I love reading about other people’s family traditions. Here are some traditions for Thanksgiving that I wish I’d started a long time ago.
The first is the Thanksgiving tablecloth. There are several variations on this theme. The idea is to use a special tablecloth only for Thanksgiving. On the tablecloth people can write down either their names, or what they are particularly thankful for. Then you can either use fabric paint or paint markers to go over the cloth to preserve the names from year to year. I’ve also read about people who embroidered over the names and messages. When I first read about this tradition I wondered about stains. I worried about the paint markers coming through the cloth onto the table, and I wondered about food getting spilled on the cloth. Maybe my children are extra messy eaters, but I can’t imagine a tablecloth looking good for long around here.
I love the idea of the yearly tradition though, of remembering meals and guests from other years. I think maybe a table runner would work better for our family. I also think that we could save the leaves off the Gratitude tree in a scrapbook or picture frame so that we could look at them year after year. And maybe we could do a yearly photo of the family and guests gathered at the table to include in the book.
Most of us want gratitude to be present at our Thanksgiving tables. Beyond the Gratitude Tree, there are several things you can do. One is to go around the table expressing thanks for something. A variation of that is to do it alphabetically. I can see this working better with my children. I can also see it getting very silly. What kinds of things are we grateful for that start with an X? You can take turns with the alphabet, doing one letter apiece, or having everyone do all the letters.
It’s never too late to start new traditions.
More Thanksgiving Traditions:
Family Traditions: A Day to Give Thanks
Thanksgiving Pies a Day Early – a Fun Tradition