How to Celebrate Thanksgiving with the Family in 2023
The spirit of Thanksgiving fills the air of 2023 and here’s how to bring family along for the holiday cheer.
Although commonly celebrated as an annual holiday in the United States and Canada to celebrate the early settlers, Thanksgiving is still a spirit that’s worth celebrating with the family in the Philippines. With many Filipino-American families living in both the Philippines and the United States, celebrating it with our families is also another way to commemorate the friendship between the two nations. Here are some ways we can celebrate the Thanksgiving spirit with the family this 2023.

1. Roast a turkey!
No matter the year, every Thanksgiving meal has a Turkey. Some stores like Santis and S&R sell frozen young turkeys which we can just roast in the oven to celebrate. But if Turkey isn’t available, some families like to substitute it with chicken especially if it’s just a small gathering. With the many stalls and restaurants selling roast chicken around the area, we’re not out of options. Some even come with sides already as part of a set!
2. Serve a signature cocktail or mocktail
While Christmas has eggnog, Thanksgiving has more of an Apple Cider or Pumpkin Spice vibe. Time to put those juicers we got budol-ed to buying into good use! Spices like ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon usually go into a heartwarming cup of apple cider. Then, stew it with some apples and oranges before straining it into a pitcher. But if apples are too expensive, there’s no shame in just combining store-bought apple juice and orange juice. For an extra kick, some people even add a bit of alcohol. But best to keep it separate so that the kids can enjoy, too!
3. Volunteer for a day
Celebrate the 2023 Thanksgiving Spirit with both gratitude and generosity by having the family volunteer for a day! Back then, people would share their harvest. Nowadays, it’s sending people home with some good food. But it doesn’t always have to be food; it can also be in the form of service. By choosing an organization to help out for the day, we don’t just make someone happy but we also imbibe that spirit of being pro-active of making the world a better place for our children. It can be any organization from animal shelters, orphanages, and even soup kitchens to make sure that families can have a good meal at least for a day.
4. Invite friends to have a thanksgiving event, too!
Our friend groups are also a part of our family but while it will be awkward to join us at home, we can hold it among our circle of friends. Teens may find thanksgiving activities to do after buying some holiday drinks from their favorite coffee shops, moms can enjoy a sit-down brunch with their friends, and dads can relish in their downtime with a boys’ night out! It’s 2023; it’s high time to encourage families to build communities beyond their own family this Thanksgiving.
5. Exchange a Christmas ornament
Since the Philippines celebrates the Christmas season from September to December, there’s no shortage of cute Christmas ornaments to exchange with friends and family. And for this Thanksgiving 2023, we also commemorate the true friends we made online who kept us sane during the pandemic. The exchange is kind of like welcoming them as a part of the family, too, by allowing them to adorn our Christmas tree or wreathes.
6. Have kids design the table cover
Instead of breaking out all the fancy table linen this 2023, why not have the kids design a Thanksgving table mat to celebrate their child-like wonder and imagination for all the simple things? We can easily buy fabric from different warehouses and arm our kids with palettes full of textile paint, brushes, silk-screens, and many others. Some even use oil pastels instead! For the older kids, they can probably embroider or crochet some cute coasters and placemats to beautify the table. Tablescaping can be a family activity, too!

Happy Thanksgiving 2023!
There’s a lot to be thankful this 2023 but it’s time to take the Thanksgiving spirit a little further by sharing it with others. The spirit of gratitude isn’t one that runs without a partner; when we’re happy with what we have, there’s also a part of us that wants the world and the family to celebrate it with us. It doesn’t always have to be a grand feast or anything. Even small acts of exchanging little ornaments, food, and letters help brighten up families’ Thanksgiving celebrations.
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