The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. - Psalm 28:7

"What if, today, we were grateful for everything?" – Charlie Brown

Happy Thanksgiving! I am wishing you a day and weekend full of rest, time with your family and friends, moments of blessing and gratitude. Don’t forget that we have some awesome Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales this week. If you haven’t yet, make sure you are on the email list to be the first to know all about all the sales! You can find all kinds of wonderful gifts for the women in your life and maybe buy yourself a holiday treat as well. 

In this blog, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. I love this holiday. The simple beauty of fall colors, delicious food, our favorite people gathered together and of course, the most delicious food. We can make this holiday even more memorable by creating our own traditions. All it takes is some creativity and intentionality! Before you know it, this week will be overflowing with thanksgiving traditions. 

CHOOSING YOUR TRADITIONS

“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day and leave out the gratitude." -E.P. Powell

The beautiful thing about traditions is that they are uniquely yours. You don’t have to keep any old traditions that you don’t like, you can try something once and decide it’s not for you, or you can find things that you will return to year after year. Tradition is just another way to build your life! To choose with intentionality how you will spend your days.

Cue the dad from Fiddler on the Roof… “Tradition! Tradition!”

I have noticed with my small kids that our family traditions are very important to them. Decorations, memories, activities, anything that makes a season or a day feel extra special. All these little things are building into their memory a sense of belonging, of family, of tradition. I love to see the joy that comes from doing something every year, and asking what they remember about doing it before. It creates a beautiful rhythm.

Which is why it’s so important for all of us to choose our traditions with care! When you choose your traditions, you should focus on things you love, activities that bring you joy, and anything that really matches your family’s style. For example, my husband, kids and I love watching movies together. So, we make movies a part of our traditions. But you might prefer Turkey Trots. In other words, don’t choose a tradition just because you think you should, or because someone else loves it. This can even apply to traditions that you used to love, but don’t fit your life anymore. Feel free to toss out what doesn’t work!

As we have built our own traditions, I found that I also like to give everything a “testing” phase. If I read of a tradition, I really think would be good for my family, I tell them (and myself) we are just trying this. After trying it, we can decide if we actually want to keep it as a tradition or pass on it next year. Try keeping this same philosophy for yourself as we go through the list of traditions below. 

SOME OF MY FAVORITE TRADITIONS

"Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside." – Willard Scott

Each of the things in this list is a tradition that I really value! Look over it and find the ones that stick out to you. Some may work perfectly, while others won’t work. My hope is that each of these traditions may inspire you to find activities and rhythms that best fit your life!

• Watching the parade! I absolutely love the Thanksgiving Day parade and it’s such a simple and easy addition to our day. I grab coffee for myself and my husband, tea for my kiddos, and make the couch all cozy. We find the parade on Peacock or NBC and watch the floats, marching bands, and wait for Santa.
• Grandma’s Rolls. For you, this might be a different recipe. However, I think we all have those one or two recipes that have been handed down. Sometimes they take extra time and work. So put in the time, just this once a year. 
• Crafts. My young kids really love doing holiday crafts! We keep it simple, because I’m not super crafty. So, we cut shapes out of paper and tape them up around the house. For Thanksgiving, it’s fall leaves and turkeys.
• Family Walk. I’m not a turkey trotter. However, I love a good walk in the cool crisp air! So after (or before, depending on the day) the big meal we all put on our shoes and meander around to the park together.
• Board Games. This one does make me cringe. I am not at all someone who enjoys board games. However! I have read over and over about the importance of family game time. So, I try really hard to enjoy game time with my kids.
• Special Moment for YOU! Every holiday, I try to get up a little extra early. I grab my coffee, Bible and journal, and sometimes a good book. I’ll light a candle, and make my normal quiet time extra special.
• Movie Night. On weeks where we have some time off, my family loves a good family night! For Thanksgiving, we usually watch Charlie Brown and one of our Christmas favorites (like Muppet Christmas Carol!). 
• Family Adventure! Every week, my family tries to do at least one adventure. These range in difficulty, time, and cost. However, they all include a sense of doing something special. For Thanksgiving week, we might go see lights at a zoo, visit a museum, or go on a hike and get hot cocoa on the way home.

What are your traditions that you think I should add to this list?

REFLECTION

I truly love traditions! It is something that I am super intentional about within my own life and my family. I look forward to certain things every year. And being thoughtful about Thanksgiving can make this holiday all the more rich and enjoyable. May your Thanksgiving be filled with all your favorite things!

Questions for reflection:

To get the most out of these questions, grab a journal and write out your answers. Allow yourself to ponder and reflect!

• What are your current Thanksgiving traditions? What do you like or dislike about them?
• Are there any traditions that don’t fit your life anymore? Any that you are ready to get rid of, or that you might want to return to later?
• What traditions would you like to “test”? When can you try them?
• What tradition from this blog post is one that you are really excited to try? 
• How are you going to build your own Thanksgiving traditions this year?

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. - Psalm 28:7

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. - Colossians 4:2

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be." –George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789