COVER STORY: Ideas on how to spend Thanksgiving weekend with family

Jessalyn and Dan Langevin enjoy family game night.

1 - Family Game Night

If you only have one night to spend together, bring out the board games for some family time. - Mahjong: This is a tile-matching game with four players, popular in China, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea. Movie-goers will remember the scenes from Crazy Rich Asians, as Rachel Chu challenges her mother to be. - Xiangai: Better known as Chinese chess, Xiangai is a popular, strategy board game for two players. Similar to chess, it challenges players to test their knowledge and strategizes to win. - Sushi Go!: This game is based on the idea of a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. As cards get passed around the table, each player figures out how to win and challenge each other.

2 - Turkey Trot

Instead of turning into a couch potato from the Thanksgiving feasts, sign up for the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot. The annual walk draws more than 9,000 people to Washington Park for a four-mile run or walk on Thanksgiving Day morning. The money raised positively impacts the lives of families across Metro Denver. Register at: unitedway denver.org/turkey-trot.

3 - Set Up the Christmas Tree

Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to set up the Christmas tree as it may be the only time the family can gather before Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Passover.

How to Spend This Thanksgiving Weekend with Family or Friends

By Mary Jeneverre Schultz

As college students return home from school and extended families gather for their Thanksgiving feast, watching football isn’t the only activity for large group gatherings.

Consider these at-home activities or ideas to get out and explore Colorado.

Take out the Christmas trimmings and decorate the house with holiday décor, including the Advent calendar, stockings over the fireplace, and placing wreaths throughout the house.

For a freshly-cutted Christmas tree, visit Tagawa Gardens which features hydrated Christmas trees from family farms throughout the U.S. Learn more at: tagawagardens.com.

4 - Attend a Live Show

Denver offers one of the largest nonprofit theatre organizations, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, presenting Broadway tours, cabaret, musicals, and innovative multi-media sensory participation. - Holiday productions scheduled during the Thanksgiving weekend include Camp Christmas and A Christmas Carol with additional shows and events in December. - With limited showings, the Lone Tree Arts Center and the Denver Academy of Ballet are presenting The Nutcracker. - The Ellie Caulkins Opera House will feature the Colorado Ballet performing The Nutcracker, starting Thanksgiving weekend thru December 24.

Holiday markets and festivals are the best way to find unique gifts and spend time with family searching for the perfect present. Numerous holiday markets are scheduled this time of year including: - Denver Christkindl Market - Holiday Art Market at Olde Golden Christmas - Cherry Creek Holiday Market

Photo credit: Denver Christkindl Market 6 - Visit museums, galleries, attractions

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is showing an exhibit called “Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection, which showcases artistic voice, gender, and agency from more than 100 works of paintings, calligraphy, and ceramics from 1600s to 1900s. Scheduled from November 13 to May 13, some of the artwork will be on exhibit for the first time to the public.

If art isn’t of interest for your family and out-of-town guests, head over to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. There is an exhibit that will excite everyone! One of the most popular exhibits is in the science area. It is called Apollo: When We Went to the Moon and premiered last October 21.

“The American space program today stands on the shoulders of those who worked to make the first footsteps on the moon possible,” said Ka Chun Yu, museum curator of space sciences.

Curious to explore history? Visit the Molly Brown House Museum to learn more about Denver. The Molly Brown House Museum hopes to spark conversations about shared past by using inclusive stories of struggle and triumph to better understand the experiences of today.

For younger members of the family, consider the Children’s Museum or the Denver Zoo. The Children’s Museum organizes Snow Days for children and their parents to discover winter wonderlands. The Denver Zoo offers animal exhibits, shows and even attractions from Asia, such as Toyota Elephant Passage, featuring Asian elephants, Malayan tapirs, and clouded leopards. The Chang Pa Wildlife Preserve, the Schoelzel Family Village, and the Village Outpost represents a different area in tropical Asia, showing an animal preserve, an urban center, and a country-side village.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? We want to hear from you! Share with us on Instagram @AsianAveMag.

Celebrate the Holidays at these Denver Attractions

The mile-high city has many family-friendly attractions and activities to enjoy as the holidays are around the corner! Visit the websites below to learn more and get tickets in advance.

Cherry Creek Holiday Market Children’s Museum

cherrycreekholidaymarket.com mychildsmuseum.org Denver Art Museum denverartmuseum.org Denver Center for the Performing Arts denvercenter.org Denver Christkindl Market christkindlmarketdenver.com Denver Museum of Nature & Science dmns.org Denver Zoo denverzoo.org Holiday Art Market at Olde Golden Christmas foothillsartcenter.org Ellie Caulkins Opera House coloradoballet.org/The-Nutcracker Lone Tree Arts Center lonetreeartscenter.org Mile High United Way Turkey Trot unitedwaydenver.org/turkey-trot Molly Brown House Museum mollybrown.org Tagawa Gardens tagawagardens.com

These tips come just in time for the month of thanks and gratitude!

Sending a personalized thank you note expresses the depth and profound way of sharing one’s gratitude.

A quick email or text helps in sending the thank you note quickly, but when someone writes a note on beautiful stationary, it makes the exchange so much more personable.

Here are the elements of a thank you note:

1. Start with a salutation. Depending on one’s relationship, you can write the name or use formal titles of Mr., Mrs., etc. Examples: Dear Mr. Herreria; Hello Kim Nguyen; My friend Mimi. friends since kindergarten. - You have been my Nana’s best friend since I was 10. - I appreciate your style of leadership and mentoring.

2. Be specific in the thank you

note. What and why are thanking the person? When one is specific, it is more personal. Examples: - Thank you for the help you gave me in meeting my deadline. - I appreciate the food processor you gave me for our housewarming party. Thank you for thinking of us in our new home. - I always love your cooking so thank you for the time and energy you put into making this delicious Chinese dumpling from your grandmother’s recipe book.

3. Include a personal comment and/or history of your relationship.

Examples: - It’s phenomenal that we’ve been

4. Open the door of opportunity for a chance to meet up or share a

future project. Examples: - I’ll be in your neck of the woods next month, let’s plan to get together soon. - Let’s have lunch next week. - I’m finishing a project you might be interested in. Let me know and I’ll send you details.

5. Sign off with polite grace. Examples: Yours truly; In friendship; My best to you.

Take time to practice your handwriting and use snail mail to send a thank you card to a loved one this month.

Connect with etiquette coach Bonnie Tsai to learn about social and business etiquette at: beyondetiquette.co.

Gratitude Books for November

Thank you, Mama by Linda Meeker and Sandra Eide Linda Meeker (@greyandmama) catapulted into popularity via social media as she recorded her son, Grey, expressing gratitude. Raised in a Vietnamese family, she taught her toddler the simple act of “thank you.”

thomasnelson.com/p/thank-you-mama

Gift of Gratitude by Claire E. Hallinan Born and raised in Japan, Claire E. Hallinan teaches mindfulness through her book, Gift of Gratitude. As a multicultural memoir, she shares her personal stories of strength and resiliency. Connect with her on Instagram

@claire.e.hallinan.

Gratitude Journal for Asian Kids by Terry E. King Designed to promote self-esteem, the journal encourages spiritual growth and appreciation of the beauty of life. Available on Amazon.

Say Thank You in Asian Languages

Language | Country | Phrase(s) Chamorro | Guam | Si Yu’os Ma’åse’ Chinese | China | Xièxie Hawaiian | Hawaii | Mahalo Indian | India | dhanyavaad Indonesian | Indonesia | Terima kasih Japanese | Japan| Arigatou Korean | Korea | Kamsahamnida Lao | Laos | Khobchai Tagalog | The Philippines | Salamat Taiwanese | Taiwan To-siā, Kám-siā, or Ló làt Thai | Thailand | Khop khun Vietnamese | Vietnam | Cảm ơn