4 Ways to Celebrate Family History this Thanksgiving

The things we love most about Thanksgiving— the family gathered from far and near, the dining table overflowing with favorite foods, and the cherished, passed-down traditions—create a lovely backdrop for a day spent reveling in family history.

For the genealogy enthusiast, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to indulge the love of all things family history. For those who don’t regularly immerse themselves in sprawling family trees, the Thanksgiving holiday has a way of fanning even the tiniest spark-like interest in family connections into a glowing ember. That’s why it’s the ideal time to nudge conversations toward family connections. To crack open the chest where generations of family stories and photos and connections have been carefully stored.

Here’s some ideas for turning any Thanksgiving gathering into a fun, educational, and engaging event that will beckon young, old, and those in between to show off their family-history prowess while creating an atmosphere suited to soaking up a wealth of deeds, details, and dates about their ancestors.

Paper and pen puzzles

• Create generational word searches, one with the names of the aunts and uncles, one comprised of the grandchildren or the first cousins, another with the great-grandchildren or the second cousins. Many online sites make creating these puzzles a snap.
• Put together a family trivia crossword puzzle—a simple one for the kids, a more ambitious version for those willing to take up the challenge. Again, lots of online assistance is available.
• Because a picture is worth a thousand words, create a “Name that Cousin” or “Name that Couple” display using high school graduation photos or wedding photos and invite folks to take a walk down memory lane. 

Memories plucked from the Family Recipe Box

What’s the story behind the special dishes that have made an appearance on the family Thanksgiving menu for years? Who first made the cornbread stuffing, the cranberry relish, or the special dinner rolls that have earned a favored spot on the dinner table? Share copies of these treasured recipes. Bonus points for copies of recipes penned in a beloved ancestor’s handwriting.

Voices from the pages of time

As folks linger over a second piece of pie, bring the eldest family member front and center for a casual conversation interview. Encourage the audience to listen carefully as there will be a quiz with prizes for the high scorers. Include coaxing questions like:

• What was your favorite holiday as a child and why?
• Please share your earliest Thanksgiving memory.
• Did you have a favorite pet while growing up?
• Tell us about the chores that were your responsibility as a young lad or lassie.
• Do you remember a time when you and your siblings got into mischief?

Enlist a cousin or two to take notes to create the quiz. Maybe a simple quiz for the youngin’s and a tougher test for adults?

Mischief loves company

There’s bound to be folks brave enough to fess up to the antics and shenanigans the ornery cousins managed to keep from their parents or grandparents these many decades. Wrangle a volunteer or two to retell a rambunctious adventure. Enlist others to jot down a real-life escapade and, on the sly, drop it in the “mischief” bucket. Read the noted adventures one at a time and guess to whom the incident belongs.

It’s never too early to spark an interest in family history among the youngest family members. And, it’s never too late to learn more about the generations that came before us. I’ll argue that every day is the right time to engage in conversations about family history. But there’s something extra special about spending Thanksgiving reveling in genealogy.