52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 47

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Celebrate Thanksgiving with your neighbors!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

This week’s tip is pretty straightforward…We encourage you to, in some way, celebrate Thanksgiving with your neighbors!

Start by reading up on the true history of Thanksgiving in order to help separate the myths from the realities associated with the holiday. Take this quote from the Potawatomi Nation, “While the Thanksgiving celebrated today may not have complete, factual roots, Native Americans, Europeans and other cultures across the world have held festivals and special meals in gratitude for bountiful harvests and to reflect on the past year. Many across Indian Country continue these traditions by simply sharing a meal with friends and loved ones without referencing it as a true ‘Thanksgiving’.” Read more from this article here.

Then, there are so many creative ways to experiment with this tip. If you are already hosting a Thanksgiving meal, simply invite your neighbor(s) to join! Maybe you live in a place where the weather will still be pretty warm for Thanksgiving? If so, you can always organize an outdoor, casual Thanksgiving meal with your neighbors! While this might be more complicated logistically, and slightly more last-minute now, you can always treat it like a block party and ask neighbors to each contribute a dish, an extension cord, a fire pit, whatever! Like all block parties, we suggest keeping it simple. 

Finally, if these options are difficult due to weather, too last-minute to make happen, or simply too complicated, you can always bring your neighbor(s) a Thanksgiving themed dish! Of course, when making the dish, please practice good hygiene. And, as with all food deliveries to your neighbors, we would also encourage you to make sure you have a conversation with the neighbor(s) about the ingredients in the dish, in case they have food sensitivities or allergies.

Perhaps you have a neighbor who lives alone and is unable to celebrate Thanksgiving with family this year for some reason. We would encourage you to bring the dish to them! Whether it’s pie or potatoes, corn or cranberries, your neighbor is sure to love the Thanksgiving gift!

Once again, happy Thanksgiving...and happy neighboring!

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