For some, Thanksgiving is just like the movie Ground Hog Day! You know what to expect. You know who’s going to come over and eat up all your food. You know the exact time that the out of town relatives will arrive and you can pinpoint the moment you will get your first headache of the day. If you read this and decide to press charges against me for snooping, relax. My crystal ball isn’t pointed in your direction. You just need to add some excitement into your Thanksgiving Day ritual. There are a few things you can do to keep from falling asleep and possibly earn an award for your creativity as the host.
Name Your Appetizers after Your Guests
Since you already know who’s coming to dinner, prep small appetizers and name them after several of the guests. If your aunt Nadene is really crabby, you could create a spicy cheese dip and call it “The Mean Nadene”, or if your grandma Claire likes Sean John and RocaWear, create a special fruit tray and call it the “Hip Hop Claire”. When your guests arrive and find out they have dishes named in their honor, you will move up their list of special people, and definitely give everyone something to talk about besides how many times Jr. has soccer practice this season.
Thanksgiving Day Games
Try playing a few games before sitting down to feast. This will get guests involved and inject plenty of laughter into the dinner conversation. Try to stick to games that are short and engaging. Charades is pretty fun, but spice it up by making special rules. Try something like celebrity charades or family charades where the person has to imitate a family member present in the room. Just don’t hit below the belt on the impressions. You don’t want the local police to have to rescue anyone at your gathering!
Buffet Style Dinner
Thanksgiving shouldn’t be all about pulling your hair out trying to make other people happy. You should also get some enjoyment out of it as well. Make things easier for yourself by allowing your guests to serve themselves while you relax and take over the games and other fun stuff. You could buy all the warming equipment you need from Sams Club or you local grocery store.
Get the Kids Involved
Put your kids to work and have them prepare a 5 minute Thanksgiving show. They could sing, put on a play or just do something to get the company engaged. Make them earn all the sweet potato pie and turkey you slaved over for days to prepare. If your kids don’t know what to do, have them research the web and go over their ideas with you. Just make sure they do something to help entertain the guests.
Host a Regulated Family Forum
After dinner, have a family update forum where everyone gets together to talk about their new jobs, projects, aspirations and divorces! This should be a time when the kids are off playing and the adults are free to express themselves. Make sure your guests have plenty of cocktails and other beverages to help them relax and let loose during this time. You should act as the regulator to make sure everyone gets a chance to tell what’s going on in their lives. If you regulate this correctly, you will discover some odd and interesting things about the people you thought you knew!
Make sure you enjoy yourself this Thanksgiving by changing up your routine and allowing yourself to be part of the festivities.
Happy Holidays!