Celebrating thanksgiving with your family.
Help your family celebrate Thanksgiving by establishing new traditions or adding some life back into traditions that may have lost some of their excitement. Many families begin the Thanksgiving meal by having each person name something they are thankful for.
Celebrating thanksgiving with your family.
Help your family celebrate Thanksgiving by establishing new traditions or adding some life back into traditions that may have lost some of their excitement. Many families begin the Thanksgiving meal by having each person name something they are thankful for.
Celebrating thanksgiving with your family.
Help your family celebrate Thanksgiving by establishing new traditions or adding some life back into traditions that may have lost some of their excitement. Many families begin the Thanksgiving meal by having each person name something they are thankful for.
For a change, you might want to select one of these activities as an alternative to this time-honored tradition.
1. Thanksgiving Wreath
Prior to Thanksgiving Day, cut out hand shapes of fall-colored construction paper. On Thanksgiving Day, each person writes one thing they are thankful for per cutout and then tapes it to a circle form, making a Thanksgiving wreath. During the meal, each person can share what part they added to the wreath.
2. Celebrate Unsung Heroes
After the Thanksgiving meal, put together several special plates of goodies and have the children create Thanksgiving cards. As a family, take the goodies and cards to local firefighters, police officers, or soldiers. Share your thanks and gratitude for others that help out in the community.
3. Symbols of Thanksgiving
Several days before Thanksgiving, encourage everyone to find two or three objects that represent things they are thankful for over the last year. On Thanksgiving Day, have each person show their objects and tell how they symbolize something they are thankful for.
4. Connect with Others
During the day, call or FaceTime faraway friends and family members to let them know that you are thankful for their relationship over the years. It is a great way to reconnect.
5. Gratitude Box
For several weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, each family member writes things they are thankful for on notecards or paper, and places them in a decorated box. On Thanksgiving Day, one family member takes all the cards out of the Gratitude Box and reads them aloud.
6. Take a Walk Down Memory Lane
If your Thanksgiving holiday includes relatives you do not have the opportunity to see very often, take time to share stories about past holidays, events, and traditions. This is a great opportunity for younger children to learn more about their family. You might want to record the stories to have in later years.
Thanksgiving is an American holiday full of tradition, family, and relationships. Regardless of how your family celebrates this special day, make sure to spend time thanking God for His abundance, love, and grace.
