12 In-Person or Virtual Family History Activities for Thanksgiving

by Shenley Puterbaugh

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to spend time learning and sharing family history with loved ones. Here are some in-person or virtual family history activities that will make your Thanksgiving more meaningful and memorable for you and your family! 

1. Arts and crafts

   Having an arts and crafts table for your Thanksgiving gathering can be fun for all ages. If you can’t meet in person, plan a craft that everyone can do at the same time on Zoom. You can draw pictures of family members or ancestors, have family tree printouts to fill in together, print out blank maps and color in where family members and ancestors live(d), or make Christmas ornaments with copies of ancestors photos! (for more Arts and Craft ideas click here)

2. Set up accounts for a tree-building website

   Help family members set up an account with a well-known family tree building website such as FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com or MyHeritage.com.

3. Create a family playlist

   Make a list of your family members and ancestors favorite songs. Listen to them throughout the day. Family members will have fun guessing which song goes with which person! Share the playlist with others who are not with you in-person.

4. Create a skit and perform it

   If your family likes performing, choose a family story and turn it into a skit. Perform it for family members in-person or virtually!

5. Discover your connection to the 1st Thanksgiving

   Visit RelativeFinder.org to discover which pilgrims you are related to!

6. Story time

   Have an older family member tell family stories to the younger generation in-person or on zoom.

7. Interview family members

   Learn the stories of your family members by interviewing them. Use an audio recording app to record their stories. (find a list of interview questions here)

8. Collect family recipes

   Ask everyone to bring or email their favorite holiday family recipes. You might find a recipe that you had forgotten about!

9. Cooking show

   When you or your family members are making a family recipe, record it and turn it into a cooking show. Share the video so others can see how you make your favorite family recipe!

10. Family bingo

    Create bingo cards with names of family members and ancestors on each square. A fun variation is to put photos of peoples faces or a fact about them on each square of the card. On the the card that gets drawn and called out, put the name of the person. If you are playing in person have fun prizes for each round. If the bingo card is created on the computer, send it to family members to download and print. Schedule a zoom call and play virtual family bingo!

11. On-line games

    Play games such as Geneopardy and Wheel of Family Fortune with your family! On a zoom call, you can screen share and play together.

12. Gather and share photos and heirlooms

    Encourage family members to gather their family photos and/or heirlooms and share them in person, on a zoom call or by posting them to a family facebook group. Share and record stories about the photos and heirlooms.