When I was rearing my children, I had Turkey shaped candy dishes that we put out. And fall flower arrangements on the dining room table and the living room cocktail table. But mostly, I spent hours polishing silver and getting the crystal ready for the Thanksgiving Dinner. When the children were small we had them research the history of the earliest settlers and their hardships - and of course, we had extra practice on table manners because we didn't have formal meals very often and they didn't have soup spoons, bread knives, salad forks, etc. For a little child it is daunting to see 7 pieces of silverware at the plate. Now that they are all grown up and some have their own grandchildren I think a few of them still have to review their table manners before they go to a formal meal! LOL