Thanksgiving Traditions to Start With Your Family This Year

Ask anyone what they remember most about Thanksgiving as a kid, and it’s rarely the food itself. It’s the walk before dinner. The uncle who always carves the turkey badly on purpose. The same seat at the same table, every single year.

Thanksgiving has a way of collecting tradition without anyone really planning it — and that’s exactly what makes it worth being a little intentional about.

This guide walks through some of the small rituals worth building into your own Thanksgiving, whether you’re hosting for the first time, taking over from a parent, or figuring out what the day looks like for a newly blended family.

thanksgicing holiday family traditions infographic

For the full year-round version of this guide, take a look at our Family Traditions guide — this one’s just for Thanksgiving traditions!

Why Start (or Keep) a Thanksgiving Tradition

Chances are, you already have a few Thanksgiving memories you’d love to pass down — a recipe, a game, a particular way the day unfolded. That’s a good place to start. Traditions don’t have to be invented from nothing; some of the best ones are simply the ones you loved as a kid, carried forward.

But there’s no pressure to do all of it, and no version of this that looks like a to-do list. You’re not trying to check every box before 4pm. Think of this less as a checklist and more as a menu — a handful of ideas to pull from, this year or next, as your family figures out what feels right for you.

Thanksgiving Morning

The morning before the meal sets the tone for the whole day, and it doesn’t need to be complicated to feel meaningful. Some families make a whole event of it — a family Turkey Trot, the Thanksgiving Day Parade playing in the background while everyone helps prep.

Others keep it quieter: a walk before the feast, setting the table together, putting together a centerpiece with whatever’s on hand. A pre-dinner game can also take the edge off a house full of hungry cooks.

Whatever you choose, a quick Thanksgiving morning photo is worth the thirty seconds it takes — you’ll want it later more than you think.

Suggested traditions to try/add:

Go on a family Turkey Trot
Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade
Help prep the meal together
Take a morning walk before the feast
Set the table as a family
Make a centerpiece together
Play a pre-dinner game
Take a Thanksgiving morning photo

Around the Table

This is where most Thanksgiving traditions actually live, and for good reason — it’s the one moment in the day when everyone’s in the same room, at the same time, paying attention.

Going around and sharing what you’re grateful for is the classic for a reason, but a “grateful jar” filled with notes works well too, especially for families with younger kids who’d rather write than speak up.

Letting the kids help say grace, asking everyone to share a favorite memory from the year, or trying one new side dish together are all small ways to make the table feel like more than just a meal.

Suggested traditions to try/add:

Share what you’re grateful for
Use a “grateful jar” or notes
Say a family blessing
Let the kids help say grace
Ask everyone to share a favorite memory
Try a new side dish together
Save a family recipe card
Take a family photo before the meal

If you’re looking to round out the spread, our Thanksgiving charcuteries and Thanksgiving mocktail recipes are a good place to start.

Giving Back

Thanksgiving has always had a “give thanks” built into the name, and for a lot of families, that naturally extends outward. Volunteering together, donating to a local food drive, or delivering a meal to a neighbor are all ways to bring that spirit into the day itself rather than saving it for later.

Writing thank-you notes as a family, packing a Thanksgiving basket for someone in need, or inviting someone who’d otherwise be alone to your table are smaller-scale versions of the same idea — and often the ones that stick with kids the longest.

Suggested traditions to try/add:

Volunteer as a family
Donate to a local food drive
Deliver a meal to a neighbor
Write thank-you notes together
Pack a Thanksgiving basket for someone in need
Invite someone who’s alone to join you
Share a family recipe with someone T
alk about someone you’re thankful for

If you’re hosting extra guests this year, our Thanksgiving favors for guests are a sweet way to send a little gratitude home with them too.

Day-After Traditions

The day after Thanksgiving has quietly become its own tradition in a lot of houses, and it’s worth naming on purpose. A turkey sandwich made a very specific way. Putting up the Christmas tree as a family. A leftovers soup that only gets made once a year.

Some families use the day to watch a favorite football game or start the Christmas movie marathon early; others use it to write down the year’s favorite Thanksgiving moment before it’s forgotten, or start planning next year’s menu.

Make a turkey sandwich tradition
Put up the Christmas tree together
Go on a family walk
Watch a favorite football game
Start the Christmas movie marathon
Make soup from the leftovers
Write down this year’s favorite moment
Plan next year’s menu together

If the day-after traditions have you already thinking ahead, our Christmas traditions guide picks up right where this one leaves off.

Making It Your Own

Here’s the thing about Thanksgiving traditions: some of them were started long before you were born, by people who aren’t asking your opinion on whether they still work. That’s okay. Not every tradition needs to move; some are worth keeping exactly as they are, just because they’re familiar.

But whether you’re hosting for the first time this year, stepping into a role a parent used to hold, or blending two families’ worth of traditions into one table, you get a say in what the day looks like going forward. That might mean keeping most of what you grew up with and adding one new thing. It might mean starting from scratch. Both are allowed.

At the end of the day, take a minute to reflect on what actually went well — not what looked good, but what felt good. Those are the traditions worth repeating next year.