Growing up, we would go to my grandma’s house for Thanksgiving lunch. We’d eat with aunts, uncles and cousins and take home enough leftovers for Turkey sandwiches with dill pickles, mayo and Worcestershire sauce on them. For a few years after I married we would eat lunch with my family and dinner with my husband’s. Eventually that changed into eating dinner at his parent’s. After his mom’s death a few years ago, our Thanksgiving traditions changed again. We now spend Thanksgiving at home with just our immediate family. Although we do not travel or see other family, we have made our own Thanksgiving Traditions at home.
Although we may miss seeing our extended family, the benefit of staying home is being able to celebrate Thanksgiving on our own time schedule and making Thanksgiving Traditions at home that are meaningful to our family. Here are a couple of traditions we have included in our Thanksgiving Day celebrations.
I’m guest posting over at Beauty Through Imperfection today. Head over there to read the rest of Making Thanksgiving Traditions at Home.
Making Thanksgiving Traditions at Home
Have you been following along with me this November for my 30 Days of Thanksgiving series? It’s been my way to remember, Thanksgiving is not just a day or big piece of pie with whipped cream–Thanksgiving is a way of life–or at least should be. It’s a way to focus our thoughts on what we have and how good we have it.
I know it’s already November 19th, but it’s never too late to begin being thankful. Join me and let’s count our blessings together for the next eight days. Share your list of things you are thankful for in the comments of each, 30 Days of Thanksgiving posts.
Each day there is more encouragement and even some laughs over on my Facebook page. Head over and “Like” me there for more.
Thank you so much for so much insight into such a beautiful celebration.
You’re welcome Clare. Do you all celebrate Thanksgiving? Are any of you American?
No…but we have sisters in the USA who will certainly be celebrating – and the idea is beautiful.
Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving is a must watch. Otherwise, just the basics here at home. I have a lot of birthday’s at this time of year, so it seems like there is always a nursing baby around to keep things very simple. Praise God.
Thank God for nursing babies to make us slow down!
Our Thanksgiving traditions have evolved over the years, too. It took us awhile, but we finally settled on one year at home, the other with Greg’s family. It has allowed us to branch out, sometimes inviting friends who may not have family in town to join our family for the day, and it also has helped us shape our own traditions. I like when we’re at home, because we set the tone and do our best to focus on gratitude and spend some additional time with family prayer. When I was growing up, Thanksgiving Day Mass was a HUGE deal; our parish was packed!! It was wonderful. That isn’t the case where we are now, but I *hope* we can begin our day with Mass this year. It’s early, but so worth it!
Love your Thanksgiving traditions! What a wonderful post! I love the pick your own pie 🙂 My daughter is an amazing pastry chef at 19, so for the last several years she surprises us with a couple of pies for each holiday!
We live far away from family, so we don’t always get to spend it with them. We are use to having an intimate family Thanksgiving most years.
Oh how neat that your daughter is so accomplished so young…and good for you that you get to reap the benefits.
I enjoyed reading about your Thanksgiving traditions. Like you ours have changed over the years. We have become Gigi and Pops and everybody comes to our house for Thanksgiving. The food has to be the same every year or the complaints are loud and long. The Thanksgiving decorations cannot be replaced with Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving Day is past. But most of all the day is relaxed and filled with just enjoying one another. Our very favorite holiday of the year!
Sounds like a lot of fun. It’s funny how a little tweak to the food can cause a riot around the dinner table.
The link works…YEAH!! I love your thoughts on Thanksgiving at Home. We shuffle from year to year between Thanksgiving somewhere else or at home. Last year, we spent the day at our dearest friends’ home…where they hosted an ENORMOUS potluck for dozens of friends and all the dancers from the Fort Worth Ballet who weren’t able to go home for the holiday! (The Nutcracker opens the day after Thanksgiving, so unless they have family in town, many of the young dancers are stranded on Thanksgiving.) It was so much fun, and the food choices were amazing.
Our regular at home traditions include sharing what we’re thankful for, too, as well as letting every kid pick a side dish and prepare it. I like the idea of PIES even better! There have been years at home when we opted to NOT have turkey, and smoked racks of ribs or a ham instead. Oh! And we always go to a matinee movie on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We’ve been doing that since the kids were really, really little. On the day after Thanksgiving, we meet up with friends to have leftover Turkey Enchiladas and then go to the Parade of Lights downtown. Fun! Fun! Fun!
Mmmm. turkey enchiladas. The night before Thanksgiving we normally have something Mexican to offset the down home cookin’ on Thanksgiving.
I love these ideas! Las year we went to visit our eldest daughter who got married in 2013 and we joined her in-laws at their house for Thanksgiving dinner. This year, she and her husband live in a house that’s big enough to host their own Thanksgiving Dinner–so we’re going to join them for their first special meal.
Oh how fun! So nice that you all are close enough to spend the holiday’s together.
Loved reading your sweet thoughts on Thanksgiving, friend. It took me a while to appreciate our holidays at home with just us, but now I relish the freedom they give us to create our own traditions.
I would love to know how you all celebrate this completely American holiday down in the jungle.
Well, then, how kind of you to ask 😉 http://www.blessedarethefeet.com/simple-thanksgiving/
Oh I missed this one! Thanks for linking back to it.
The link is working now! Great suggestions.
We’ve done Thanksgiving a few times at home, and I love experimenting with the menu. Most of the time we go visit family, which is fine, because our rule is that we spend Christmas at home. 🙂
Everyone needs one holiday to create their own family traditions!
I agree about making memories at home for at least one holiday. We spend Christmas dinner with my husband’s family, but the day is all ours.
I wanted to read more but the link didn’t work! Visiting from Winsome Wednesday!
I know! Trying to get a hold of the site owner. I do hope you’ll come back to read the post. It was fun sharing some of our Thanksgiving Traditions.
The link is working now Susan. Head over to read it and then come back and share some of your favorite traditions.