I
have heard a lot about keeping the Christ in Christmas, but before we even get
to December’s holidays, we are losing Thanksgiving!
I
am going to feel so old saying this but I remember when Thanksgiving was about
a big family meal and actually GIVING THANKS. Everyone packed into Grandma and Grandpa’s
house (or whoever was hosting), said one thing we were thankful for that year,
before eating turkey and pie. My brother and I split the wishbone and made a
wish. We watched football and overate, as a family. There was no shopping on
Thanksgiving. Stores weren’t even open, so that employees could enjoy their
turkey and football.
Now,
Thanksgiving is becoming about getting good deals on stuff that you probably
don’t need. But how good is a deal if it destroys the meaning of
Thanksgiving. Rather than “thanks,” the
holiday is becoming about greed and stores are placing their bottom line before
their employees, families and traditions. Toys R Us is open at 5pm. Isn’t that dinner
time? Soon other stores will be following
suit, each opening a little early in an attempt to beat out the other and soon,
stores will all be open on Thanksgiving and slowly but surely, we will lose
Thanksgiving all together.
Is
it really necessary to shop on Thursday? Can’t we trample each other for sale
items the DAY AFTER we give thanks for all that we have, like we have done
every other year?
I
know it is impossible for everyone to have off from work on Thanksgiving and I
know that not everyone can get together with their families, but we can still
save Thanksgiving.
This
year our family Thanksgiving is rather small. My grandmother is not in the best
of health and a large family Thanksgiving just isn’t possible. A large portion
of family lives far and airfare is outrageous but my husband and I intend to
start our own traditions and stay out of the reach of those who are intent on
destroying the holiday all together.
A
lot of people are saying that after dinner they are just sitting around, doing
nothing so why not get a jump on shopping. Well, instead of doing “nothing” -do
something. At my house, this year we
will start the tradition of building a gingerbread house with the kids, from
scratch. This year we are making a log cabin, but every year we will build a
different style house and decorate it differently. If you don’t want to dedicate that much time, you
can just build a boxed one.
While
coming up with this idea, we came across several others:
Write
a letter to Santa with your kids. Remind them to THANK Santa for all of the
gifts they received last year and report on things they did during the year. It
will make a nice reminder to read back when they are older.
Play
a game. If you have a big family and it is nice out, play some touch football
as a family. If not, try a board game marathon.
Decorate
the Christmas tree or hang your stockings.
(Maybe even make ornaments for the tree- CRAFT TIME!)
We
got free place mats from the local grocery store (GO WEGMANS!) where kids can
draw what they are thankful for this year.
I don’t see why this couldn’t be done on regular paper.
I
know a lot of things are Christmas related and may seem “cheesy” to some, but
you can always watch a movie together or read a book. The point is to celebrate
Thanksgiving, not shop it.
