Creating and Preserving Thanksgiving Memories
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. Families around the country gather to spend the day together, eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and yet each famiily has its own traditions and its own unique ways of interacting with one another.
If you are like me, you enjoy setting a pretty table, creating delectable foods to enjoy, and making the day a real treat for your loved ones.
Why not take the time to take good photos of the table, or the food, and of the family gathered together around the table, in the kitchen, or piled on the couch around the football game? Once the photos are developed you can have lots of fun and create a memory book or layout of your Thanksgiving Day.
1. Recipe Memories. Does your grandma always bring the stuffing? Or maybe Aunt Martha has a legendary Chess Pie. Maybe a new recipe you tried has now become a hands down favorite. Make a Thanksgiving Recipes Scrapbook. Take a picture of the dish. Ask your Grandma to handwrite her recipe for the stuffing on a pretty Autumn recipe card. You will forever cherish her handwriting and the recipe can be passed down from generation to generation! You can print free recipe cards from www.alenkasprintables.com.
2. The Thanksgiving Table. After you have set the table ever so carefully, added your final touches, snap a photo at a couple of different angles. You might even want to focus on certain details like place cards or your Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers. When doing your layout, add a list of your menu, a sample place card, and any other special mementos.
3. My Favorite Things. Create a list of all your favorite things about Thanksgiving. My Favorite Pie, My Favorite Smell, My Favorite Sound, My Favorite Activity, etc. You might even ask your husband and children to add their own lists.
4. I am Thankful For… You can create a layout of different photos, i.e. photo of the family together, one of the table, one of the food, etc., and make a bullet style list of your blessings.
5. Scarp an Activity. Why no preserve the fun of the Thanksgiving football game, or maybe your family likes to play a particular game after the meal every year. Those are memories that will mean the most long after everyone has forgotten that the green bean casserole burned, or that the pumpkin pie was out of this world yummy.
6. Record the Past. Sometimes we don’t have photos of memorable family gatherings. But you don’t need a photo to create a great scrapbook page! Record a favorite story or stories of your Favorite Thanksgiving or Dad’s Thanksgiving Football Fumble. Whatever it is, you should record the memory for your children and future generations. People don’t tell stories the way they did years ago. Children learn a lot about where they come from when they hear stories of family members that perhaps are no longer around or won’t be when they are old enough to remember.
7. Mama, the Cook. Ask your husband to take candid photos of you whgile you prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Or sneak around the kitchen while your own mother/ family member cooks! Take lots of photos to ensure that you have plenty of usuable ones. Record the memories of your apron and about the bowl you always use to make cornbread stuffing and about where you got the recipes you use today. Photos of you covered in flour may not be your idea of a flattering shot, but just make sure that you dress neatly, do your hair and makeup and smile a lot! Your children will love photos of you in the kitchen the way they remember you.
8. The Day After. Why not scrapbook about the day after? Lots of families go on their mego shopping sprees each year on the day after Thanksgiving. Why not make it even more memorable by taking photos of the vent. You could even plan a party for the evening with Thanksgiving leftovers and some additional easy snack recipes.
9. Thanksgiving Titles and Quotes.
- Give Thanks
- Turkey Day
- Tom Turkey
- Pumpkin Pie and Me
- Count Your Blessings
- Thanksgiving Memories
- Thanksgiving and Football … Oh My!
- American Pie
- Gobble, Gobble
- Little Turkey’s
- My Favorite Thanksgiving
- From My Table
- Let’s Get Stuffed!
- Pass the Pie
- Thanksgiving Traditions
- Happy Harvest
10. Scrapbooking Freebies. You can visit the following sites for more ideas, printables, and freebies:
Tips for Teaching Your Children to be More Thankful
As the mother of five children, I have realized that children are not always as thankful as they should be. In fact, children can be downright greedy at times and you may wonder how it was possible that you gave birth to such a selfish creature.
So, how do we, as moms, teach our children that life is not always easy and they should be thankful for all that they have and that they should appreciate what others have done for them or given them? Here are some easy ways you can incorporate being thankful in your everyday life.
1. Model Thankful Behavior. This may seem like an obvious one, but how often do you remember to say thank you when someone does something for you? How often do you tell your children how thankful you are that have a warm home, or a full fridge, or even a friendly pet? We should be thankful for all things in this life. Tonight as you sit together at the dinner table begin a new conversation with the words, “I am so thankful for …” even if all you can think to be thankful for is the fact that your family is together. And remember to be thankful all year round – not just during the holiday season!
2. Let Your Children Contribute. Kids like to feel they are contributing something worthwhile to others. Whether it be helping you set the table, or baking cookies for a neighbor, or raking leaves for an elderly person, children will be more thankful if they feel they are helpful to others. A good lesson can be learned from volunteering time at a local soup kitchen or other charity. It never hurts for children to realize there are others who are less fortunate than they are.
3. Don’t Bombard Children with Too Much Stuff. Kids are like sponges. They will grab up as much stuff as they can. Has your child ever had a case of the GIMMES? Once they get it, it can be a hard task to change their selfish attitude to one of thankfulness. One word: PURGE! Give excess to the needy.
4. Keep a Family Blessings Journal. Record happy events, fun memories and other notes on Friday evening after supper. From time to time reread the entries.
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