Happy Thanksgiving Fun With Family and Friends
Design Holiday Festivities to Grow Strong Love Connections
Oct 4, 2009
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 when Native Americans and Pilgrims ate a festive meal that included foods like wild turkey, Indian corn, grapes, plums, lobster, duck, venison and seal. When it comes to legally recognizing the holiday, History’s official website notes that the state of New Hampshire first proclaimed November 28 as Thanksgiving Day on November 1, 1782. Citizens throughout the state were charged to rest from work on November 28. They were also to honor and praise God for the blessings that they had received.
Start Thanksgiving Day Right This Year
1941 is the year that Thanksgiving was officially made a national holiday on November 28. Since 1941, parades, including New York City’s famous Macy’s Day Parade, television specials, community events and large, festive meals have been held each year to celebrate the national holiday.
November 28 kicks off the largest holiday season in American history with Christmas following a month later. It is a joyous season for giving and receiving love and for expressing one’s deepest appreciation for life’s sweetest gifts.
When Americans take the time to count the blessings that they receive due to another person’s kindness, the cords of love that connect people grow and strengthen. One of the best ways to strengthen the love shared between relatives, significant others and friends during Thanksgiving is to establish a central meeting location that builds on tradition.
Thanksgiving Family Traditions
Older family members understand the value of getting together on Thanksgiving Day at a single agreed upon location. As families live further apart physically, the challenge to come together as a single unit can get lost in daily responsibilities and priorities.
Three to four months prior to Thanksgiving build a team of family members who have a passion for cooking delicious homemade meals. Include relatives who want to help decorate the meeting location.
Ask a few people to share funny and heart warming stories about loved ones who are a part of the thread of the family but who are now deceased. Work toward a light mood that is filled with appreciation.
Keep in mind that relatives can meet at someone’s home or at a dining facility like a catering hall. The focus is to begin to create history and memories by joining together as an extended family.
Forgiving Family Members and Sharing Love
Seek out volunteers rather than assigning specific relatives to cook certain dishes or to hang decorations at the meeting and dining location. Consider grocery shopping and cooking foods as a team. It is an excellent way for relatives to bond, share bits of their personal lives with each other and laugh about successes and mishaps that happen in the kitchen.
Coupons, Coupon Seven and the Coupon Clippers are resources that families can access directly online to clip valuable coupons for brand name food items. Once printed and clipped, the coupons can be used at major grocery store chains to realize additional savings for shoppers. Discount and arts and crafts stores are excellent places to get Thanksgiving decorations without spending a fortune.
Decorate the meeting location the day before Thanksgiving. Turn on smooth jazz or another genre of music that members of the decorating team enjoy. Make it a fun time. Think about hanging pictures of the oldest and the youngest family members to honor life’s changes.
Greet each relative who arrives at the meeting location warmly. Forgive past hurts and focus on life’s richest blessings. By building a team of cooks, decorators and history sharers, for families across America this Thanksgiving Day can be filled with appreciation, joy and love.
Sources:
- History Official Website. Thanksgiving. 4 October 2009.
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