It's not often that your entire extended family gathers around one table to enjoy a meal. Once, maybe twice a year, at best.

So instead of sending the kids away to make noise somewhere else, or jumping up to clear the table ... why not take advantage of this rare opportunity to share some stories? 

In her article, "Pass the Talking Fork," Odds Bokin suggests a Thanksgiving-day twist on the "Talking Stick," a Native American tradition. The stick is passed from hand to hand, or from storyteller to storyteller. Whoever holds the stick (or fork, in this case) also holds the attention of everyone else at the table. 

The person with the fork will share a memory – a personal one or a story about another family member. Childhood stories, Thanksgiving-day memories, Uncle Joe's cigars, a family cross-country adventure, Grandpa's jokes .... whatever comes to mind.

As Bokin points out, children will get a kick out of the stories that their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles share .... and they'll love it when it's their turn to hold the fork!

And kids (and adults, too) will be put at ease when they realize that "telling a story is simply remembering things and talking about them in their own words." 

Put the coffee on! It may be a late night ....