Thanksgiving Break is long, y’all.
The days can easily disappear into endless device time unless you plan just enough structure to make it feel intentional.
That’s where these ideas come in.
They’re hands-on, low-stress, and actually doable whether your kids are home with you, with older siblings, or on their own for part of the day. Some are best done together, and some are perfect for them to do solo while you still get work done.
1. Daily Expectations (What Actually Works During Break)
Here’s a simple structure that keeps Thanksgiving Break (or any school break) calm, balanced, and not ruled by screens:
- Slow morning: breakfast, tidy up, ease into the day.
- Pick one together activity: something simple like drawing, library time, or a walk.
- Pick one independent activity: drawing, animations, toys/Legos, reading, cooking prep, or family interviews.
- School-work check-in: look at your list and see if there’s anything you need to do to catch up, stay on track, or get ahead of your goals or deadlines (60–90 minutes is plenty each day).
- Tech guidelines: at most 4 hours per day, spaced out, after choosing at least one non-tech activity.
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Evening reset: screens off, light clean-up/tidying, and something cozy to wind down.
2. Drawing Every Day (make it weird)
School Breaks are perfect for slow creativity. We get to take our time and make all kinds of art.
It could be cool to:
- Draw, paint, collage, sticker every day
- Set up a small still life (no fruit bowls! grab an iron, a bag of chips and something else) and then try to draw it
- Follow a more complex drawing tutorial on Youtube
- Draw out a few of your OCs with different looks, angles, settings
3. “Playground → Library” Field Trips
I absolutely love finding a playground with a library next door. This is one of my favorite combos in metro Atlanta!
1 hour of hard play,
then 1 hour of quiet library chilling.
Focus that tiredness into an interesting book. Nonfiction, manga, and magazines are great to keep it light and just enjoy being at the library together. Sometimes libraries have fun challenges or scavenger hunts for students to try out as well.
Some of my favorite pairings:
- Mason Mill Park + the huge Toco Hills Library
- Glenlake Park + the Decatur Library -- there's also a nice little playground and community garden across the street at the Rec Center
- Mountain Park Park + the Mountain Park Library
Bonus: bring cold drinks in the car for the transition.
4. Bread Experiments (a.k.a. Delicious STEM)
I recently found these bread pans at the Dollar Tree and I've been eager to try a few bread recipes:
- regular sandwich bread for grilled cheese + tomato soup
- sweet cinnamon bread
- zucchini bread
- banana bread (no nuts!)
- and - the dream - Italian Herbs & Cheese bread like Subway
We will compare recipes, make a mess, write down what worked, and eat everything warm with butter. We've been building a recipe book
It’s science. It’s joy. It’s carbs.
5. Library Learning Labs (Gwinnett County has the best ones)
If you have a Gwinnett County Library card, their learning labs are unreal.
You can schedule time with the librarian (for FREE) to use (and get help using them!):
- 3D printers
- CNC machines
- drawing tablets
- music production stations
- VR
- software teens actually care about
And then?
You can rent video game consoles to use in their gaming rooms with projector TVs. Bruh, hello.
6. A Cultural Food Outing (Tokyo Kuma if you know, you know)
Kids remember experiences through food more than anything else.
Tokyo Kuma in Duluth, GA? Incredible. Such a great cultural immersion experience. After my first visit, I went back almost every day for a week. You'll see.
But pick any spot that feels new or interesting to you. The idea is:
- try something different
- talk about what makes it unique
- maybe learn a little about the culture
- love the experience together
Low-pressure learning. High reward.
7. Watch the Ken Burns' American Revolution Documentary
This one is especially good for older kids and teens. Ken Burns makes great documentaries and the American Revolution was just released this month.
It’s a realistic retelling of the beginnings of the United States — one that feels particularly timely now. The series looks beyond a sanitized myth and explores the full spectrum of human experiences, including its contradictions and relevance to today's society.
It features a wide range of perspectives from various backgrounds, including soldiers, leaders, Loyalists, and enslaved and free African Americans, to give viewers a more complete and nuanced picture of the era.
No tasks.
No worksheets.
Watch it together, chat about it, look up references as you go.
8. Become Family Historians
A low-tech, meaningful activity kids can run themselves.
Give them a prompt:
Interview at least 5 family members (or more!) about:
- a childhood memory
- how they celebrated holidays when they were children
- a family recipe
- the funniest thing that ever happened to them
They can record it on their phone, write it down, or draw (and label and color) a scene from a story they hear during their interviews. These conversations become long-lasting memory anchors.
9. Cook Something New (and Document the Science)
Not “help Mom cook.”
A youth-led dish. Let them pick one recipe and completely own it. This might be better for your more independent, self directed children and those who are a bit older. If you can trust them to look up recipe ideas, prep an ingredient list and text it to you, then they are ready for this project.
- Choose the recipe
- Shop for ingredients
- Prep, cook, taste, revise
- Explain why it works (heat, emulsification, browning, starches)
Great dishes:
candied yam variations, yeast rolls, pies, cornbread experiments, flavored butters, cranberry sauces
Final Thought
Thanksgiving Break doesn’t need to be over-engineered.
It just needs to be intentional.
A slow morning.
A warm drink.
A plan for the day.
A little time outside.
A little time creating.
A little time for wonder.
And reasonable tech boundaries everyone can live with.
Happy Thanksgiving!