The 8 Best Family Activities for November are cozy, restful and centered around family. In Novemeber there are two things I like to focus on: gratitude and learning more about Indigenous peoples. November is a great month to slow down a bit between Halloween festivities and the Holidays in December. November is a great time to catch up on reading and making home-made gifts for the holidays. We love to get cozy in November and get ready for the transition to winter.
Jump In a Leaf Pile
Bring out the kid in you by raking all the leaves and jumping in them as a family. It’s a chore that can be made into a fun game that everyone can play!
Make a Gratitude Jar
November 1st, we like to put a jar out with a pen and strips of paper on our island. Each day at lunch (since we’re all home at lunch together now) we write down what we’re grateful for. We talk about what we wrote and then put the strip in the jar. On Thanksgiving we read each paper from the jar and have such a wonderful conversation about gratitude over dinner.
Emplement Reading Time on the Weekend
November is often grey and cold and wet. We try our best to play outside but some weekends call for a bit of quiet time. Try out a family reading time on Sundays where you can either read as a family or individually. Some of our favorite subjects for picture books during November are gratitude, Indigenous peoples, fall, and family.
Create Thanksgiving Crafts
Crafting is awesome year round but there’s something about the weather turning cold that makes me want to craft. There are so many nature inspired crafts you can create with kids by collecting items on a fall hike. Consider making hand-made gifts for friends and family for Christmas. Maybe make some Thanksgiving crafts.
Have a Toy Purge
I always start to get into stress organizing before the holidays knowing lots of new things will be coming into our home. To avoid burnout at the holidays, I start preparing in November. We look at all the toys we’re no longer playing with and start putting them aside for donation. Some years we gift it to a crisis nursuery, others we adopt a family to gift to. Either way, toys are going out of our house to make room for the enevidable gifts that will pour in a the holidays.
Have a Pantry Purge
Along the same lines as the toy purge, have a pantry purge. Donate canned goods and pick up a few other staples before taking them to the food pantry as a family. Our kids are still too young to volunteer at the food pantry but we still like to take our donations as a family to help them see the need of others.
Start a new family tradition
Start a new family tradition by doing a family hike on Thanksgiving, watching the Thanksgiving Day parade or running a 5k together. Most towns have a 5k you can do in the morning before your festivities or you can enjoy nature together with a simple hike. We love doing a morning hike while the parade is on so we can watch it when we get back as we’re preparing our food.
Pass down a familiy recipe
Speaking of food, get your kids in the kitchen this fall and teach them a special family recipe. Maybe it’s your grandma’s green bean cassarole or your mom’s famous pecan pie. Make that special moment between you and your family to pass down a tradition in the form of comfort food.
Whatever you choose to do, let it be centered around family and gratitude. I promise it will bring so much joy and comfort to your heart. What are some of your favorite activities to do with your family in November?
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