There are many reasons for me to feel grateful this year. I am thankful to my parents for showing my sisters and I the meaning of family. I am equally grateful to my husband for being a great partner and father to our daughters. With all of my family, I am thankful for the traditions that have stuck through the years, and the new traditions that have yet to be made.
One of my very favorite traditions growing up comes from my dad. He loved all things holiday from Thanksgiving to Christmastime. Each year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we’d put up our Christmas tree. In the moment, as children, we likely huffed and puffed about lugging out ALL the bins of decor. However, now, since he’s passed, I cherish those memories of his silliness. The holidays with five siblings were always chaos, but it will always be happy memories for me. The most important thing I learned from my dad was about traditions and Thanksgiving time was no exception. I will forever be grateful to him and my mom for the emphasis put on the importance of building these memories and traditions with family.
I reached out to the FCMB Contributor team, and here are some of their favorite Thanksgiving traditions:
Daria shared her favorite activity for Thanksgiving in a post earlier about gratitude practice for kids. Her tradition includes a Thankful Turkey, which can help toddlers learn about being grateful.
Lauren shared: “Growing up, we always hosted Thanksgiving in our house and my mother made my grandmother’s stuffing every year. Once we all grew up, my mother stopped hosting and we would go to other relatives homes, so we didn’t have our beloved stuffing. Now that we host it in my home, the kids and I make it every year and it brings me back to my childhood and fills me with joy!”
Jamie states: “We spend Thanksgiving at home and I do all the cooking. Since my husband is a Detroit Lions fan, and it’s usually one of the only days that they are on a network for a full game, we’ve always turned down any invites. We watch the parade with the kids, play football in the yard, and I make our favorite pudding pie from my grandma’s recipe. This year, I’m doing an ABC of things to be thankful for with my oldest (almost 5) and plan on making some of Daria’s thankful turkeys.”
