The first time I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws, I had made the incorrect assumption that their celebration would be the same as my family’s.
I expected Turkey. And pumpkin pie. And football. Well, there was football. But no turkey!
Hubby’s family has a wonderfully diverse and sophisticated palette, and that year there was a plethora of other fantastic foods to choose from. (It was delicious!)
But as the day drew on, I realized that it wasnt just the absence of the turkey that was affecting me.
In my family at every Thanksgiving dinner, we would go around the table and say one thing we were thankful for.
Truthfully, up until that first Thanksgiving away from my family, I had rolled my eyes in dread each time it was my turn. Stopping and giving thanks was the last thing I wanted to do when I had a gorgeous golden brown turkey glistening before me.
Planning out our Thanksgiving this year it occurred to me that there was a way to incorporate my beloved tradition of giving thanks and still honor the gentle humbleness of my husband’s family.
I made “thankful” cookies.
The idea is simple… I place out a tray of blank cookies, and every family member can write one thing they are thankful for on their cookie. People can do this throughout the afternoon in their own time.
They can do it anonymously or sign their name.
The nice thing about these cookies is that it’s a win-win. Even if people don’t want to participate, we still have a lovely treat to munch on through our weekend!
So what family traditions do you have at Thanksgiving?
I highly recommend using my favorite sugar cookie recipe and glaze icing recipe. 🙂
looove it!!
We don’t have a thanksgiving day as such in India, but my family does this (sharing what they’re thankful for) at Christmas. This is a great idea, and I plan to incorporate it into my family’s Christmas celebration this year.
P.S This year, my parents have invited us and my in-laws over to their home for Christmas. Praying and keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well!
I love your blog! I write a completely different type of page (sjbthewords.blogspot.com) from a completely different perspective, but I love reading about your life. I mean I’m a black college student in Atlanta who only cooks in a crock pot and never wants to get married, yet your themes still appeal to me. Bravo!
Wow, these are amazing! You are such an inspiration.
What a wonderful idea Amanda! This idea is what I’m making and introducing to my family this year. I’m not going to limit it to Thanksgiving. I’m going to take it to every gathering, and have a prompt question for everyone to answer that would remind us of things from our past. We all have stories in our memories that need to be told.
http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/write_click_scrapbook/2010/11/thanksgiving-prep-week.html
Amanda, thanks for reminding us about the true meaning behind this whirlwind of a holiday. These cookies not only look like they taste great, but the interactive quality is spectacular! Who would pass up this opportunity to write on a cookie??!
What a fun idea Amanda!!!
Ah! I made those exact cookies yesterday–in the same colors and everything! My favorite tradition is tonight! Our church has an annual Thanksgiving dinner where sweet ladies and a young guy chef cook turkeys at church all day and the rest of us bring the sides. Then people share thanksgiving for how God has blessed them through the year. When we first went on staff at the church, it was going through a rough patch and we prayed that 200 people would come. This year, ALL thanks to God, it’s set up for 450 + overflow! We are so blessed and I couldn’t love these people more!
So creative and fun!
I love, love, love this idea, Amanda! LOVE!