Making Thanksgiving special

[Mi-chelle]

In the past I've always put my Christmas decorations up way early (sometimes in October:blush:) The last couple of years I've felt convited about skipping Thanksgiving, so to speak. This year has been a huge lesson in thankfulness. There is not a moment in our new house that I'm not reminded to be thankful. We lost so much but are not in need. I am surronded by God's provision for us and I really don't want to miss this opportunity to help my boys see this too. So tell me what are some of your favorite Thanskgiving tradtions?

[Jennifer in VA]

If we're home, our boys love watching "The Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade". Other than that, not many traditions.

[Krissie]

*The kids always make the centerpiece for the table. This year they are making Thanksgiving place mats and laminating them with our new laminator ;). They'll draw "what I'm thankful for" pictures on card stock and put their names and dates on the back before laminating. This way we'll have them year after year.

*The kids take turns each year saying grace.

*We bake together constantly, while discussing how thankful we are for...(fill in the blank)

[Rachel Jane]

During prayer before supper, each person says one thing for which they are thankful each of the 25 days leading up to Thanksgiving. See who can go the longest without saying the same thing twice.

I regret that I didn't write them down during their younger years when they were thankful for dirt or that someone didn't kiss them or something fun like that.

[MicheleNJ]

Here are some things we do:

Make a Thankful tree: Each year I cut out a trunk and bare branches and I cut out different leaf shapes in fall colors, red, brown, orange. On each leave we write something/someone we are thankful for. By Thanksgiving we have a pretty full tree. Here (http://koreamom.blogspot.com/2007/11/our-thankful-tree.html) is a picture of our trunk and branches

We make Pilgrim Hat cookies. Here are the ones we made last year: Pilgrim Hat Cookies (http://koreamom.blogspot.com/2008/11/pilgrim-hat-cookies.html)

Read lots of books about Thanksgiving: Cranberry Thanksgiving, The Night Before Thanksgiving (http://www.amazon.com/Night-Before-Thanksgiving-Reading-Railroad/dp/0448425297), The Thanksgiving Door (http://www.amazon.com/Thanksgiving-Door-Debby-Atwell/dp/0618771247/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254071537&sr=1-1), Books about the first Thanksgiving. There are so many out there.

Make Thanksgiving crafts: One year I cut out leaves from craft foam and we decorated them with rhinestones and hung them up. This year I want to do this bracelet (http://jennwa.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-bracelet.html)with the boys to remember the First Thanksgiving.

Make Pumpkin Pie Playdough here is the recipe

Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

You will need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
food coloring (6 drops of red and 15 drops of yellow)

Combine the dry ingredients in a nonstick saucepan. Add the oil, water,
and food coloring and whisk until smooth. Stirring constantly with a rubber
spatula, cook the mixture over medium heat until it forms a ball, about 3 to
4 minutes.Turn the dough onto a counter, let it cool slightly, then knead the
dough until it has a smooth texture, about 1 minute. The dough will keep up
to a week in a ziplock bag.

[MichelleTN]

Our Thanksgiving stretches out some. I like to include our hs Thanksgiving fellowship in our traditions.

HS--our hs group does a fellowship every year. It is for not only the families in the hs group but any of your own family you want to invite too (grandparents, aunt, uncles, cousins). My mom and dh's mom always come. I love that we can be with both our mom's and we can all celebrate together.
The turkey comes out of our hs group fund and the sides are brought by everyone. We eat with lots of laughing and talking. Then we get up and head to the sanctuary (it is held at a church). There the kids and some parents put on a variety show. Lots and lots of laughs. After we all pitch in and clean up. The kids spend that time playing and talking. Laughing and talking usually continues way into the night after the clean up.
I know this isn't exactly what you wanted to know about but it is an important part of our tradition. We consider our hs group part of the family.

Family --on Thanksgiving morning we watch the Macy's parade. I am usually fixing the last minute things for the family get together meal. I get the boys to help me make the stuff.
We always have Thanksgiving with dh's family but I make a pie and some other stuff to drop off at my mom's on the way. Whatever I am to take to dh's family I make a little extra and drop it by mom's on the way. Just my way of saying "thanks" to my mom.

The month of November we

read lots of books about Thanksgiving and being thankful
start buying extra things at the grocery for our church food baskets they give out each year near Christmas. Talking about being thankful we can help others (and remembering the year the church helped us)
talk about the things we are thankful for and the things we should be thankful for but forget alot of the times


Michele in NJ -- we made those Pilgrim Hat cookies last year. Everyone loved them.

[MicheleNJ]

Another thing we do that I completely forgot was attend our church's Thanksgiving breakfast. Then come home and watch either the local Philadelphia parade or the Macy's Parade.

[Kendra AU]

Macy's Day Parade (not that we can see it here)
Corn Pudding (it's the only time of the year we get to have it!)
Turkey Trot (put out by the YMCAs)
Thankful Tree (A jointed twig that we attach leaves with things we're thankful for.. sometimes we simply use a jar)


CurrClick has a set of notebooking pages (http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=21359&it=1&affiliate_id=23996) where you write a verse about thankfulness each day of the month. They were giving them away at one point.

Handprint Turkeys, i love seeing the kids handprints change each year. We usually make placemats with their handprints.

[Krissie]

:yes: We made those pilgrim hat cookies last year too!! They were a huge hit!!!

[Julie in AZ]

We're going to celebrate Sukkot this year as many historians believe it is what the Pilgrims were celebrating (isn't that cool?). I'm out of town, but I can post some links next week if anyone is interested.

We do a Pilgrims Way meal every year using the book, Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners. My kiddos love it. We use long napkins to the floor to grab the meat, only the eldest male can sit in a chair, etc. It's a riot. :lol:

ETA: One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving is to take communion as a family.

[Kendra AU]

Oo, we made pilgrim hats one year, and then we made turkey cookies (http://www.kids-party-paradise.com/images/turkeycookies.jpg) the next year. Mom loved them so much she STILL has them sitting in her kitchen. I've NO IDEA how they've not managed to rot or be nibbled on by unmentionables. All though last time I looked the turkey had melted a bit. :lol:

There's some fun ideas here (http://www.kids-party-paradise.com/thanksgiving-party-idea.html), including instructions for those cookies. :D My six year old was asking about Thanksgiving this year and it dawned on me he doesn't really know. So I'm debating doing a bit Thanksgiving month with them in November. They'd love it, we'll have to see how it goes.

[Holly S]

We also make a Thankful Tree...adding to it throughout the month of November. Some other traditions are Thanksgiving books. My favorites are: Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration (this one is Christian so your local Christian bookstore might have it), It's Thanksgiving by Jack Prelutsky (book of cute poems), Sarah Morton's Day/Samuel Eaton's Day (two books about pilgrim children), A Plump and Perky Turkey (very cute)...that's all I can think of for now. I have a few children's books on the history of Thanksgiving, but I can't remember any of the titles at the moment.

We also read Cranberry Thanksgiving and make cranberry bread. :yum:

[April in PA]

A Plump and Perky Turkey

I LOVE this book! It just cracks me up when I read it, and my kids think it's just so silly. It's a fun one, although someone else in my county has figured that out and it's not always easy to get from the library!

[Crystal]

One year I did a Bible search on "Thanksgiving" and "Thankfulness" at www.biblegeteway.com I printed verses in pretty fonts and in pretty warm fall colors and plcced them on the table. Each guest had one to read. I also put conversation starters that I printed at each place setting as well. Like; "What is one of your favorite Thanksgiving memories from childhod", "What are you thankful for this year specifically" , "Your favorite family Thanksgiving tradition". I Love Thanksgiving

[Ging]

We have a turkey decorating contest and everyone has to participate if they want to eat. I decorate the kitchen with turkeys from years past. The adults compete to be the top turkey of the year -the prize is a bag of peanuts or something along those lines. The loser gets a can of Spam. We've had turkeys decorated with anything and everything -each year it gets wilder. All the children receive a prize in some category -I make as many categories as needed.
I make pumpkin rolls every year. I always make an extra one just for DH. Everybody loves them but I only make pumpkin rolls at Thanksgiving.
DH and dc make cresent rolls together on T'giving day. It's just the pop em open kind but it's their tradition.
One day before Thanksgiving I let dc make their own T'giving meal without help from me. They bake a chicken instead of a turkey. They plan their own activities for their special celebration.
We have special books that we always read. Of course Cranberry Thanksgiving is one and we always make cranberry bread.
Usually DH works on putting up the outdoor Christmas lights in the afternoon. I usually plan a Christmas craft for evening as we kick off the Christmas season.
Ging

[Denise H]

Here are some things we do:

Make a Thankful tree: Each year I cut out a trunk and bare branches and I cut out different leaf shapes in fall colors, red, brown, orange. On each leave we write something/someone we are thankful for. By Thanksgiving we have a pretty full tree.



We do a Thankful Tree each year, too. I draw ours on a posterboard with markers, and we all write things we're thankful for and glue them to the tree. I keep the paper leaves, pens, and glue sticks in a basket, so we can add to the tree for several days.

We read Thanksgiving books and do lots of cooking and baking. Usually we make butter in a jar.

[Lindsey Carter]

I love these ideas! Here is one that we have done for years. Each person is given 3 popcorn kernels at Thanksgiving dinner. Just before we eat a small basket is passed around and each person says 3 things that they are thankful for while they place the kernels in the basket.

[Linda M.]

We also do a Thankful Tree, participate in the Samaritans Purse Shoeboxes and try to visit a local nursing home. This year I am trying to make more of an effort to expose my children to those who really are in need so a trip to our local homeless shelter or soup kitchen may be in the works. :)

[Nancy Ann]

We use to always put up our decorations Thanksgiving weekend as well. This year we have decided to have a new tradition. Usually the first weekend in December we remember Saint Nicholas. (Dec 6th) Since he was a man who gave to the poor, especially children we prepare for St. Nicholas day on Thanksgiving weekend by going through our home and taking out things we don't need and having my son go through his toys for ones he has outgrown or doesn't play with. We also have a family shelter close to us that I am going to call and see what their needs are. This also seems to tie into Thanksgiving by being thankful for what we have and sharing with those who are in need. Than on St. Nicholas day we wil put up christmas decorations and get our family tree and have a little mini celebration.

[Kendra AU]

To make our Thanksgiving Special I've thrown together 30 days of crafts/learning all based on Thanksgiving for my kids. :D Kinda like those Christmas Craft Bags.. The kids are psyched. I'll post the list on my blog this weekend. :)

[LisaM]

To make our Thanksgiving Special I've thrown together 30 days of crafts/learning all based on Thanksgiving for my kids. :D Kinda like those Christmas Craft Bags.. The kids are psyched. I'll post the list on my blog this weekend. :)

Kendra, I can hardly wait to check it out! :)

[Kendra AU]

Lisa, it's up and ready. :) 30 Days of Thanks & Giving (http://aussiepumpkinpatch.blogspot.com/2009/11/30-days-of-thanks-giving.html)...

[Christi in OH]

That is just fantastic Kendra!!! Thank you so much. I was just wishing I did a better job celebrating the holidays. Here God has provided for me just what I was looking for.

Thank you!! :clap:

[Renee C]

Oh wow, Kendra! Thank you so much!! I had been wondering what I could do this year in addition to our thankful tree and handprint turkeys. These will be perfect for my DS.

[LisaM]

Lisa, it's up and ready. :) 30 Days of Thanks & Giving (http://aussiepumpkinpatch.blogspot.com/2009/11/30-days-of-thanks-giving.html)...

I just printed it out (we've been out of ink at home :perplex:) . . . we may not get 30 days, but I'm so looking forward to focusing on thankfulness with my dc. Thanks for all your hard work, Kendra, and for being willing to share it with us!

[Mi-chelle]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. Kendra your plans are great. Linda let me know if you make any of those visits a group project.
Counting My Blessings,

[TrishaG]

We're going to celebrate Sukkot this year as many historians believe it is what the Pilgrims were celebrating (isn't that cool?). I'm out of town, but I can post some links next week if anyone is interested.

:hi: Oooohhh...yeah, ME!! I'm interested, :hi: I'm interested!!



ETA: One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving is to take communion as a family. :thumb: We do communion nightly during Advent. One of our favorite (newer) traditions!

[Alicia]

We are going to a Thanksgiving church service at 11:00 am, followed by a Thanksgiving feast at our church.

We always learn Thanksgiving hymns, and ds plays them on the piano.

We learn scripture that emphasizes thanksgiving, such as Psalm 100, etc.

Every year we study about the Pilgrims, reading different books and historical accounts.

We play a special Thanksgiving cd during Thanksgiving week and when we eat our meals.

I decorate the house with "country" turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indians.