Thanksgiving as an expat family: An opportunity to weave new rituals
Summary
Thanksgiving may not be a traditional holiday in Hong Kong, but for expat mums navigating this vibrant city, it’s a meaningful opportunity to blend cultures and cultivate gratitude. Adopting Thanksgiving in your unique way can create an empowering ritual for your family, regardless of your cultural background.
Hong Kong, a city of many cultures
Hong Kong’s cultural landscape is wonderfully diverse. Here, Western holidays often sit alongside local Chinese traditions, allowing expats and locals alike the freedom to borrow, adapt, and reinterpret rituals from all over the world. For expat mums, the question of which festivals to embrace and how to weave them into your family’s story can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Balancing new customs with the traditions you cherish from home can indeed create moments of emotional conflict, but it offers opportunities to weave your unique family tapestry.
The Value of New Family Rituals
Even if you’re not American, Thanksgiving can be a poignant addition to your family’s repertoire of celebrations. In Hong Kong, Thanksgiving is often seen as a prelude to the Christmas festivities. Restaurants across the city offer turkey dinners, but there’s no rule saying you need the classic menu to experience the spirit of the holiday. What matters is using the occasion to pause as a family before the busyness of December sets in.
Thanksgiving marks an intentional slowdown—a chance to tune into each other and savour togetherness. Unlike the sometimes frantic pace of December, this holiday’s focus is on simple joys: good food, shared stories, giving thanks, and reflection.
For our family, it is a deliberate precursor, an important transition into Advent and Christmas.
Gratitude as a Family Value
Gratitude isn’t just a polite habit; it’s a powerful mental and emotional skill. Studies show that children who cultivate gratitude enjoy stronger emotional well-being, greater empathy, and increased resilience. Regular gratitude practices can help kids manage anxiety and stress, and even support physical health through better sleep and lower stress levels.
As a family, creating a Thanksgiving tradition—large or small—offers a natural context to practice gratitude together. Whether you share what you’re thankful for around the dinner table, express appreciation through handmade cards, or simply enjoy a mindful walk together, these rituals help your children build emotional regulation, self-esteem, and strong social bonds.
Thanksgiving, a time of Reflection and Connection as a Family
Thanksgiving serves as a gentle prompt to look back over the year. Taking time as a family to acknowledge personal and collective growth—through both victories and challenges—helps kids develop perspective, hope, optimism, and resilience.
You don’t need perfection: a meal cooked with what’s available, a shared potluck, or even a finger-paint “gratitude turkey” can form the basis of memories that feel authentic and meaningful. In Hong Kong, where traditional Thanksgiving fare can be found at both high-end restaurants and home kitchens, the possibilities are wide open.
This reflection can deepen family connections and set an emotional tone for the festive season.
Honouring Traditions, Embracing Change
Feeling torn between your heritage and your adopted home is a common struggle for expats, especially around the holidays. The good news: you can honour your own traditions while experimenting with new ones. For example, include a dish from your home country in the Thanksgiving spread, or invite local friends to join and introduce them to your family ritual. Participating in local events, a community Thanksgiving dinner, enriches your family’s cultural experience and helps foster a true sense of belonging.
Thanksgiving, your “Good Enough” is Perfect
Above all, remember that there’s no such thing as the “right” way to celebrate Thanksgiving—or any holiday. Embrace the “good enough” version that works for your family:
- A turkey dinner out? Enjoy it, and let cleanup be part of your gratitude!
- A home cooked meal missing the pumpkin pie? Celebrate your effort and togetherness.
- Feeling too busy? Pause for a few moments of thanks, a quick note in a family journal, or family “gratitude jar”, or hugs all round.
Hong Kong offers the unique privilege of visibility and respect for many cultures. Lean into the comfort of doing Thanksgiving your way.
Set aside perfectionism and let gratitude, connection, and compassion guide your ritual this year.
My Love Letter to You Mama
Mama, I get it, the conflict of keeping parts of your original story, while celebrating and embracing your new opportunity is real. Adopting Thanksgiving as an expat mum in Hong Kong can be a joyful, grounding experience, helping your family cultivate both gratitude and resilience amidst the city’s glittering rush, if you tune into what matters most to you. By allowing yourself permission to create—and adapt—your own rituals, you offer your children not only comfort but a blueprint for thriving in a multicultural world.
Celebrate good-enough. Celebrate together. That is Thanksgiving, wherever you are…
If you need further support, or for a confidential discussion, please reach out to us.
Written by Lisel Varley
References:
- Ooi, Y. P., et al. (2022). Sociocultural Adjustment and Well-being Among Third Culture Kids and Their Families. JMIR Research Protocols.
- Sterle, M. F., et al. (2018). Expatriate Family Adjustment: An Overview of Empirical and Family-Systemic Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology.
- Wang, Y., et al. (2021). A literature review of gratitude, parent–child relationships, and well-being in children. Children and Youth Services Review
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