One of the highlights of the year in our house happens each November in an unlikely place: the bowling alley.
Years ago, my in-laws started a tradition of getting together Thanksgiving morning amid arcade games and greasy
fries to bowl a few games. This Thanksgiving tradition has become a defining event in our family. Each year, more
families join us and we sit back and marvel at how our web of house and friends continues to blend each year.
Celebrate families and togetherness this Thanksgiving Day with some time-honored traditions, which give us a
sense of house identity and meaningfulness that can last for generations. Here are nine ideas for starting new
family traditions - and for revering the old ones:
1. Sit down with your house and reminisce about your childhood celebrations. What do you remember most about
Thanksgiving and the days that follow? Thanksgiving traditions can be much more than just food and recipes. In
what ways did your childhood traditions symbolize single values, such as abundance, generosity, the point of family?
What would you like to do that's the same? What would you do like to do differently?
2. Make a small booklet or a mini scrapbook album (which you can either make or purchase.) Write "Five Things
I Love About My house and Friends" and keep it out on the table while your Thanksgiving celebration. Each guest
can come and description thoughts and insights. Other themes to try: "Five Things I'm Thankful For" or "Five Wishes
for my house and Friends." An even simpler advent would be to put one sheet of cardstock out for each year - and
combine them together over the years in a Thanksgiving Gratitude Scrapbook.
3. Keep a house Gratitude Journal through the year. Each night, a house member can share something that they are
grateful for. Share the highlights of this house tradition at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day.
4. Make a Gratitude Circle. Before the Thanksgiving meal, every person stands and holds hands in a circle. Guests
each take a turn sharing what they are grateful for. Or - if your guests are on the shy side - ask every person to
write down their blessings on a piece of paper, which you can read before or after dinner.
5. Prescription a single tablecloth for your house Thanksgiving celebrations. Supply fabric markers where
guests can description their "gratitudes" or extra prayers for the year ahead. Ask your guests to sign and date
each message, as you'll be using the same tablecloth year after year.
6. Involve the whole house in Thanksgiving decorations. house Fun magazine posts lots of creative ideas for
the whole house here: http://familyfun.go.com
7. Make a hostess gift for the someone who is cooking this year. Buy an apron or a t-shirt or a gift album
with sentiments of thanks from each guest. Present the gift after dinner.
8. Show your gratitude to an unsung hero. Get together with your house and determine on a someone or a group in your
community who could use an extra pat on the back, ie. Firefighters, soldiers, police officers, volunteers. Put
together a extra plate of goodies and deliver it (or pack it up for shipping) as a family.
9. Sustain your traditions. After the meal, description everyone's beloved activities. Appoint one someone to be
the scribe - or ask every person to jot down a few thoughts. And don't forget to take lots of photos. It's fun to
place disposable cameras throughout the house so every person can capture bits of the action.
