Thanksgiving traditions to start, and how to make them stick

What makes a new Thanksgiving tradition stick

A tradition is just something you do twice and then expect a third time. The ones that last share three things: they are short, they have a fixed slot in the day (before the meal, after pie, Friday morning) and someone owns them, so nobody has to reinvent them each November.

The list below is grouped by time of day rather than ranked, because the right tradition depends on your household: a house full of cousins, a couple on their own, or a Friendsgiving in a small apartment. Choose one or two. Starting ten at once is the quickest way to keep none of them.

Morning traditions (1–4)

Morning is the easiest slot, because the oven is busy and most guests are waiting around.

1. Run or walk a turkey trot together.Many towns hold a short race or fun run on Thanksgiving morning. You do not need to race: walking it as a family, in matching hats or a team name, is the tradition. Check the event’s own page for distance, start time and registration, and dress for the weather. If your area has none, mark out your own loop around the block.
2. A gratitude walk. Before the cooking starts, take the same short route every year and let each person name one good thing from the year as you go. Keep it to 20–30 minutes so the cook can join.
3. The same-spot photo. Pick one place: the front steps, a particular tree, the bench at the end of the street. Take one group photo there every Thanksgiving, in the same arrangement if you can. After five years the series says more than any single portrait. Our fall photo ideas guide has notes on light and outfits for outdoor shots.
4. Parade breakfast. If your family watches the parade on TV, give it a fixed breakfast: cinnamon rolls, pancakes, whatever one person makes every year. The food matters less than the fact that it repeats.

At the table (5–9)

The meal is the one moment everyone is in the same room, so table traditions should take minutes, not an hour.

5. A gratitude round, with an opt-out.Before eating, each person names one thing. Make it fine to say “pass”; the round goes faster and nobody dreads it.
6. Thankful notes at each place. Ask guests to write a line on a card for the person sitting to their left. Read them aloud or let people keep them. Store the cards in a box and you have an archive.
7. The family recipe card. One dish, one card, and each year a different person adds a note in the margin: who made it, what changed. It turns a recipe into a record.
8. The question jar.Fill a jar with questions such as “best thing you learned this year” or “a place you want to go.” Each person draws one between courses. Kids can write half the questions.
9. An empty chair or a lit candle. For a family member who could not come or has died, a candle on the table is a quiet way to include them without making the whole meal about it. Ask the closest relatives first whether they would like this.

After dinner (10–12)

After pie, energy drops. These traditions work because they ask very little.

10. The post-dinner walk. The same loop as the morning walk, or a new one. Those who want to stay on the sofa stay; the walkers come back with a story.
11. A backyard game with a trophy. Touch football, cornhole or a board game: the twist is a cheap trophy that the winning team keeps until next year and has to bring back.
12. The time-capsule envelope. Everyone writes a prediction for next year on a slip of paper; seal them in a dated envelope and open it the following Thanksgiving.

The day after (13–15)

The Friday after Thanksgiving is the most open day of the long weekend, which makes it a good home for a tradition that needs a few hours.

13. The leftover hike. Pack turkey sandwiches and pie in a bag and hike somewhere nearby. It gets everyone outside after a day indoors, and it is the tradition that grows easiest as kids get older. Pick a trail that suits the slowest walker and check daylight hours, which are short in late November. Our smart glasses for hiking guide covers what to take if you want hands-free audio on the trail.
14. Decorating day. Some families put up winter decorations on Friday or Saturday. Give each person one job that is theirs every year.
15. Volunteering together. Food banks and community kitchens are busy around the holiday. Contact a local one well ahead, since many fill their volunteer slots early, and ask what they actually need: sometimes it is a weekday shift in December rather than Thanksgiving itself.

A yearly clip of the same walk

Tradition 2 and tradition 13 have one thing in common: they repeat the same route. If you want a record of them, a few seconds of eye-level video from the same point each year makes a quiet series: the same corner, the same trail sign, the kids a head taller each time. A phone does this fine. The catch is that on a walk your hands are often full with a leash, a toddler or a bag of leftovers.

That is the one place where camera glasses fit this list. The OXIVUE M08 looks like an ordinary pair of sunglasses, with an 8 MP camera in the frame corner, open-ear speakers and microphones. It weighs about 42 g and is rated 7 hours of listening and 4 hours of calls, and it comes with a sun, photochromic or clear lens. It costs $99 at checkout. The M02C, $109 at checkout, adds an IP65 rating for drizzle and dust (not immersion) and a Sony IMX219 sensor with dual stabilisation, which helps when you are walking.

Prices checked 2026-10-20; checkout price may change. Two or more pairs in one order are 50% off all eyewear. For the same-spot group photo (tradition 3), use a phone on a timer, because glasses cannot photograph the wearer. Files go to the HeyCyan phone app; there is no display and no prescription lens option. Our glasses that take pictures guide explains how capture works in more detail. US delivery takes 5–9 business days; to have them by Thanksgiving, order by about November 13.

Photos, filming and consent at a family gathering

Ask first, every time. Before you photograph or film relatives and guests, ask them, and ask parents before you film other people’s children. Some guests would rather not be in a video, and a tradition is only worth keeping if everyone is comfortable with it.

• Captures start with a visible touch. On OXIVUE frames you start a photo or clip with a deliberate touch on the temple; nothing records unless you start it. Say out loud that you are filming, too.
• Audio is the sensitive part.Recording conversations may require everyone’s consent depending on the state. Our recording laws by state guide has detail; this is general information, not legal advice.
• Put the camera away at the table. The gratitude round and the candle are better unrecorded unless everyone asks for it.
• Sharing. Ask before posting family clips online, especially of children.

If a guest asks how to tell whether glasses are recording, our how to tell if smart glasses are recording guide is a useful answer to share.

Shipping, refunds and warranty. Free shipping from $99. US orders typically arrive in 5–9 business days; international orders take 9–14 business days after shipment, and import taxes outside the US are paid by the recipient. No refunds except transit damage (replaced or refunded); faults are repaired or replaced under the 2-year warranty; change of mind and unmet expectations are not refundable. None of our frames take prescription lenses. Compare every model on the comparison page.

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