GUIDE
It's our baby's first Thanksgiving and the grandparents can't fly in. How do we make them part of the day?
By the seenow! teamLast updated:
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026. Mail a small keepsake by November 20 so it lands before the holiday, since there is no regular mail delivery on Thanksgiving Day. On the day itself, give the grandparents one planned job, such as a toast or a family recipe, instead of a call that runs through the whole meal.
WHY
Why this happens
A baby's first Thanksgiving is one of those days families picture long before it arrives: the tiny bib, the first taste of mashed sweet potato, everyone around one table. When the grandparents live a flight away, though, the trip is not always possible. Cost, work, health and the sheer effort of holiday travel all get a vote, and some years the answer is no.
Holiday air travel is also at its most crowded. TSA's daily screening counts for 2025 show how lopsided the week gets. The quietest day was Thanksgiving itself, and the busiest was the Sunday after, which set a record for the agency.
| Day | People screened by TSA |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 (day before) | 2,753,036 |
| Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving) | 1,559,165 |
| Sunday, Nov. 30 (Sunday after) | 3,134,613 |
Source: Transportation Security Administration: TSA checkpoint travel numbers, 2025
So the grandparents are home, the baby is with you, and the usual fix is a long video call during dinner. That often goes badly. The phone gets propped against the gravy boat, the baby is fussy or asleep, and the grandparents spend an hour looking at the ceiling. What helps more is giving them a small, defined part in the day, plus something they can hold in their hands.
HOW TO
What you can do starting today
Mail a first-Thanksgiving keepsake by Friday, November 20No app needed
A handprint turkey on cardstock, a printed photo of the baby in a holiday outfit, or a short note "from" the baby all fit in an ordinary envelope. USPS gives First-Class Mail a delivery estimate of 1 to 5 days, and in 2024 it announced no regular mail delivery on Thanksgiving Day. Working back five days from Wednesday, November 25, mail it by Friday, November 20, so it arrives before the holiday rather than the weekend after.
Source: USPS: Mail and shipping services / USPS newsroom: Postal Service closed on Thursday, Nov. 28, for Thanksgiving (2024)
Give each grandparent one job, not the whole mealNo app needed
Ask them ahead of time for something only they can bring: the family stuffing recipe, the grace they always say, a toast to the baby, or a short story about the baby's parent's first Thanksgiving. Schedule a 10-minute call right before you sit down, when the baby is likely to be awake, and let them deliver it. Then hang up and eat.
Cook their dish and send them the resultNo app needed
If they shared a recipe, make it and take a photo of the dish on the table with the baby nearby. It is a small thing, but it puts their kitchen at your table. Write the recipe on a card and keep it with the baby's first-year things.
Put the next visit on the calendar before the day endsNo app needed
Missing one holiday stings less when the next visit has a date. If they do fly in for a later holiday, look at the travel days themselves: in 2025, TSA screened about half as many people on Thanksgiving Day as on the Sunday after.
Source: Transportation Security Administration: TSA checkpoint travel numbers, 2025
WITH SEENOW!
Doing it with seenow!
seenow! is an app where family members each take a short video, about 2 seconds a day, and share it in a private group. On a day like this it can carry the small moments a long call misses.
- Make a group with just your household and the grandparents, and send them the invite link by text message. Only the people you invite can see the videos.
- Through the day, take a few 2-second clips with the seenow! camera: the baby in the high chair, the first bite, the nap in the middle of the chaos. Each one is short enough to grab between dishes.
- At the end of the week, seenow! builds a recap video from the clips on its own, so the grandparents get the whole first Thanksgiving in one short video without anyone editing.
What seenow! can’t do
- seenow! is not a live video call. For the toast or the recipe moment, use a regular phone or video call.
- Only photos and videos taken with the seenow! camera can be posted. Pictures already in your camera roll have to be shared another way.
Core features are free.
POINT
Things to watch for in this situation
Keep the call short if the baby is not up for it
Babies do not follow the holiday schedule. If the baby is asleep or crying at call time, move the call or hand the phone to another adult. The grandparents would rather see a happy baby for two minutes later than a tired one now.
Not every family celebrates the same way
Some families eat at noon, some at dinnertime, and some marry two traditions at one table. Ask the grandparents what part of the day matters most to them before you decide when to call.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is there mail on Thanksgiving Day?
For Thanksgiving 2024, USPS announced that Post Office retail locations would be closed and there would be no regular mail delivery except holiday premium Priority Mail Express. Plan for anything you mail to arrive by Wednesday.
Should we celebrate again when the grandparents visit?
Many families do a second, smaller dinner when relatives come later in the season. You can save one part of the day for them, such as the baby's first slice of pie, and do it together.
Is a long video call during dinner a bad idea?
It is not bad, but it rarely works as well as people hope. A short call at a planned moment, with a clear part for the grandparents, tends to leave everyone happier than an hour on a propped-up phone.