13 November Crafts and Activities for Family Connection & Celebration

With Thanksgiving and then the Christmas holidays soon upon us, it’s time for a little extra family connection and celebration. We can do this through holiday and November crafts, meaningful activities, and tasty Autumnal foods.

Earlier this week, I sent out an e-mail* talking about how I’m feeling a strong need to recenter myself and my family.

*Did you receive my e-mail? If not, you can subscribe to my e-mails here.

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So much has been happening in my world and in the world at large. Forest fires are burning the mountains around my beloved Asheville, North Carolina home. We are in the midst of our worst drought in years. I am going through a divorce, that while necessary, is still somewhat destabilizing. And my country is fiercely divided over our new president elect.

When so much is changing around me, much of it out of my control, I find it helpful to focus on what I can control.

My plan is to gather my family and friends around me, pull them in close, and celebrate the small and not-so-small things. To celebrate what we are thankful for, the seasons, the beauty of the natural world, the holidays, and old and new family traditions. 

A little bit of thankfulness can go a long way!

A photo posted by Jean Van’t Hul | Artful Parent (@jeanvanthul) on Nov 7, 2016 at 3:14am PST

I want to foster deep family connection, an attitude of gratitude, and a feeling of celebration this month and next.

So I put together a list of November crafts, activities, and recipes to refer to as a reminder and reference for myself and also for you, in case you too want to be a little extra thoughtful about connecting and celebrating together this year?

(Perhaps I’ll follow up with a post on December crafts and activities next month…)

13 November Crafts and Activities for Families

1. Make a thankful bunting together
2. Try Zentangle leaves or other Autumn leaf crafts 
3. Discuss family traditions, history, and preferences. If you need some engaging prompts, try the Family Dinner Box of Questions. My kids and I love them.
4. Make thankful stones. Start with melted crayon rocks and write what you are thankful for on each with a black Sharpie marker. Like these DIY wish stones.
5. Experiment with different ways to draw turkeys (and other seasonal images)
6. Bake together, including anything that involves pumpkin (such as the best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!) or cranberries (this cranberry upside down cake is divine!)
7. Have everyone in your family make maps of their hearts (this is such a sweet activity to do every once in a while!)
8. Get started making some thoughtful homemade gifts for your friends and family
9. Connect with each other through fun art games or by playing board games together (here’s a list of our faves)
10. Start making salt dough ornaments for the Christmas tree (or for whatever holiday you celebrate!)
11. Read books together that inspire gratitude or books about Thanksgiving traditions.
12. Have a special family movie night (here are 52 family movie night recommendations)
13. Celebrate your family through a family photo card (take the pic now!)

Hopefully some of these ideas are helpful reminders of something you’d like to do this month and perhaps some will be the start of new family traditions for you.

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