Keep the THANKS in Thanksgiving. Celebrate it, don't shop it.

 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.