On Thursday, your table will be filled with all sorts of culinary delights. Let me suggest that you add one more item to your dinner plans: make a point of recording a slice of your family’s history.
Take advantage of the occasion. Friends and family are gathered around the table. Nostalgia pays a visit. Take out a digital recorder or use the recording feature on your smart phone to preserve some of the stories of your family and friends.
You don’t have to do anything formal. Family stories will most likely come out on their own. But if you need some assistance, try this. Write each of the following questions or prompts on an index card or a piece of paper and then randomly pass them out at the dinner table. You can either have each person provide an answer for their own card, or if you have time, go around the table so each person has a chance to answer each question.
Here are some questions or prompts that you might find helpful:
Thanksgiving-based questions:
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Why?
- How did you celebrate Thanksgiving when you were growing up?
- What Thanksgiving food (now or in the past) is your favorite? Which is your least favorite?
- Which Thanksgiving tradition from your childhood did you carry forward to today?
Childhood questions:
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- What games or activities did you like play when you were growing up?
- Describe your childhood home. How was it different from your home today?
- What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?
General questions:
- Tell a story or share a favorite memory about someone else at the table.
- Describe your perfect day.
- If you could have a conversation with anyone (past or present), who would you like to talk to? What would you like to talk about?
- Who is your hero? Why?
Happy Thanksgiving memories!