Simple Thanksgiving Tips to Bring More Gratitude Into Your Home

Thanksgiving has a way of slowing everything down just enough for us to notice the small things again. The warm house. The smells from the kitchen. The people gathered around the table. The laughter. The quiet moments. The memories that slide in when we’re not looking.

If you’re wanting a few simple Thanksgiving ideas that make the day feel lighter, more meaningful, and just a little cozier — without turning it into a Pinterest marathon — here are a few of our favorites.

1. Start the Day With One Quiet Grateful Moment

Before the house wakes up, before the cooking starts, before things get chaotic… take 60 seconds to yourself.

Just one thing you’re grateful for.That’s it.

You’ll feel the difference.

2. Use a “Gratitude Moment” That Becomes a Real Tradition

One of our favorite family traditions is our Thanksgiving table runner. Every year we set a beautiful table and leave markers all over it. Throughout dinner, everyone writes something they’re grateful for.

Kids, adults, guests — everyone participates.

Reading it the following year (and the year after that) is honestly one of the sweetest parts of Thanksgiving. It’s a living memory of who sat at your table and what mattered to them in that moment.

Simple. Meaningful. And something your family will cherish.

3. Make the Day Fun With a Family Movie Tradition

After dinner — or after dessert, depending on the food coma — we always go see a movie together.

It started casually years ago, and now it’s “our thing.” Everyone looks forward to it. No pressure, no prep, no cleanup. Just time together. This year we are going to see the movie "Zootopia". Traditions don’t have to be complicated to matter.

4. Share Something Homemade With the People You Love

Food is one of the easiest ways to bring people together. And since no Thanksgiving blog is complete without sharing a recipe, here’s my stuffing recipe — the one I make every single year.

✨ Tiffany’s Thanksgiving Stuffing

Every Thanksgiving, my family requests this stuffing — it’s buttery, savory, and packed with all the good stuff: sausage, bacon, and a touch of wild rice. It’s not fancy. It’s not “measured to perfection.” It’s just really, really good.

1. Ingredients

   • 1 loaf French artisan bread, torn into bite-sized pieces

   • 1 stick (square) butter — and yes, real butter

   • 1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice (I use the pre-cooked kind to save time)

   • 1 (12–16 oz) pkg bacon

   • ¾ cup celery, diced

   • ¾ cup onion, diced

   • 1 (16 oz) tube breakfast sausage

   • 1 (32 oz) carton chicken broth

   • Poultry seasoning

   • Ground thyme

   • Sage

   • Salt and pepper, to taste

   Instructions

   1. Toast the bread. Tear the bread into small pieces and toast them in the oven until crispy. (You might not use the whole loaf — this recipe makes a huge batch.)

   2. Butter it up. Once toasted, toss the bread in a large pan with melted butter. Be generous — butter makes it better! Sauté until the pieces are crisp and golden. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

   3. Cook the sausage, onions, and celery. In the same pan, add sausage, onions, and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft and translucent and the sausage is browned. Drain the grease (paper towels help soak up the extra). Set aside.

   4. Cook the bacon. Bake or fry until crispy. Let it cool, then crumble. (Pro tip: the oven is easier and less babysitting.)

   5. Make the rice. Prepare according to package directions and let it cool.

   6. Season everything. Add poultry seasoning, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to the sausage mixture. Taste as you go — a little at a time until it’s right. (And no, I don’t measure either. The woman who passed this recipe down to me didn’t believe in that sort of thing 🤷‍♀️.)Side note: I taste test from a small bowl — just so you don’t think I’m eating out of the big one like a barbarian.

   7. Combine it all. In your big bread bowl, combine the toasted bread, sausage mixture, and cooked rice. Stir well, then slowly pour in chicken broth — a little at a time — until it’s moist and moldable (not soggy).

   8. Add the bacon last .Crumble it in and give it a final stir.

   9. Taste test (the best part). Recruit an official “taster” to see if it needs more salt, pepper, or seasoning.

   10. Make ahead if needed. You can prep this the day before. Just cover and refrigerate, then bake at 350°F until warmed through and slightly toasted on top before serving.

   Notes from the Cook

   This recipe feeds a crowd — and it’s even better the next day. It’s the kind of stuffing people sneak spoonfuls of before dinner even starts.

   
   

5. Remember the Little Moments

Here’s the truth: the magic of Thanksgiving isn’t in the perfect timing or the perfect table or the perfect food.

It’s in:

• A warm home

• Familiar faces

• Kids running around

• People writing on the table runner

• The drive to the movie theater

• Laughter filling your kitchen

• Stories you forget until someone reminds you

• A soft, quiet moment when everything feels right

That’s Thanksgiving. That’s gratitude.

And those are the moments your kids will remember forever.

From our Family Ties crew to yours — we’re grateful for you, your support, and your trust in us as your Utah father-daughter real estate team.