5 Simple Family Traditions to Start This Thanksgiving

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Once school starts in September it seems like the family calendar begins to move forward in hyperdrive.  We have school pictures, football games, harvest festivals and on to the big holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  

 Many moms lament seeing Christmas decorations going up in their local megastores but they're there.

 So even though we are still working on Halloween costumes for the little ones it is still not too early to begin thinking about Thanksgiving.  With just a little preparation it is easy to celebrate a meaningful holiday that is fun for the entire family. 

 Here is a guest article from Stay at Home Mom Kristie Wall.

 5 Simple Family Traditions to Start This Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving has focused on family and gratitude since becoming a holiday in 1863, but nowadays it tends to center on overfilling our bellies. Make new traditions and memories this Thanksgiving and welcome Christmas with a full heart.

 Demonstrate Your Gratitude
Take a break at the beginning of November to make a "gratitude garland" to enjoy all month.
  • Gather colored construction paper, scissors, string, markers and tape
  • Trace and cut out enough leaf or hand shapes (either from real leaves or images from the web) for each person on construction paper making the stems long
  • Lay each shape out flat and spritz each side with water until damp; crumple up and lay flat again to dry
  • Once dry (should be crinkled like real leaves), have each person write something they are thankful for on a leaf or hand
  • Bend the stem over the length of string and tape to secure; add pinecones, yarn bows or other pieces of nature to embellish
  • Hang the garland along a wall, under a mantle or in a doorway.

Read, Play Along

Before Thanksgiving Day, read about the history of the first Thanksgiving on National Geographic Kids. For younger children, you could read books like "Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks" or "The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving."
You can further get your kids involved on Thanksgiving by having them help prepare and serve part of the original Thanksgiving meal (think corn or cranberries). Have them share its history with those at the table. Or, ask them to perform a skit depicting the first Thanksgiving.

Say Cheese

According to the greeting card industry, Americans send 1.6 billion cards around Christmas. Instead of holing yourself up in the computer room for hours or staying up late during the holiday rush, let the kids help plan and design this year’s Christmas card. By letting the kids help decide where and how the picture should be taken at Thanksgiving, they feel involved, and you don’t have to do it later. Minted.com has pages of beautiful designs that are easy to personalize so you don’t have to spend hours making something by hand. Have the kids help you pick designs, colors and sayings.

Let the Games Begin

Make playing a family trivia game a Thanksgiving tradition. It’s a way for family to get together to laugh and share old stories. You could make your own trivia game by having everyone write down at least one fact about each person attending, and then writing a question around that fact. You can download an answer booklet for each person and get the stories going.

Set the Stage

Another way to involve kids on Thanksgiving (but keep them out of the kitchen) is to have them make simple pine cone place settings for each person coming to dinner.
  • Gather enough pine cones, paperclips, construction paper, scissors, glue and markers
  • Glue paper clips to the top of each pine cone (so it sticks up vertically)
  • Trace and cut out one hand for each person and write a person’s name on each hand
  • Slide a paper hand into the paperclip and set on a dinner plate, name facing out

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Kristie Wall
Kristie is a stay-at-home mom with a business degree, and she writes for several mommy blogs.

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