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Thanksgiving is many people’s favorite holiday…and for good reason.
It’s a day to celebrate God’s provision over our lives, gather with family and friends, and share a meal together. When we first had kids, I wanted to start all the family traditions around every holiday, especially Thanksgiving.
I’ve quickly realized that it’s simply not attainable. Trying to do all the things was so overwhelming, and then there was the guilt of not doing enough to prep our hearts for the holiday.
While we like to try new things, these 5 traditions have certainly been our focus and I look forward to them each year. Some are very simple but all are special to our family.
I pray this post would give you some ideas to try with your family of course but remember, what matters most is that we “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1
1. Parade and Special Breakfast
We always hosted Thanksgiving when I was little since it’s my mom’s favorite holiday. I still remember all those sweet moments helping her in the kitchen with the parade on the TV in the background.
She still hosts (thank the Lord) but I wanted to continue the tradition with my own kids.
I start by prepping pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls (I’ll post recipes below) the night before to be baked off in the morning and we watch the parade while making the dishes we are going to bring to dinner.
Watching the parade makes for such a festive morning and helps us to slow down and enjoy the day.
Below are a few trusted recipes. I simply add pumpkin pie spice to my filling. I may try apple pie filling this year though to switch it up. Yumm!
- Fresh milled cinnamon rolls – Grains in Small Places
- Sourdough cinnamon rolls – Farmhouse on Boone
- Standard (but equally delicious) cinnamon rolls – Sally’s Baking Addiction
2. Start a Thankfulness Jar
I have also seen this called a jar of blessings. Basically, you write on a little strip of paper things you are thankful for each day. This seems simple, but it has been something that our kids look forward to doing each year. Below is a photo of our jar to be filled this year leading up to Thanksgiving.
If you are interested in the label and printed strips, I do have a digital printable available in my TPT shop here. The file includes a fall version, spring version (for leading up to Easter), and a plain version to be decorated for any time of year.
3. Find a way to serve others
This is something we aim to do all throughout the year of course, but there is something about the reflection that comes with the holiday season that makes us want to serve and bless others even more.
We can share God’s love by making a craft or a card for someone we are thankful for. Or maybe this looks like helping out at your church or finding another local serving opportunity. It could also be preparing a meal for a family in need.
One thing we say in our house is that we are blessed to be a blessing. It is so easy, especially as we get into the holiday season, to be consumed by all of the things we have going on. I know I have been guilty of this.
We are called to value others above ourselves in Philippians 2:3-4. I am not always great at this by any means, but if we can each find just one way that we can lay down our schedule, our needs, our time, and put someone else first, we are bringing a little more of His light and love into the world.
4. Make time for Crafts
In our house, this is a tradition with pretty much every holiday we celebrate. We love all the crafts since we have younger kiddos, but I found older cousins and friends like to get involved too even if it’s just helping little ones.
There are so many fun ideas on Pinterest, from handprint wreathes to pinecone turkeys. We have all sorts of crafts hung around our home. If you have littles in your home as well and would like some simple printable fall crafts, we have several available in our shop here.
For older kids, I’ve seen tons of fall themed science experiments which my son is really looking forward to trying this year.
5. Give Thanks around the table
This one may already be something that you do at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Of course we say a blessing over the meal, but then before we start eating or even getting plates together, we all go around and talk about something that we’re thankful for that year.
I always love hearing what the little ones say especially. It is always so precious what they focus their hearts on.
There are usually also a few tears shed as we go around. These may be sad tears of missing a celebrated loved one not there this year, or joyous tears of an unexpected blessing, God’s healing or His abundant provision.
This is something I grew up doing and while it may feel simple, it has a huge impact on every heart in attendance.
Well…that rounds up our top five traditions for the Thanksgiving holiday. We have come to cherish our simple, slowed down holiday season.
I would love to hear in the comments , what are some of your families favorite Thanksgiving traditions?
Happy Thanksgiving!
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