7. Movie Marathons 

There are tons of families that celebrate Thanksgiving by snuggling up with a blanket on the couch with their favorite holiday movie or movies. Whether it’s festive like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or completely unrelated to the holidays like the Bourne series, families are sure to get cozy this Turkey Thursday.

6. Takeout

This is frowned upon by mostly the stay-at-home mothers who spend all Thursday (and probably all Wednesday) cooking Thanksgiving dinner. However, this is the perfect solution for parents who spend most of their time at work or for people without children. This especially works in the Chicagoland area, as it has so many different Thanksgiving takeout options to offer, like Cracker Barrel and Whole Foods.

5. Turkey Poker

What could be more fun than pretending that you’re in Vegas during Thanksgiving? Gather your family for some good old Thanksgiving Texas Hold ‘Em. If you have small children, I would recommend using Monopoly money instead of real money.

4. Black Friday Warmup

After eating all that food, feeling like you want to crawl up and be a burrito for the rest of your life isn’t new. In fact, you’re most likely suffering from a food coma. You need to start warming up for Black Friday. Get your family to put on their sneakers and go outside for a walk with the dog. You won’t regret it later on that night when you’re pushing and shoving inside of Walmart to get that new iPad.

3. Turkey Bowl

Another fitness option is some old-fashioned Thanksgiving football. Touch football, of course. Get out in the backyard, choose teams and play. Remember, it’s not official until someone breaks something that the neighbors own. Also, no punting on fourth down is allowed. The game cannot end in a penalty. It only ends if there’s rain or if somebody starts crying. For a fun, added twist, turn this game of touch football into tackle football.

2. Naming the Bird

Go around the table and have everyone suggest a ridiculous name for the turkey. It can get pretty funny, especially when Grandpa throws out a name that nobody’s ever heard of. Then there’s always that one person who tries to act all righteous saying, “Hey, respect the turkey.” No, you do not respect the turkey. You’re going to eat it later, so why not have some fun with it?

1. Weighing competition

People generally eat so much on Thanksgiving that they claim to have gained a pound or two. Well, let’s put that to the test! Grab the weighing scale from the bathroom and, before and after dinner and dessert, have everyone line up and record the starting and ending weights. The person who gained the most weight gets a big prize.