Our Youth

Did you know that Cayman Thanksgiving was the idea of an 8 year old girl? One afternoon while 8 year old Kayci and her mother were picking limes to make a jug of swanky, she asked her mother why Cayman didn't have their own thanksgiving day? Her mother paused, and after thinking for awhile, she shared Kayci's wonderful idea with her husband and some of their friends and soon after they planned a special meal in order to celebrate their very own Cayman Thanksgiving dinner together. It was so much fun that the next year they shared the idea of Cayman Thanksgiving with the entire country to give everyone an opportunity to give thanks their many blessings.

Click on the green words for fun word games that you may print and play.

Why we celebrate Thanksgiving

Cayman Thanksgiving is a time to talk about the things we do in Cayman that are special to us and maybe different from what others do. We chose this time of year to give thanks for having a safe hurricane season. It is a time to share our love for Cayman and celebrate a “Caymankind” of holiday by listening to music, playing games*, cooking delicious meals and sharing with our neighbours, just like our parents and grandparents did years ago. The plan was to have it on the weekend of the first Sunday in December when all of the families in Cayman would have dinner together and invite people who are not from Cayman to eat with them. It is also a time for people who don’t live in Cayman but have family and friends in Cayman to share in the celebration.

*You will need to print the Question & Score Sheet to play this game

Tell us how you plan to celebrate Cayman Thangksgiving

You and your family are a part of creating a new Caymanian tradition!  Like us our Facebook page (facebook.com/caymanthanksgiving) and tell us how you plan to celebrate Cayman Thanksgiving.  Share a pic of your favourite traditional Caymanian meal.

Markets@ the Cricket Grounds & West Bay Heritage Park

Come to the Market  at the Cricket Grounds or the West Bay Heritage Park on the Saturday 1st December of Cayman Thanksgiving to meet some of the farmers and see amazingly fresh ingredients that we make our favourite meals from.  There are also lots of great food and locally made products on sale.

Charity Begins @ Home

We can show our thanks by giving to others who are less fortunate than us.  One way to do this is by collecting and delivering groceries or hurricane supplies that were not used during this year to the needy.  Please think of some other ways that you could be kind to others as part of Cayman Thanksgiving.  Then share them with your family and friends and share it on our facebook page.   Subway Restaurants throughout Grand Cayman are collecting canned goods through Cayman Thanksgiving weekend.

Worship Service

Going to a church service is a very good way to show our thanks for the wonderful things around us. This can be used as a time to bring canned foods from our unused hurricane supplies to give to our church pantry to help the outreach to feed the less fortunate. We should also pray for our farmers and fishermen who give us the food we eat.

Thanksgiving Sunday

The Thanksgiving Dinner is the main celebration of Cayman Thanksgiving.  It is a time to have a family get-together and invite non-family members to have a Caymanian dinner made from the food grown here in Cayman.