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Some callouts are a natural fit for Thanksgiving -- recipes, what you're thankful for, family photos. Here are more ideas to find out your readers' holiday traditions:
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Tournament of food This one would have to be started right away, but you can have a lot of fun with asking readers to vote, NCAA March Madness bracket-style, for their favorite Thanksgiving food. Start with a bracket of eight or 16 foods, then ask readers to vote on whether pumpkin pie beats sweet potato pie, fresh cranberries win out over jellied, etc. Here is a bracket you can riff off of, and a similar contest the Arizona Republic does every year with Halloween candy (click on View all matches to see the whole tournament). |
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Leftover recipes Ask readers for their holiday leftover recipes. Readers are bound to have ideas for turkey, but what about all those potatoes, casseroles and desserts? Ask how long readers can make their leftovers stretch. |
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Who's a non-turkey-eater? Run a callout to see what else your readers are eating for the Thanksgiving meal besides turkey. Tofurky? Turducken? Tacos? This callout could also lead to some good sources for a Nov. 25 story, on how families had nontraditional dinners. |
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Speaking of traditions ... Ask readers for their Thanksgiving traditions. Who has a family football game or trivia night? Is there a certain prayer grandpa leads the family in, or Bible verse that's read before dinner? Do the meal's dishes -- maybe even the plates themselves -- have special meaning in a certain family? This is another way to find interesting sources for that Friday edition centerpiece. |
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Speaking of centerpieces ... Ask kids (and their parents) to send in photos of all the Thanksgiving crafts they're doing in school or for the holiday table. In your Thanksgiving edition and online, wouldn't it be cool to see a page or two of hand turkeys, cornucopias and other centerpieces or table art done by local kids? |
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... and more centerpieces Ask readers to send in photos and stories about their Thanksgiving table centerpieces. Have some been in their families for decades? Have local decorators designed any tables they're proud of this season? Do any have funny stories to them? |
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Give space to charities Run a callout through Christmas for local charities to send in their information on how readers can help them with time, money, canned goods and more. Do any of your charities or local organizations sell holiday cards? List their information and run a photo of the cards. This, too, might make a nice centerpiece story if you have many local options. |
