Are you remembering to start a Thanksgiving tradition with your family this year?
Nothing thrills me more than something fun which also fulfills my family’s core values in life.
Most of us share that core value called “gratitude. ” This Thanksgiving Season is a great time to be expressing that part of life. The more ways you use and express gratitude the better.
Traditions started around the family table are very helpful in this regard.
Do you want to make this act of tradition setting a very easy and fun part of Thanksgiving at your house this year?
You can!
Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
USING CRAFTS
This is a very simply but enjoyable craft for families with young children.
Find a photo of a turkey, trace the outline of the turkey’s body. Cut the silhouette out on some brown construction paper. Glue the turkey’s body onto the construction paper. Place the turkey (minus tail-feathers) on a plate or board or anything that displays the turkey. Cut many tail feathers out of colored paper in various fall colors. Put one tailfeather on everyone’s Thanksgiving plate.
Let everyone write what they are most thankful for on their tailfeather with a marker. Before the meal everyone should glue their feather to the turkey and proclaim their most thankful blessing of the year.
These announcements should all be remembered when the Thanksgiving blessing is offered later. The person praying could pause for each person to name their blessing, then continue the prayer. This is so easy, but so very effective too.
These blessings might encourage positive conversations around your Thanksgiving table. People will be discussing the things your group has shared with each other. What better way to start the day? Thankfulness sure beats political conversations, especially on election years.
Here is a good link for finding other fall crafts: https://jennifermaker.com/fall-crafts/, 27 Easy Fall Crafts That Are Super Fun to Make – Craftsy Hacks.
MAKE THANKFULNESS YOUR MAIN SUBJECT
You will find that you share more this way because you have opened the door for an easy way to approach the subject of thankfulness. Having this particular turkey-fellow around will make expressing your gratitude out-loud a lot less complicated and a lot more fun. No one will find time for gossip or negativity.
Of course, there are a million other ways to do this, depending upon the ages and types of people gathered together.
You never know what kinds of memories will come from just one little gesture.
This is a great year to start making those Thanksgiving family traditions come alive.
STORY TELLING
Another tradition we love at our house is to tell or read stories together. We have compiled our own favorite family tales into a book which is highlighted by each of the seasons.
Why not pick out a “Fall” story shared by your family to read to everyone gathering at the Thanksgiving season? At the end of each year ask for new submissions to add to your family-stories collection. Find a printer who will print these stories into a nice booklet for you. Give out copies at your next family reunion. This tradition will carry over all year into every season your family or group decides to gather.
If you want to get all of the extra out of this suggestion, create a bio of the family member or friend who originally shared each story. You will then have a historical blessing for each contributor as well as some unusual amusement for all who attend your gatherings. Don’t forget to take photos. It will be interesting over the coming years to compare last year’s clothes and hair to the modern times when you are still reading and sharing your family’s stories.
PLAN A CAMPING TRIP
Want some more great suggestions?
Maybe your family loves camping. Fall is the BEST time for exploring the outdoors. After the traditional family celebration, why not take just your immediate family on a weekend camping escape? It is beautiful in the woods this time of the year. The weather is just right. Take a few blankets and jackets and do a little star-gazing in the evenings.
Spend your days hiking and kayaking or canoeing.
Gather a few new leaf-craft ideas for the kids. Take a pumpkin along and roast it, or create a new pumpkin recipe for campfire roasting. Roast a few marshmallows too or have a few some-mores. Sing a few fall songs around your fire.
Pick your favorite way to enjoy an outdoors outing and go make some memories today!
THE BLESSINGS CRAFT
Looking for an idea that doesn’t cost a cent?
One year we asked our children to take the week before Thanksgiving and write down their best blessing each day. They each decorated a paper sack to keep their notes describing their blessings. On Thanksgiving Day we all pulled out one card at a time and shared our thankfulness together.
Another thing we have done in the past is to memorize Psalm 100. On Thanksgiving Day we all repeated it out loud together. It served as the blessing for our meal together. The Psalm is full of expressions of Thanks to God for all of the abundance He bestows upon us every year. Now, more than 30 years later, all four grown children can still recite that Psalm word-for-word. Hopefully, their kids will do the same.
Using your imagination, think of the things your family relates to the most and be creative with your gratitude. Enjoy some wonderful new traditions.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
HAVE FUN WITH IT!!!!