a time as any to get ready for the next!