Shake up the traditional menu or start a new tradition to energize this year's family gathering. Whether you have two or 20 at your table this year, keep the festivities fresh. Here's how:

• Start a tabletop memory cloth. Set the holiday table with a white cotton cloth and jars of fabric markers. Then encourage guests to create personal place settings before the meal, signing their names, drawing pictures or writing messages to enjoy every year.
• Thanks with a twist. Have each person write something he's thankful for on a slip of paper and sign his name on the other side. Wrap the slips in crescent-roll dough and bake. At the table ask everybody to share the message inside their rolls.
• Make cleanup a guys' game. They won't even miss a play of the big one if they hurry into the kitchen at halftime or a timeout to snap leftovers into storage containers and load the dishwasher. (Just make sure the cooked food hasn't been kept at room temperature longer than two hours before it's put away in the refrigerator.)
• Save something for later. Put pie in a keeper and coffee in an insulated bottle so it's ready to serve when the family gathers for dessert later.
• Cook for those on call. Make turkey casserole or a hot soup from your leftover meal to surprise folks such as emergency personnel at your local hospital who have to work the holiday weekend.
• Get creative with your kids. Put on a play such as a reenacted first Thanksgiving and get everyone involved, from writing scripts to crafting costumes. You'll end the day with smiles all around.