By VICKIE CLARK
Question: Got any ideas for a really great family get-together this Thanksgiving Holiday?
Answer: Well, start with your favorite Thanksgiving family stories or traditions. A lot of Thanksgiving traditions revolve around food — you know, Aunt Becky’s creamed corn, or Grandma Ruth’s applesauce cake. Having those same foods each year helps build the sense of continuity that binds families together.
Ask for help — ask everyone to bring their special dish. It makes the meal easier on the host and hostess, and it’s a compliment that you asked for “their” dish.
Some of the best times are probably retelling those crazy things that happen in families — like the year the handle fell off the oven door with the turkey still roasting away inside. Or, the year our daughter ran the car into the power pole and took out all the electricity for the neighborhood right before lunch time on Thanksgiving day. (Don’t you just know we were popular with the neighbors that year!) Those stories are a lot funnier today than they were when they happened. We like to retell them now — and as all good story tellers, the story gets bigger with each telling.
Try to have lots of activities planned to keep the conversation rolling. Here’s some cool ideas you could try:
1. Put a funny fortune in each homemade roll — and have everyone read theirs aloud as the rolls are passed around.
2. Have crazy questions posted at each plate. Let each person decide who they want to answer their question. Here’s some questions to get you started. What color underwear do you have on? If you found $100, what would you spend it on? Tell us about your favorite scar. What Super Hero would you like to be?
3. No forks were used at the first Thanksgiving. That’s right, forks weren’t invented until the 18th century — so take away everyone’s fork and wait for the reaction! You could even ransom the forks — share something you are thankful for to get your fork back.
Whatever you do this Thanksgiving, focus on all the many things you have to be thankful for! Even with all the crazy characters every family has, it’s the sharing of family that makes the holiday special.
Vickie Clark is the Director of the Carter County UT Extension Office and also serves as the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. If you have questions or need any information related to Family and Consumer Science contact her at the UT Extension Carter County, 824 East Elk Ave., Elizabethton, call 542-1818 or email at vclark@utk.edu.