Thanksgiving Traditions

It's the week of Thanksgiving!!

We are so excited in our home,

because this is our favorite holiday.

There are many reasons why this is our favorite.

1. It's an American holiday.

2. It's a Christian holiday.

3. It is a holiday that we've built traditions for our family to enjoy.

We try to make our Thanksgiving memorable in these ways:

• We start the day off with a family brunch- all of us sitting at the table, focusing on Thanksgiving at the very start of the day with prayer and reading Psalm 100. We also listen to a small portion of the CD that came with our book "Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember" from FamilyLife, which is so wonderful- I can not recommend this resource enough. It gives the history of Thanksgiving, stories, and soft Thanksgiving music. (Tip: see my recipe below for a perfect brunch casserole to prepare the night before.)
• For the kids: we try to catch a parade, and the dog show on TV, and we also let the kiddos play and get some energy out. I also make sure to have a few crafty things for them to do that go along with the Thanksgiving theme. The entire day is not spent solemly, I assure you! :)
• I make sure to have a beautiful, thoughtful "tablescape" prepared- if you have fine linens, china, crystal, silver, etc... make sure to use them; if you don't, like me, use the best you have. My husband usually starts a fire in the fireplace- which adds an even cozier feel to our home. We love all the special touches to this day so much!!

As you can see, I have a centerpiece, candles,

chargers, pretty napkins & plates,

and use what I can to make it a little more special than usual.

• I also put 5 pieces of corn or candy corn (I ran out of corn the year {2007!!} I took this photo, so I used pecans instead!) to signify the 5 kernels of corn that were rationed out to the pilgrims during their difficult winters. We take turns going around the table when dinner is served giving thanks for 5 different things that we're thankful for... and I write them down in a book. It's fun to go back and look at what we give thanks for each year.
• Along those lines, a new tradition I plan to incorporate this year is a tablecloth with everyone's names that attended and the year... as I blogged about here.
• Before dinner is served, everyone gets themselves dressed in their "comfortable Sunday dress", meaning a skirt & sweater, or khakis & collared shirt, etc... so that we keep it more special than our typical family dinners. With the kids, I just make sure they start the day off in a cute outfit, sometimes something I purchased or made just for that day- but something they can play in too.
• For the food for dinner, my little tradition includes the standard fare, as well as some family tradition dishes that aren't standard. :) And every year, I try one new side dish, and one new pie. We always enjoy deciding whether something I've tried is a winner, or whether it will not go on the menu next year.
• While we eat, I play the soft music in the background, and we try to have conversation flowing that is thoughtful, appreciative, and enjoyable.
• After dinner, of course, the guys watch football, the ladies do a little clean-up, and we relax after it's all done.
• At the end of the day, we sing a song like Amazing Grace, or some other special hymn just to end that day on a grateful note.

I know all the stuff we do may seem like a lot, and require some preparation and thought past what many might want to do. For us, it has become a tradition that we look forward to when we have the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving in our home. It's a day we set aside just to reflect, show appreciation, give thanks for the blessings God has given, and enjoy our family.

On a side note, we try to block out the materialism of "Black Friday" as much as possible since it seems a little counter-productive to what we hope to accomplish on this day. Not to say we don't look at those ads the days before or after Thanksgiving, but we don't usually get crazy about it on Thanksgiving Day. It helps us keep our focus.

Recipe for Breakfast Brunch Casserole

(This is the best "french toast" type casserole we've ever had!)

Toffee Apple Breakfast Pudding

Ingredients:

1 loaf French Bread, cubed

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled & chopped

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 3/4 cup milk, divided

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup toffee bits

5 eggs

Directions:

1. Place 1/2 bread cubes in greased 13x9 dish. Top with apples.

2. Combine: Cream Cheese, Brown Sugar, 1/4 cup milk, and almond extract. Beat until smooth. Stir in toffee bits. Spread over apples.

3. Top with remaining bread cubes.

4. Whisk eggs, 1 1/2 cup milk. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover & refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

5. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes- until set. Cover with foil last 10 minutes to prevent from overbrowning.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!