Decorate to spend time with baby 

To spend some quality time with your baby, you can decorate your home with turkey drawings, or start decorating for Christmas.

Besides, it’s always a good idea to get a head start on Holiday decorations. It will arrive sooner than you think! 

For less distractions, you can even decide to turn off your phones, or put them in another room. This way you can have uninterrupted family time!

Play fun baby-friendly activities

Everybody loves playing games! 

Here are some ideas:

• Board games: there’s a lot of different types of board games that you can play with your baby or toddler, from the more classic ones like Guess Who? to more unconventional ones – this way both you and your toddler can learn something new.
• Card games: you can play Memory Game or even just try to build a castle made of cards! 
• Karaoke: you can create a new tradition and have a karaoke session with your little one. It will be so cute and fun!

Just make sure that everything is baby-proofed and let the games begin. May the best one win!

Teach them the value of giving back

What better way to celebrate your blessings than sharing them? We recommend preparing together a box of things to donate, such as old toys or baby clothes, and then head up to a local donation center or orphanage with your baby. 

Otherwise you can go to the soup kitchen and volunteer, or you can call in advance and ask them if you can donate some food, especially if your baby is still too young to help out.

These are such fun yet formative activities to do with your little one!

In Germany they celebrate Erntedankfest (their version of Thanksgiving) on the 1st Sunday of October by placing a basket full of fresh harvest to the altars, which are then donated.

Invite friends who don’t usually celebrate

Teach your little one the importance of being inclusive by inviting friends who don’t usually celebrate to your Thanksgiving party. This is also a great way to create new traditions!

For example, in Leiden, Netherlands (where a lot of the pilgrims came from), they celebrate a service open to everyone, even people from different religions.

Be grateful!

For Thanksgiving, Germany has a great tradition: they list one thing to be grateful for for three days. You can turn it into a one-year celebration: list something you’re grateful for everyday or ask your Muffin “What made you smile today?” and review it in the following year.

This will make both Mommy and baby have a more positive look at life. Also, hearing your baby speak about what makes them smile will surely make Mommy’s heart smile too!

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