Community Talks: Thanksgiving Day Activities

We’ve asked the WeightWatchers.com Community to inspire us with what activities they do on T-Day to beat the slump at the end of the meal. While not all the activities they suggest are ones that will burn off a turkey's-worth of calories, anything that takes the mind off yummy leftovers is a bonus. Find out what family activities Community Users are enjoying, and then share your suggestions on the Message Boards.

Skipping the turkey day stupor

In SAYRAY85’s family, football is a big deal. “We love to go outside after Thanksgiving lunch and divide into teams.”

MISSYRAELIZRBETH is the girl who earns a lot of activity PointsPlus™ values on Thanksgiving. She has many young cousins who like to go for walks, especially when it snows, and they love to play hide and go seek.

“After our Thanksgiving Day meal,” tells FARRFAMILY5, “we usually go out in the boat. In Florida it is a great way to spend time with our kids. They ride the tube and try wakeboarding.”

ldianis’s family has made it a tradition to go for a long walk together in the evening after the meal. “It puts all that freshly consumed energy to work,” she tells, “it also helps the food settle and jumpstarts digestion, and we feel better and sleep better that night.”

1CUTEMOM1 takes Thanksgiving activities into the 21st century. “As long as the weather is decent, my family and I go Geocaching. It gets you out and hiking in search of a ‘treasure box’ with a GPS. Based on who's over for the meal we can decide what level to do”

Doing the day differently

After the feast BLACKBELT61 takes her guests out onto her deck and lights a huge fire. “With around 25 people all gathered around the bright orange and purple flames on a cool New England night, the many generations share stories, sing songs, recite poetry and dance. It is a fabulous way to bond and make the day even more special.”

MR.SLIM and his kids spend some time helping out at the local soup kitchen. “It helps take a lot of focus away from ‘The Feast,’” he shares.

DUNEDIVA1 lives in a warm climate so her family takes quad bikes to a desert in Southern California and spends Thanksgiving in the sand. “We love to ride the dunes - but we have a full Thanksgiving dinner with our friends and family and eat outside in the desert. We bury our turkey to cook it!”

Sticking to the basics

“The best way to get activity in on Thanksgiving,” according to psych05 “is to go Black Friday shopping with your pedometer!”

DLDEROSSETT’s family tradition is that after dinner her relatives all go to the movies to see the newest Christmas release.

Where sunny422 lives in Michigan it's usually pretty nasty outside so her family plays games. “Blokus is a favorite but we also like Clue and Trivial Pursuit.”

BOUNCINGTIGGER1’s son’s high school band plays in the downtown Chicago parade. Her family takes the train down and walks all around the city.