There are some traditions that make Thanksgiving a treasured day, like spending time with family, indulging in a dinner with all the fixings, settling in for the night as your food coma hits.
This year, keep the traditions you love and swap the ones you don’t for some new experiences. Make Thanksgiving a holiday filled with fun family memories and go beyond the typical dining room chaos. Spend your turkey day skiing and staying slopeside. Book before October 23 and spend four days skiing for only $87/day. Aside from spending it on the slopes, here are some other ways to refresh your Thanksgiving this year:
Tradition to Ditch: Spending All Day In the Kitchen
Even while family fills the living room, there is always someone stuck in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the food or hoping the turkey was put in the ice bath in time to defrost.
New Tradition: Spend All Day Enjoying the Great Outdoors
Why not spend some time with the local canines and try out dog sledding. The kids won’t forget how much fun these pups were or the experience of being a real musher! And if that’s not on your bucket list, we have plenty of winter activity options! Take a winter hike or try out a guided snowshoe tour, reach the peak from the comfort of a snowcat with a scenic snowcat tour, or take a moonlit gondola ride up to Sunspot! You can still get a Thanksgiving meal when you end your day at Doc’s right at the base of Winter Park. Call 970-722-5450 for reservations.
Tradition to Ditch: Stress
Don’t settle for writing off this time of year as a stress magnet. Thanksgiving kicks off the most wonderful time of the year. It should feel like that.
New Tradition: Spa Day
Instead, if the serenity of the mountains and escape from real life isn’t enough to bring you inner peace. Book yourself a lil’ something-something right in the Winter Park Village at Alpenglow Massage. You can get anything from a Traditional Thai Massage, to a Hot Stone Massage, or Sports Recovery Massage. Looking for a full day of pampering? Head over to Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa to the Ranch Creek Spa.
Tradition to Ditch: Not Having a Place to Go for Friendsgiving
Your apartment is cramped, your old college roommate doesn’t have a working stove, and your friend of a co-worker’s friend who offered to host has 4 cats in her studio.
New Tradition: Spend the Day Riding & Get Dinner in the Village
If you call Denver home, but your family lives across the country, why not spend a day or two with the gang skiing. Avoid the awkward small talk and hit the slopes instead. Then, catch the afternoon of football plus a full Thanksgiving meal in the Village at Doc’s. The whole crew can then spend the night and hot tub with a bottle of wine instead of fighting over the lumpy futon.
Tradition to Ditch: Big Fuss for Family Photos
Is an explanation needed?
New Tradition: Get Christmas Card Worthy Shots on the Mountain
Skip the matching sweaters and the begging and pleading to get everyone to look at the camera. This year, have Parry’s Peak as your backdrop, and you can’t take a bad photo. Well, no promises.
Tradition to Ditch: Arguing with Family
We can’t totally promise this one, but we all should have goals.
New Tradition: Tubing and Hot Chocolate after Dinner
Keep the family busy, and instead of allowing downtime to be filled with bickering, get on the tubing hill. It’s hard to be mad when having this much fun! Everyone in the family can join in – young or old! Watch from the slopes or the live video indoors where you can enjoy warm cookies, gourmet hot chocolate or a Colorado craft beer from the cozy Hill House.
Tradition to Ditch: Black Friday Insanity
Is that discount toaster really worth the two hours in line?
New Tradition: Spend Friday at Tree Lighting
If you really have the itch to shop, support small businesses in the Village during our Holiday Market. And then grab a hot chocolate, listen to carolers, and join us for the magical moment when we light our tree by the ice skating rink.
We all have traditions that make the holidays feel like, well, the holidays. And with a Thanksgiving spent in the mountains, you don’t have to sacrifice the turkey and mashed potatoes, the family time sharing what you are grateful for, or the jump start on Christmas shopping. But maybe this year, you can drop the chaos and instead focus on the traditions that really matter. Make your reservation today!