By: Kelly Nguyen
Just because you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean the three days—five including the weekend—you get off for Thanksgiving break should be wasted. Here are a few alternatives that you can enjoy with friends, family, or yourself.
Gather your friends together for a friendsgiving. Thanksgiving with friends can be just as fun as any Thanksgiving dinner, especially if no one knows how to cook. It’s like an experiment, or a mess of mashed potatoes, undercooked turkey, and tossed salad. Preparation can be made into an exciting game, like decorating the room in autumnal decor, setting the table, and creating a centerpiece. There are so many opportunities for laughter and riveting conversations, or even secrets to be shared around the dinner table. After, you can all play igame of clean-up! This is a great alternative to a typical Thanksgiving dinner and makes for a memorable night.
Go to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch is a seasonal activity and the perfect excuse to marvel over hundreds of pumpkins or relive your childhood field trip. Most pumpkin patches offer a wide range of activities, including cornfield mazes, face painting, and jumpy houses—perfect for all ages! Bring friends or family along who will chase you around the corn field or push you down the slide. After a long day of roaming around the most festive place ever, you can finally lug your pumpkin home and decorate it with your family.
Volunteer. During the last three months of the year, there are so many opportunities to give back to your community. This includes volunteering at a soup kitchen, a local elementary school, and other non-profit organizations. This is personally something I love to do, especially during the most giving (and festive) time of the year. If you look on volunteer websites or watch out for emails from Canez, you will readily find something that interests you. There are fall-themed carnivals at elementary schools or gift-wrapping workshops for children’s hospitals. The rewarding feeling that volunteering gives you is the best gift you can receive—and give to anyone.
Spend time doing what you love to do, but don’t necessarily have time to do. As a high school student, we are constantly overwhelmed with completing tedious assignments and studying for exams. This break is the perfect opportunity to take a breather and do things you normally wouldn’t have time to do. For example, you can bake pumpkin spice cookies, decorate with fall room decor, catch up on a Netflix show, or simply just relax. During the autumn season, the possibilities are endless whether you’re indoors or outside. You don’t have to spend money or be around people to have a good time—take a walk around the neighborhood and admire the changing leaves.