Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of cooking, football and expressing love and gratitude for those who make life worth living. Capitalists and big box retailers are taking that away from Americans and turn Thanksgiving into another day to bolster the bottom line. It is time to take back Thanksgiving before these ne’er-do-wells get a foothold on the last bastion of family time.

Those who enjoy watching football on TV are in luck as long as they own a DVR or another way to get rid of the commercials. If a family happens to not have this convenience, it may be better off avoiding the TV and its commercials altogether.

That means filling those hours of family time with meaningful activities. Board and card games can be fun if everyone remembers that it is just a game. Try Charades or Win, Lose or Draw – it is hard to be mad when family members are doing ridiculous things to get their points across. To make it more fun avoid the points altogether, don’t even keep score.

Do something creative. You will need to plan ahead to get the supplies, but Thanksgiving is the perfect time to get together and make your Christmas presents for those who are far away. They don’t have to fancy or great, they just have to come from the heart.

Eat plenty of dessert. If you are lucky, you will be so full that going out to buy something during Thanksgiving will be more of a chore that can wait than a must-do event that retailers want it to be.