I have always loved traditions.
I am the one in my family that demands the egg casserole every year for Christmas breakfast (even though my mom really wants to start trying new recipes) because it’s a tradition.
It’s what we do every year.
For me, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without it!
Traditions enrich our lives.
They give us a sense of belonging and connectedness to the ones God has blessed us with on earth.
Traditions create meaningful moments and lasting memories.
Traditions help preserve the family values we want to pass down to our children and our children’s children.
With that said, I wanted to share a few Thanksgiving Traditions that will help your Happy Home experience real gratitude amidst the food and fellowship of the holiday.
Take time to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness this Thanksgiving with one of these ideas.
Maybe you will find something that will become a tradition for years to come!
Are you just stunned by the beauty? 🙂
This is a Thankful Tree by Simply Vintagegirl.
Every Thanksgiving, have your Happy Buddies help you pick a few branches from the yard, stick them in a glass vase, and then cut out a bunch of paper leaves (or circles in the above case).
Each night in November, or at your Thanksgiving dinner, have guests and family members write what they are thankful for and hang it on the tree.
Your Thankful Tree will become a treasured centerpiece year after year!
Family Fun shared the tradition of having Annual Turkey Day Awards to celebrate the year’s achievements.
Awards are given to everyone in attendance at your Thanksgiving celebration and are catered to that person’s life.
Maybe Aunt Lulu gets Best Haircut of the Year award or Grandpa Paul receives the award for Knowing the most Scriptures (or being alive the longest! :-)).
Whatever the awards are, silly or serious, everyone will appreciate the recognition and anticipate the next year’s Turkey Day Awards Ceremony.
Here is an unexpected and delicious tradition your Happy Home will love!
Every year for Thanksgiving, Beauty and Bedlam records her Happy Home’s gratitudes on slips of paper and then bakes them into the dinner rolls.
Go HERE for the complete instructions and recipe, but her family loves choosing their bread to see which relative’s thankful thoughts are inside!
You can even leave the family members’ names off of the slips and have everyone try to guess who wrote what!
This is a clever keepsake from the ever-amazing eighteen25.
Buy a book, have Thanksgiving dinner guests and family members sign it with what they are thankful for, add a group photo, and then repeat each year!
And, finally, this is my FAVORITE!
Look at what a simple, white king-sized sheet-turned-tablecloth can become after 30+ years of Thanksgiving dinner guests and family members signing and adding their thoughts to it!
The gal above embellished her Happy Home’s tablecloth every year with embroidery, but for those (ahem-ME) who do not know how to do anything with a thread and needle, there are always fabric markers. 🙂
Pull your beloved tablecloth out each year for a feast of memories and treasures.
Are you off to buy a sheet now? 🙂
Want MORE Thanksgiving Tradition Ideas? Check out THIS GREAT POST!
Happy Thanksgiving Tradition-ing! 🙂
Heidi @ Decor & More
Love all of these– I actually do a Gratitude Tree with my preschoolers. Love to write down what comes out of their innocent little hearts and minds. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Visiting from HOH
tiffany
great idea’s super cute!!
http://itsacowgirlthing.blogspot.com
Carissa Brasington
So fun!
Yolanda @ One Family Table
Love these ideas!! I’ve been searching for fun traditions to start up with my young family. Thanksgiving gets so run over by all the attention on the food, the football, the black Friday sales, and Christmas around the corner. An idea I’ve been playing around with is making an advent calendar of sorts leading up to thanksgiving, but instead of a little toy or treat, it would be a little note each day stating something I appreciate about each child so that they know just how much we cherish them.
Karen
Oh that Thanksgiving tablecloth is to die for!!!! I am a quilter, so that caught my attention and my heartstrings right away! Love it!
I created a FREE PRINTABLE for Thanksgiving that’s designed to get guests thinking about and sharing the special qualities that they love about those around the Thanksgiving table. Just print out the template and then let each guest write down what they love about the others… easy as that. Then start your meal with each guest reading the list of things others love about them… what a warm way to start a visit and focus on the people we are so thankful for!!
Find the FREE PRINTABLE at http://simplyfunfamilies.com/celebrate-american-thanksgiving-with-this-free-printable/