Every year we get together in huge masses for Thanksgiving. My big family, my sister's big family, my other sister's big family, my brother's big family.... you get the idea. We are one BIG family. And Thursday passes with plenty of fun and excitement (all the food surely helps). But then we all wake up in the same house on Friday and then what?
I'm bored!
Now that the food's over, there's nothing to do. Suddenly the people who were thrilled to see each other yesterday, can't seem to find anything to talk about.
In America two big things tend to happen on this boring day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday shopping and going to the movies (you know you're dying to see what Pixar has come up with this year).
I'm not much into shopping on any occasion, and movies are SO expensive.
So what do you do to spend the long hours until the weekend ends and everyone goes back home? How can you entertain masses of people without breaking the bank?
Here's a list of my favorite holiday weekend activities:
(*disclaimer: a large portion of my holiday celebrations are inspired by the movie Dan in Real Life, I aspire to be that family *also, last Thanksgiving we listened to my brother present his doctoral thesis... for fun... so my idea of fun may be skewed.)
Games.
Okay, that's an obvious one. But if you aren't playing board games with your family, is it really a holiday? I don't think so. At nap time and bed time when the babies are out of the room, we set up a big kid (adult) and little kid table for games of all kinds.
Family Portraits.
We did this last year and it was SO MUCH FUN! Everyone gets a partner and then you sit across the table from each other and draw each other's portrait. Young and old, talented and not so much, we all drew pictures of each other, and they were hilarious.
Minute to Win It.
If your family is willing to be a little more physical, there are literally thousands of Minute to Win It ideas online you can play, and many of them only require the supplies you could easily find around your house.
Beauty Salon.
Boys are the stylists and girls are the models. We set a bunch of chairs in the living room so we could all watch each other be transformed into beauty queens. The boys gave a valiant (if not successful) effort at styling the girl's hair.
Maybe I'm a nerd (okay, there's no maybe about it), but I love MadLibs and so does my family. These are fun for anyone old enough to listen to a story. You can find hundreds online that you can print out and play.
Crossword or Puzzle Races.
Okay, yes we're nerdy. My family goes on line and prints off crosswords and then races to see who can finish them first. It's not really as dorky as it sounds so stop judging me (we also do algebra worksheets for fun, but that's another story).
Egg Drop Contraptions.
This was my sister's idea, and it was by far one of the best. The game is basically to drop an egg out of a second story window without letting it crack, using anything in the house that won't be missed. For the cost of a dozen eggs, we had hours and hours of fun. Big kids and little kids teamed up and everyone from 2 to 72 was entertained.
Family Book Club.
This was actually my teenager's idea, so if it's too nerdy, don't blame me. Imagine if before Thanksgiving, everyone read the same book, and then when you all got together, you discussed the book? So fun right! Okay, so maybe not everyone is in to book clubs, but if you are a family who likes to read, this could be so awesome!
Turkey Wrestling.
This is by far my favorite. We put an under-sized kid in an over-sized tee shirt, stuff it with pillows, and them make them wrestle. It is absolutely the funniest thing ever. (For a video of this classic sport, click this LINK to see the best five minutes of my holiday weekend.)
Talent Show.
We love to have a family talent show. These can be anything. Sing a song, do a cartwheel, tell a joke. In our family we tend to specialize in piano solos and family skits. One year my sister and I did a kick boxing routine. It was great! It doesn't matter what you do, the point is to let loose a little and participate. Not everyone is thrilled to join in, so I like to put the pies in the oven, and when the smell starts to fill the house, I declare that no one gets any pie until they've earned it through public performance.
What will you be doing this weekend?
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