Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite times of year. I love that thankfulness can help overshadow our needs and wants, with what we are already blessed with. I think we should make it a habit to be thankful all of the time, and not just during Thanksgiving. If you can never be grateful, you will never be satisfied.

This post is intended to show some different Thanksgiving traditions, and ways you can celebrate the holiday with your loved ones. I recommend keeping a journal of the things you are grateful for, so when you feel down you can look back at some of the things you enjoy about life, and be reminded of what you have. I also want to instill thankfulness in my children so they will not become envious of others, but will appreciate the things they have. I strongly believe that teaching them to look at what they have will help them with this task.

Thanksgiving Traditions

Here are some special activities and Thanksgiving traditions to celebrate what you are thankful for.

Pick a special person in your family each night before thanksgiving and have everyone at the table tell that person on their special day why you are thankful for them. It makes that person feel special and reminds everyone why we love that person. Thanksgiving Bingo- There are downloadable cards and instructions here: https://www.gifts.com/blog/thanksgiving-bingo Keep a Thanksgiving journal to keep that highlights what everyone is thankful for each year. This is really neat because you get to look back at family members that have passed away and see what they were thankful for in years past. You can get one for kids like this one: Gratitude Journal For Kids: Interactive with 30 Animal Coloring Designs (Journal and Coloring Series) or one for the family that looks like this: Thanksgiving Journal: The Thanksgiving & Gratitude Motivational Journal, Notebook for you to Reflect & Be Thankful. Give Thanks in All Circumstances. Get a tablecloth to use at thanksgiving and some sharpies. You can have each person trace their hands and write inside what they are thankful for. It is so cool to see children’s hands grow each year and see the hand prints of family members that may no longer be around. Here is a pretty tablecloth that you could do this with: Tablecloth you can decorate



Go on a Thanksgiving walk- Do a nature walk with the kids and create nature art to display during the season. Here are some great ideas! Nature Walk easy activities for kids crafts and scavenger hunt Get a clear ornament that can be filled. Have everyone write on a small piece of paper what they are thankful for. Put the papers into the ornament. Open the ornament at Christmas time to be reminded what you and your loved ones are thankful for. You can find clear ornaments that can be filled here: Clear Ornaments Make Thanksgiving printouts for the kids to color. Here are a couple free printouts: Scarecrow worksheet Turkey Worksheet



Have a pumpkin painting contest

Put out ingredients and have the kids make a thanksgiving dish or thanksgiving cookie decorating contest.

Make a thanksgiving keepsake like this one Thanksgiving Craft Picture Frame-Great for Preschoolers.

Make a Thankful Turkey like the one below!

Our favorite Thanksgiving tradition

Each year we usually make something that visually represents what we are thankful for. This year we decided to make a thankful turkey. Each night at dinner time we ask everyone what they are thankful for. Our family gets to choose a turkey feather and write out what they are thankful for, and add it to the turkey.

To start out you will need the long paper construction paper. Cut it in half so you have four long sheets of construction paper and one for the base. Choose what color you want the back of the turkey to be and fold the paper like a fan. you will then need to glue the folded paper together into a long strip.

I used regular Elmers glue but I would recommend using hot glue because it dries faster. Glue the folded paper to the base paper you will be using

Next cut out turkey feet and Glue it to the base. Stand up the back feathers and glue a toilet paper roll to the back of the turkey.

After that cut out turkey head and glue it to the toilet paper roll

Finally cut out feathers and tape them to paperclips that can be added to the back of the turkey.

Then your turkey is ready for you to write out what you are thankful for.

Make the holidays a bit better with a good attitude.

Adding and starting your own Thanksgiving traditions during the holiday can be rewarding. Just remember to value and cherish the traditions of those who have come before you. I have found that the relationships I hold with my loved ones are more important than me having control over the holiday. Remember to love, and be thankful for the people you have in your life and your holiday will surely go well.