#5: Relax Together
Thanksgiving can be hectic, but there's usually an hour or two -- after you've put the bird in the oven, but before you have to start cooking anything else -- when you've got a smidge of leisure. Make it a tradition to spend it doing something special with your child.- Gather Thanksgiving books from the library or bookstore or your home bookshelf in the days before the holiday, then snuggle together under a blanket and read old favorites and new additions.
- Pick a video or DVD that will be your Annual Thanksgiving Special, then pop some popcorn and dig in for a viewing.
- Look through photo albums together. In addition to giving your child the thrill of seeing himself in years past, it may also serve as a reminder as to who all those people coming over later are.
- If you're comfortable leaving the turkey roasting for a little while by itself, bundle up and go for a walk together around the neighborhood. See if your child can find interesting objects along the way -- autumn leaves, pretty rocks, acorns, pine cones -- to collect and use as part of a centerpiece or decoration for the holiday table. Glue them to a piece of construction paper, put them in a glass jar, or add them to a cornucopia.
- Play a game -- an outdoor one like football or catch, or an indoor board-game tournament in front of the fire.
- For more ways to make a special moment with your child, try 31 Ways to Tell Your Child "I Love You."
