It is just a few days before Thanksgiving, stores are packed, shelves are getting bare (again, a rewind of Covid panic), and my pants are already feeling a bit more snug. The hustle in our home has begun as we prepare to host Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving will feel different this year. Some will be spent alone as they continue to isolate, front-line workers will continue their same working routine, and the rest of us will put our best foot forward.
Here are a 7 simple ways to make Thanksgiving more memorable this year.
Remember the little joys.
My little joys that I always look forward to during the holidays - cream corn, my Great-grandma's broccoli casserole, fried turkey, collards, honey ham... and two huge packages of Cottonelle!
This year enjoy the little joys. No fretting about who can and cannot make it, no worries if the rolls get burned, and it's ok if the oven quits working. Enjoy each person that sits at your table and remind them of how much they mean to you.
"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day." Robert Caspar Lintner
Good health.
You might not be feeling the best but if you are alive and breathing, then today is yours to enJOY. Start showing and including the younger generation in all things including meal prep (and especially clean up), they actually are eager to learn and most teens have fallen into a much quieter pace of life.
I love thanksgiving. No gifts required. Food and family are the key ingredients.
"It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful." David Steindl-Rast
"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." Fredrick Kowing
Be Present
Gratitude ushers in hope and thankfulness which leads the way for your thanksgiving dinner to be full of laughs, love, and moments that matter. Listen to the ones sitting next to you, turn off the cell phones, and enJOY each moment together.
"The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become." Robert Holden
"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." W.T. Purkiser
"Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone." Gertrude Stein
Ordinary to Extraordinary.
This is the perfect year to try something new, add a festive touch, or take the time to really invest in conversations with the ones you love. We have all watched depressing news for most of the year, its a great day to turn off the tv and let love lead the way. There is nothing better than a full belly and laughs with the old folks.
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." William Arthur Ward
"It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy." Unknown
"We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives." John F. Kennedy
Be content.
Simple is best. It is ok to skip the fine china and use the paper plates. It is ok if the house isn't perfectly clean or decorated. Add meaningful touches to the table, add some new photos, and curl up on the couch for stories reminding each other how you survived 2020.
"When you love what you have, you have everything you need." Unknown
"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count." Neal A. Maxwell
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." Oprah Winfrey
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." Eckhart Tolle
Live by your words.
Your life speaks volumes without you ever having to utter a word. Let love and thankfulness fill your gauges to full and overflowing so those around you get a heaping dose of hope this holiday season.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John F Kennedy
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie
Share. You have plenty.
There is nothing better than sharing what you have. Your health, your home, your joys, your pain, your hugs, and your time is all most need. Gather around each other this holiday and share. You each have something that another likely need.
I am thankful for today. I am grateful for the time we have together and the calls and text I get from you each day. How can I help you more in the coming days? I love you. I love you more. I love you to the moon and back.
"Be thankful for what you have. Your life is someone else's fairy tale." Wale Ayeni
"Give thanks for a little, and you will find a lot." Hansa Proverb
"Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary." Margaret Cousins
"If you are thankful, what do you do? You share." W. Clement Stone
"No one has ever become poor by giving." Anne Frank
Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!
Ready to decorate for Christmas? Don't miss these ideas for a Merry and Bright Holiday!
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