Here are a few ideas for Thanksgiving week in Texas with family.
Texas Travel Talk has ideas for Thanksgiving week in Texas since we are all from Texas, and some of us are true native Texans. Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday in the United States that celebrates the past year’s harvest feast and other blessings. Thanksgiving Day is usually spent with family and friends, which means many of us will be on the road to another town in Texas or another state. It’s the perfect time to eat great food and reminisce about what you accomplished earlier in the year.
The Thanksgiving holiday season beats out all other holidays on road trips. Years past, we would go north to Oklahoma for the holiday, but now our Thanksgiving meal will be at home in North Texas. We get to do fun fall activities while my son is on Thanksgiving break, plus it’s his birthday week!
Things To Do Thanksgiving Week In Texas 2023
Thanksgiving is the time of the year when I start my holiday shopping. I know it’s a little late, but I can’t get in the mood until then. After stuffing our faces on Thanksgiving day, we are ready to leave the house on Friday (Black Friday at that!). Many will be holiday shopping, like us. How about you?
I still can’t get my son to understand that Thanksgiving is the last Thursday of November – every year and all the years after that! Does this happen to you? His birthday is Nov. 29th, so we celebrate both simultaneously. One year, we made turkey trot holders from egg cartons for his birthday party at school. They were so cute, and I would get them out every year and put a couple of nuts in them. I think I only have one left now.
So, whether you stay in Texas for your Thanksgiving feast or travel to Texas, you may want to get out and do something after all that pumpkin pie and pecan pie you ate. We have some fun ideas for families to do the week of Thanksgiving while the kids are out of school and on Thanksgiving weekend.
13 Family Fun Ideas For Thanksgiving Week In Texas
Before I get to the things to do in Texas Thanksgiving week, I’m sure some of you will watch football games all day long if you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. But many of us don’t, so let’s go!
Texas Hill Country Thanksgiving
• Fredericksburg Trade Days Thanksgiving Show
Thanksgiving in Texas Hill Country November 24 – 26, 2023
This is where I would be if I lived in the Texas Hill Country. I’ve been here twice and left with a vehicle full of treasures each time. Check out FBG Trade Days.
• Thanksgiving Ball At Luckenbach Dancehall
November 22, 2023, 8:00-11:00 pm
Show stars Dale Watson – Everybody is Somebody in Luckenbach. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $20. Check it out at Thanksgiving Ball in Luckenbach, Texas.
• Dickens On Main 2023 – Boerne, TX
Thanksgiving Weekend – Nov. 24 & 25, 2023
Dickens on Main is a premier event on Main Street in Boerne.
Look for market vendors, food trucks, live music, local businesses, Santa Claus, holiday lights, live entertainment, and more!
• Christmas Wine Affair – The Texas Hill Country
November 28 – December 23, 2023
The Texas Hill Country Wine Tour starts Thanksgiving weekend and lasts until two days before Christmas. Going wine tasting would make a wonderful day trip for the whole family. Most wineries in the hill country are family-friendly.
• A Thanksgiving Day Feast At Blair House Inn
Thanksgiving Day in Wimberley, TX
If you want someone else to cook for you and you’re in the hill country – here you go. The Blair House Inn’s Thanksgiving Day Feast is a five-course gourmet dinner in Wimberley, TX.
This reminded me of the year we met my inlaws halfway at a hotel in Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving. I remember the meal being okay, but my MIL can do better.
You can also go all out and plan a getaway in one of their cottages or suites and pamper yourself at the Day Spa.
• Thanksgiving Menu At Camp Lucy – Dripping Springs
Camp Lucy’s new Resident Chef, André Natera, has come up with various lunch, brunch, and dinner menus, from elevated twists on your favorite classics to a family-style Thanksgiving feast. At the same time, delicious handmade desserts from Executive Pastry Chef Hannah Smith.
See Camp Lucy’s Thanksgiving Menu.
South Texas Thanksgiving Ideas
• 2023 Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony
November 24, 2023
Head to San Antonio’s Riverwalk Parade on Friday from 6:00-9:00 p.m. on the River Walk in San Antonio. Check it all out at the Ford Holiday River Parade. The parade starts right at 6 p.
• Santa’s Ranch – San Antonio/New Braunfels
November 03 – December 31, 2023, from 6-10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Fri/Sat)
A Texas Christmas display lights and the 50′ Christmas tree are all waiting to be adorned by family and friends at Santa’s Ranch.
Gulf Coast Thanksgiving Ideas
• Moody Gardens – Holiday In The Gardens
November 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024
A lot is going on in Galveston at Moody Gardens during the holidays, and it all starts before Thanksgiving and runs through the New Year!
North Texas Thanksgiving Ideas
• Lightscape at Fort Worth Botanic Garden
November 22, 24-26, 29-30, 2023
Treat yourself and your family to the gardens with over 1 million holiday lights flickering about. Not only that, but Santa Claus will appear in his old red jolly suit. Also, the Christmas Village comes with s’more-roasting options over fire pits. How fun! We are going in December. Get all the scoop, the December dates, and buy tickets at the Fort Worth Bontic Garden.
Tickets: Adults $18-$35. Children 3-12 $12-$25. Parking is an extra fee.
Order Your Thanksgiving Meal At H-E-B
Starts Mid-November
If you’re lucky enough to live close to an H-E-B, consider letting them do all the cooking. Treat yourself and your family to a traditional Thanksgiving feast with all the yummy sides. I can only hope we will one day get the Texas grocery store near us!
Sign Up For A Texas Turkey Trot
Thanksgiving Day
Check out all the Turkey Trots in Texas. Below are Texas’s cities that are having turkey trots on Thanksgiving.
North Texas Turkey Trot (Frisco)
Visit A State Park During Thanksgiving Week
Texas has many state parks (86 in all), and though offices are closed on Thanksgiving Day and the day after, it’s the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors with the family any time during the holiday. Plus, 2023 marks 100 years of Texas State Parks!
Book A Thanksgiving Getaway
The kids are out of school all week, so do something different this year and get away for the week or weekend to someplace near a lake, winery, in the country, hill country, somewhere warm – you get it. Heck, anywhere!
Go to a place where there is lots of fall foliage in Texas!
What ideas for Thanksgiving week in Texas would you like us to know?
Do you have any Texas Thanksgiving Traditions you do with your family every year? We would love to know them. Please let us know in the comment section. Thank you.
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