Traditions for Thanksgiving

Taken from More than Just a Wishlist by Marilyn

I used to be concerned that Thanksgiving would get lost with the prospect
of Christmas coming, so we put Thanksgiving in its proper place first. Our
younger children dress up in their pilgrim and Indian costumes to help us remember
the heritage the Pilgrims left us.

We have fun listening to Focus on the Family’s account of Squanto’s life and how he was used as an instrument in the hand of God on behalf of the Pilgrims.

In recent years my daughter-in-law and daughters have come up with a couple of
wonderful ways to appreciate Thanksgiving for what it is and also transition us into the Christmas season. Kari and Kate had the idea of making a wreath to show our gratefulness to God and then use that wreath as the main wreath of our Christmas celebrations that year. The first year, everyone had their name on a gingerbread boy or girl, which we made from an ornament recipe, and on the back they wrote something they were thankful to God for that had occurred in the past year. Every year they creatively plan a new wreath. One year they used miniatures to represent notable occurrences in each one’s life during the year, such as a new baby, a marriage, Tuck shooting his first deer, etc. Last year we had colorful balls on which we wrote in glitter glue something we were thankful for.

It was also their idea to begin what we call a time capsule. It’s a record of goals set and goals accomplished, and reflections on notable things that happened since the last Thanksgiving. They change the form every year. So we store everyone’s form in a old popcorn container in the attic until next year. Each person reads their own to see if they met their goals and be reminded of how God has blessed their life.