Thanksgiving is a holiday when you can have everybody together. Ever noticed why most movies featuring family members reuniting happen during Thanksgiving or Christmas? Those kinds of movies successfully reflect what does happen in family gatherings on those special holidays.



If you are the type who love having the family together and enjoy doing the planning of activities during those holidays, you can read on and get ideas about 10 family activities you can do with your loved ones. These family activities will make you reflect in your family tradition by thinking about your ancestors because these games concentrate on your genealogy or family history.

Let us get started.

1.) Color coordination

You can ask your family members to color-coordinate their clothes based on whose child they are. For example, you can ask Uncle George's family to wear red and Aunt Susan's family to wear green.

2.) Pictures down memory lane

Ask your family members to bring their photo albums. While you wait for the turkey to bake, you can exchange photo albums and recollect family reunions and family events where you were last all together.

3.) Family Q and A

First of all, you have to make a list of who are the people coming to the gathering. You have to do this so that you have an idea on what kind of questions you would have to make. The purpose of the game is to have everybody involve. Every one has their own questionnaire list that has questions like: Where was Grandpa Joe born? Which aunt had triplets? When is Tiny Tim's birthday? In that way, if these people are there, they can come up to them and ask them these questions. If not, wish them luck that there are people present who can help them answer it.

4.) Genealogical Tree

This is helpful to the younger generation, especially when they come up with a school project to do the exact same thing. Have every body chart out the genealogical tree starting from Grandpa and Grandma. The one that gets the most accurate and complete answer wins. Then show the work to everybody so that they have an idea of your genealogical tree.

5.) Cookfest

If your family is the type who whips up the most scrumptious dish, have them bring over their own recipes and swap it with one another. If you want, you can have a writer or an editor gather all your works and compile it in a mini-book you can personally publish and give everyone a copy. It will be your personal family cook book.

6.) Story-telling

Everybody, no matter how young or old, enjoy a good story. This can be done after the meal when everybody's stuffed and unwinding. Have them all in one room and tell stories from the present (what they are doing now? What are their plans for the future?) and the past (stories from when your uncles, aunts and parents were younger.) You get to know more about your relatives in that way. Have someone video-tape this session so that you can always look back on that moment.

7.) Roadtrip

You can have the Thanksgiving dinner close to your ancestral home. Since you are all gathered together, why not maximize the time and opportunity by heading out in a field trip or road trip and show the younger generation the monumental locations of your family. Like you can show them the hospital where Grandma gave birth to all her kids. You can show them your old school.

8.) Skits

In every family, there is always a performer. You can have the performers re-enact stories from your family history.

9.) Videocam Captures

Since everybody is already gathered there, you can have someone manage the video cam and capture speeches of everybody regarding what they think about your family. You can ask them quirky questions such as, "Who is the last person from our family you would want to be stuck with in a deserted island?" That kind of question ill always bring a barrel of laughter.

10.) Memorabilia

Every family also has memorabilia. This can be watches, jewelries or accessories that had been passed down from one generation to the next. Have them bring these and lay it all down in one table. If you want to set it up like that of a museum, you can have laminated label cards indicating the story behind the piece.

These activities will help you and everybody in your family member re-connect to the past and strengthen ties with blood relatives. After all, when times are tough, the people you can always run to in the end are your family.