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So, you might have heard that Thanksgiving will probably look different this year. Large parties and traveling might not be on everyone’s to do list this Thanksgiving. 

And that’s ok. Thanks to our frenemy, modern technology, you can still gather virtually.

My family lives out of state, so virtually has always been something we have done. However, our Virtual Thanksgiving has usually been limited to passing a phone around from person to person while separate parties are going on at each house. 

We usually shout into the phone over the noise and/or ask the same questions because we didn’t realize that this same conversation went on with the person who had the phone before us.

It is time for a better plan.

While we want to incorporate the things we love about Thanksgiving, this might be a good year to add some new traditions.

Food:

Cooking Competition

I love cooking shows and think it would be easy to recreate one in your own kitchen. Basically, you set up your Zoom call camera to face each chef. The others at home are the judges. Give the chefs 20 minutes to create a simple dish – perhaps an appetizer – but add a twist to it like that they must include a strange ingredient like cereal in their recipe. 

Pie Contest

If the families live nearby, each group can make a pie (apple, pumpkin, etc.)  in advance and drop it off for tasting on Thanksgiving Day. The tasting will be blind so have everyone use the same disposable pie tins with a coded number on the bottom. 

If the families are not close by, you can share your recipes with the other families and have them bake all the pies. Again, do a blind taste test (with the others who did not bake it) to see which pie they liked the most.

Recipe Swap

Maybe this is the year you should take all the favorite recipes and make a book. You can find recipe book templates online. Task someone to create the book or have everyone create their own pages to collaborate on a wonderful family/friend keepsake. The files can be distributed as digital files or printed out to place in a book or binder.

Do something together

Just because you aren’t in the same room, doesn’t mean you can’t do the same thing at the same time.

Watch the game

If it is your tradition to watch football every year, there is no reason you can’t do it again. Turn on the game and video or audio call (on speaker) your friends/family who are not gathering with you this year. You will still get to see or hear their reactions and comments. The best part is that you get your favorite couch spot all to yourself.

Host a viewing party

If football is not your thing, but you enjoy starting your Christmas movies on Thanksgiving night, technology has made that possible. Check out Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) which allows you to watch Netflix, HBO, Disney and Hulu with friends simultaneously and has a chat option. You simply set up a Teleparty, send your friends a link and you are good to go. 

There are many other options including Twoseven, which allows video as well as audio chat and you can view Netflix, HBO Now, Vimeo, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video streaming.

Create a slideshow

If it’s been awhile since you have gathered with this group, show them how much the kids have grown or what the new bathroom remodel looks like by creating a slideshow. You can find PowerPoint templates here or you can create your own. It would also be fun to have a slideshow with pictures of past holiday gatherings/vacations or other blasts from the past.

Make a craft

Like the cooking show, you can have someone show the group how to make a craft. The awesome part about Zoom is that you can see other’s progress on their craft and still interact with the group as you would in person. 

Pinterest is my go-to for every craft idea so find something that would work for your group. This might be a project just for the kids to do while you are cleaning up the dishes from dinner. You can either send the partygoers a supply list in advance or drop/off mail the supplies they need.

Read a book

If Grandpa reads to the kids every year, set him up in front of the camera this year to keep your tradition going strong. If there is a new reader in your house this year, have them show off their skills by reading aloud.

Play a game

Yes, you can still play games together when you are not in the same room. You just have to be a little creative.

Turkey Talents

This is a scavenger hunt game of the people at your party, not things. Players need to look for people who can rub their belly while padding their head or wiggle their ears. There are sure to be a few laughs as everyone shows off their talents.

Pictionary

While this game is easy to play via Zoom, it might be fun to give it another twist and play with Play-Doh. Move the camera to show the player’s hands. Instead of drawing the item on the card, the player needs to recreate it from Play-Doh. Check out my store for a set of Thanksgiving themed cards.

Thanksgiving Battle

This game is similar to Family Feud, but with a Thanksgiving theme. The game includes 10 rounds of questions and answers (there is a game 1 and  game 2 available) that can be edited or added to fit your group. It’s easy to play on Zoom by sharing the screen and the host operates the game from their own computer using a host sheet as the guide.

Thanksgiving Jep-arty!

If there are trivia fans coming to your Thanksgiving party, you need to get a copy of this game. Like the Jeopardy game, this has 6 categories with 5 questions in each category for a total of 30 questions. Like the Battle games, it works great with Zoom by sharing the screen.

Lastly, you are never too old for a new tradition

My favorite new tradition came up a few years ago when we flew out to my sister’s place for our first Thanksgiving with them in years. Normally we see them at Christmas, but it was our first year without my grandmother so we paid homage to her holiday tradition by making homemade raviolis for Thanksgiving.

Since we wouldn’t see each other open gifts that year in person, we created Top Secret Turkey, which is the Thanksgiving equivalent to Secret Santa. My sister created a list on drawnames.com which randomly selects your Top Secret Turkey and sends it to them via email. You also have a way to create a wish list and we agreed on a price range ahead of time.  

On Thanksgiving, we all took turns wearing a turkey hat while we opened our gift and tried to guess our Top Secret Turkey. Tons of fun and laughs!

Whatever you do this year for Thanksgiving, I hope you are spending time with your loved ones – virtually or in person – and making memories that will carry you through until you can see them again.