Dear Young Mom,
Can you believe it’s November already?! Time sure does fly – especially when you’re buried in parenting and juggling home management on top of life in general. Even so, for many of us, November signifies the beginning of the holidays and a time of benevolence and heartwarming kindnesses between family and friends.
Turning the calendar and seeing “November” can also well up inside of you a sense of pressure to “perform” to make memories for your family.
Though many moms seem to naturally flow into the holiday season, with their craft bags well supplied and their Pinterest pages earmarked and ready to go – I doubt many really do!
You see, moms have a common problem – we put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
And though many moms are more natural at crafty family traditions, probably the majority are not.
Do you have some family traditions that you’ve continued from your childhood? Some might be silly and some might be rich with deep meaning. I know for us, we always went around the table and said something we’re thankful for. The kids made handprint turkeys, writing out their gratitudes on each finger/turkey feather. Oh! I saved those turkeys and tucked them away in their baby books – what precious memories, so delightful to see how their hands grew throughout the years as created new/bigger turkeys!
Since I wasn’t one of those moms to whom the crafts came easily nor naturally, I thought I’d share with you some ideas I had (after my kids grew up) that I wished I had implemented. Listen, any tradition that involves warm family time is perfect – so don’t put undue pressure on yourself.
None of these ideas are original, but what makes them amazing is that focus on gratitude while being quite doable at whatever level you feel up for.
Here are some ideas to spark Thankfulness during the holiday season:
A family gratitude journal for the month of November.
A holiday journal that your family and visitors can write in. Perhaps they want to write an experience or a memory. Perhaps they want to share a thought. The journal becomes a priceless heirloom as different family members and friends write in it each year. Especially after loved ones have passed on. It’s a keepsake that will become richer each year….with minimal effort!
Thanksgiving tablecloth. A solid color tablecloth and some fabric markers that everyone can sign or write something they’re grateful for. Add to it each year! Be sure to have each person write their name and the year – or use a different color pen each year. You can use the same tablecloth each year and enjoy looking over the signatures and gratitudes that friends and family have written.
Make a gratitude chain. You could make a gratitude chain by cutting strips of colored paper in fall colors and let each person that visits you during the Thanksgiving holiday write a blessing they received in the past year. After dinner the kids can connect all the ends together to link into a chain. You could also create this chain in Christmas/Hanukkah colors so you don’t have to put it away so soon after Thanksgiving is over.
Make placemats – there’s nothing like personalized placemats created by children. Each one is unique and entertaining for family and guests. Let your children use markers or their handprints. Use glitter, stickers, cutouts, stencils, leaves, etc. It’s a fun project and it makes a great memory as well as a sentimental table decoration.
Teach character lessons throughout the Thanksgiving story. As you read, act out, or study the original Thanksgiving, point out the character of the men and women of that time. The bravery of the pilgrims, the loyalty of the families, the mentoring of the Indians and teamwork. The crops were not very plentiful so they had to be creative in their meal! Lessons abound!
If you’re up for it, you might consider a Thankfulness Challenge 7 days prior to Thanksgiving. Perhaps write a thank you card one day, and make a hand-turkey filled with gratitudes the next day, followed by some other activities.
Remember, keep your traditions doable and low on the stress scale.
Family traditions are a precious memory that your children will take with them throughout their lifetime. Your end goal is to make happy memories and the most significant memory you can give your children and hubby is joy and gratitude. Stress can deflate that atmosphere very quickly.
So keep it light! Enjoy! And be grateful for all that you have. Your children will catch your gratitude!
Here’s to giving thanks throughout the holiday season!
Joanne Viola says
Such good suggestions, Char! I especially like the gratitude chain and a thank you card, one a day, for the 7 days before Thanksgiving. I think that is the one I may implement this year in my own life 🙂
Char says
It’s never too late for a little gratitude Challenge! Enjoy this heartwarming season Joanne!
Laurie says
Great suggestions! I especially love the family gratitude journal. I have a personal one, but what a wonderful way to teach children the concept of gratitude. I might also do the Thanksgiving tablecloth idea!
Char says
It’s always fun to look back and see how our children have progressed – especially in building character! Thanks for stopping by Laurie.
Anita Ojeda says
What great ideas! I love the tablecloth one :).
Char says
Me too! I wish I had thought of it 15 years ago!
Michele Morin says
“Doable and low on the stress scale.”
Yes!
I highly recommend the family gratitude journal. Ours doesn’t get much use anymore for new entries, but I LOVE going back to read old entries each year.
Char says
That’s precious Michele. I’m sure your family will treasure it as time goes by! What a gift to them!
Monica says
I enjoyed reading your post today! It brought back warm memeories of me trying so hard to make the holidays special and memorable. Probably trying too hard!! I amondoned myself in the process, (which I don’t recommend to young moms LOL!) but I was so happy to have my little family back then. My
children are grown but I do wish I had focused more on the gratitude aspect of the fun activities. Thank you for bringing me back to a road of precious memories!! I love your blog. It is so heartwarming and unique. It is also filled with great advice!!!!
Char says
Thanks Monica. I think we all run ourselves a little ragged when we have little ones. You can start new memories with your adult children too!
Crystal Twaddell says
Such great ideas, Char! This is my most favorite season, and making an intentional effort to create thankful moments for our family and friends makes for a rich legacy.
Char says
You always inspire me at Thanksgiving time Crystal. I love how you encourage your readers to 30 days of gratitude!! We can never have enough!
Patrick Weseman says
Very nice. I always thought gratitude should be number one on the list. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Lauren Sparks says
I love these ideas. We put our Christmas tree up in November but cover it with leaves where we write the things and people that we are thankful for. We call it our thankfulness tree. One year we made paper place mats and wrote on them the things about the person we were thankful for. They served as place mats and place cards that everyone enjoyed reading. laurensparks.net
Char says
Oh! I love those ideas! I have never heard either one of them before and they are so fun and doable! Thanks for sharing Lauren
Maree Dee says
I love your ideas. We have done the tablecloth one but I like the idea of the book better. Thank you for sharing.
We also do conversation questions on the table and pass around a jar where everybody shares 3 blessings of the year.
Donna Reidland says
Wise, doable advice, Char. It’s so easy to take on too much!
Char says
Oh boy it sure is…😏