How to Host a Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Millions of Americans will sit down to a turkey dinner with all the usual trimmings this year. The table will be set with pumpkin place cards and the meal will be accompanied by the sound of college football blasting from the TV. We love it. But for something a little different, what about proposing a non-traditional Thanksgiving this year? After all, who says you can’t be thankful for nature’s bounty while varying the celebration by altering the day’s activities, the guests, the location, the decorations, or even the menu?

Instructions

1. Invite someone new to dinner. Sure, Thanksgiving is a great time for the family to get together, but think of the possibilities for dinner guests who can add something besides the same old stories to the conversation. Foreign students at area colleges, single people who are new to the area or recently divorced or widowed, elderly people with no relatives, neighbors new to this country—these are just some of the possible guests who will probably have no Thanksgiving plans. Check around the neighborhood; there may be someone down the street you have falsely assumed has someplace to go for Thanksgiving. Just add another chair or two.

2. Serve dinner someplace new. Gathering around the dining room table is great, but what about a Thanksgiving picnic? If it’s too cold for a total outdoor picnic where you live, what about ending the dinner with hot chocolate and pie at an area park? If family members all live in the same city, you could try a progressive Thanksgiving dinner. You might also consider serving your dinner at a group home for children and young people. Counselors will have to be at work with them that day, and you can add your family to theirs.

3. Introduce a new Thanksgiving activity in addition to, or instead of, watching football games. While dinner preparations are underway, have the kids prepare a play. Provide a few props and costumes. Start a tradition of teams wrangling to win Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit games. Take some memorable family portraits. Ask everyone to bring something of a certain color, or a favorite hat, or something to dress up in as their favorite character from a book. Plan an after-dinner hike with treasures hidden along the way.

4. Vary the menu. Despite the protests and calls for sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce, your guests will probably enjoy something new. Serve an ethnic dinner. Cook up some foods from your own heritage or try a totally new cuisine. (You’ll probably want to take any new recipes on a practice run earlier in the fall.) Invite guests with various ethnic backgrounds to an international potluck dinner with each family bringing a dish representative of their culture. Or to show your friends and family members how special you consider each one of them; serve a feast made up of everyone’s personal favorites. Pizza, egg rolls, spinach quiche and hot fudge sundaes might not win an award for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner, but everyone’s sure to find something to eat.

Tips & Warnings

• Try brainstorming ideas for a non-traditional Thanksgiving with friends and family members early in the fall and then let them in on the planning and preparation.

• Make sure guests know what they’re in for when accepting your Thanksgiving invitation; it’s probably not a good day for huge surprises.