By Lisa Martin
This Thanksgiving, instead of scarfing down turkey with all the trimmings while football blares from the tube, tackle a new tradition and host an al fresco feast with your neighbors! What better way to usher in the holiday season than a potluck dinner with other families on your block?
Start by creating a fun turkey-day invitation; use free clip art off the Internet to add just the right touch of pizzazz.
Next organize committees and divvy up the duties:
- Food (Turkey, sides, rolls, etc.)
- Beverages (Wine or iced tea for the adults; flavored sparkling water or spiced cider for the kids.)
- Desserts (Pie, natch, and don’t forget the whipped cream!)
- Tables and chairs (A banquet table is ideal for the food. Need extra seating? Drag your formal dining room set into the great outdoors.)
- Utensils and serving pieces (Grandma’s silver and crystal goblets look great outdoors.)
- Decorations (Scour parenting blogs or Pinterest for clever ways to dress up the kids’ table.)
Food drive
Start an annual tradition of doing some good after your gathering. A food drive naturally dovetails with the Thanksgiving theme.
“Forty-nine million men, women, and children are struggling to find enough to eat,” reports Vicki Escarra, CEO of Feeding America.
Do your part to help by accompanying the neighborhood kids on a can-collecting mission. (Take a wagon with you, as your haul could quickly get heavy!) Afterward, have the children help sort through the donations and box them up for delivery to a food bank or shelter the next day.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer
Here’s an idea for super sweet charity: Hold a post-dinner bake sale and donate the proceeds to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Since its inception in 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has raised millions of dollars to fund pediatric cancer research around the nation.
“Thousands of people have held bake sales, bought cookies, and believed, like we do, that we can and will make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer,” says founder Gretchen Witt, who lost her 7-year-old son, Liam, earlier this year to the disease.
The nonprofit offers comprehensive guidelines for hosting a bake sale, as does one of its corporate partners, Glad to Give.
Move it!
With obesity rates for children and adults at an all-time high, what better way to top off your feast than with some mild cardiovascular exercise?
“Before desert is served, insist that everyone goes for a beautiful walk around the neighborhood,” says Sherri McMillan, a personal trainer who owns fitness studios in Oregon and Washington state. McMillan also recommends a rousing game of pre-pie charades or a marathon leaf-raking session to burn off that second helping of mashed potatoes.
Or how about some philanthropic manual labor? Make a post-meal pilgrimage to an elderly neighbor’s house to clean up her flowerbeds. While you’re at it, plant some pretty orange and gold mums. Bet she’ll feel thankful indeed!
Bring your neighbors together this holiday
This Thanksgiving, instead of scarfing down turkey with all the trimmings while football blares from the tube, tackle a new tradition and host an al fresco feast with your neighbors! What better way to usher in the holiday season than a potluck dinner with other families on your block?
Start by creating a fun turkey-day invitation; use free clip art off the Internet to add just the right touch of pizzazz.
Next organize committees and divvy up the duties:
Food drive
Start an annual tradition of doing some good after your gathering. A food drive naturally dovetails with the Thanksgiving theme.
“Forty-nine million men, women, and children are struggling to find enough to eat,” reports Vicki Escarra, CEO of Feeding America.
Do your part to help by accompanying the neighborhood kids on a can-collecting mission. (Take a wagon with you, as your haul could quickly get heavy!) Afterward, have the children help sort through the donations and box them up for delivery to a food bank or shelter the next day.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer
Here’s an idea for super sweet charity: Hold a post-dinner bake sale and donate the proceeds to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Since its inception in 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has raised millions of dollars to fund pediatric cancer research around the nation.
“Thousands of people have held bake sales, bought cookies, and believed, like we do, that we can and will make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer,” says founder Gretchen Witt, who lost her 7-year-old son, Liam, earlier this year to the disease.
The nonprofit offers comprehensive guidelines for hosting a bake sale, as does one of its corporate partners, Glad to Give.
Move it!
With obesity rates for children and adults at an all-time high, what better way to top off your feast than with some mild cardiovascular exercise?
“Before desert is served, insist that everyone goes for a beautiful walk around the neighborhood,” says Sherri McMillan, a personal trainer who owns fitness studios in Oregon and Washington state. McMillan also recommends a rousing game of pre-pie charades or a marathon leaf-raking session to burn off that second helping of mashed potatoes.
Or how about some philanthropic manual labor? Make a post-meal pilgrimage to an elderly neighbor’s house to clean up her flowerbeds. While you’re at it, plant some pretty orange and gold mums. Bet she’ll feel thankful indeed!