Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving often gets pushed aside by all things Christmas, and admittedly, I am sometimes guilty of that. Years ago, I made it a rule that no Christmas decorations would go up until the day after Thanksgiving. I stuck with that up until a year or two ago, when Ida, who was home on a very short break, insisted we should start earlier. Since she was more than capable of doing it herself, I let her, and it was kind of nice to have it all done by someone else. However, if I was hosting Thanksgiving, I stuck with my fall decor. This year, Thanksgiving will be at my sister's, and Ida is home for six days, so that means it has ended up being very Christmasy at our house. 

Over the years, we have had many different kinds of Thanksgivings. We have had house guests visit us, traveled from Virginia to Pennsylvania or Tennessee, and celebrated with just our family-of-five. One thing I could never get on board with is going out to eat. My mom cast the die when I was little. I always loved her Thanksgiving meals and table settings. They were very traditional and very Mom. 

When they were little, the children would make place mats, gratitude trees, turkey arts and crafts, and place cards. As they got older, we began our gratitude pumpkin and continued it right up to Thanksgiving dinner. My family's past Thanksgiving meals have been rather traditional, except for perhaps the year when we had turkey bar-b-que sandwiches, a suggestion made by my sister the year there were fourteen of us eating outside, next to a pond, on the farm where my nephew lives. 

This year my brother-in-law is making his to-die-for pizza. Yes, pizza for Thanksgiving. This traditions girl, believe it or not, thinks this is a fun idea! I must be becoming more flexible as I get older, or maybe it's just when one is invited to dinner, one does not question the menu. And why argue? I don't have to cook a thing, just put together caprese skewers - that's it. My eighty-seven-year-old mom isn't quite as open minded. She hasn't been happy since she heard the word pizza, even though she doesn't even like turkey! I reminded her that it's about being together and that she'll get to spend the day with seven of her eight grandchildren, but she is still grumbling.

As much as I love traditions, I am thankful for a laid-back holiday with no to-do lists and a lot of family time leading up to the big day. I try to practice gratitude on a daily basis, and Thanksgiving is just an extension of that. Family and food - even if it isn't traditional fare - are all we need to celebrate, and there truly is so much to be grateful for! However you and your family celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving from Seasoned Mama's home to yours!

Don't Stop!

I was recently asked when I am going to stop some of the Christmas traditions we started when our children were little.  I informed the questioner that we have dropped some traditions over the years, but I plan on keeping the current ones going until my children are no longer interested. Her reply was, "Well that will be soon. Your youngest is almost fourteen." I've heard the whole teenage spiel countless times, and I have yet to buy into it. Teenager is not a negative word. Nor is it a negative stage of life. 

Case in point. This morning, that almost fourteen-year-old asked me when we were going to go see the Dancing Lights of Christmas, and if we are going to take along our Christmas cookies and hot cocoa - just like we have for the past five years. (And for those of you who are counting, that means we started this tradition when my older two were fourteen and almost seventeen!) My answer was simple, "Of course!" It's a beloved tradition. 

The forty-five minute drive flies by as we sing at the top of our lungs and eat our sweets. Then as we wait in the car line, we play Christmas trivia. When it's time for the synchronized Christmas drive thru light and music show, down go the windows no matter the weather, and it's like all five of us are children again. Magical. 

Why would I stop something that we all still love so much? Will there come a time when they don't want to go? Sure. Will I make them? Of course not! But Tom and I still may go even when we are empty nesters. No matter what happens in the future, you better believe we will be loving every minute of this tradition when we go next week! (Yes, I know next week is Thanksgiving, but the lines are so much shorter if we go sooner than later.)

Don't stop your traditions because of a certain age, or because someone thinks traditions aren't important to teenagers. Just simply ask your teens if they want to join in - if they don't beat you to it, and like mine, excitedly ask when it's happening. 

Operation Christmas Child

I had never heard of Operation Christmas Child before 2006. That year I had an infant and didn't get around to starting this tradition. But the next year, I was on it. A neighbor told me about it, and I loved the idea from the get-go. 

I had to Google it to find out exactly what we needed to do. I discovered that Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief and evangelism organization, collected shoe boxes filled with gifts and delivered them to children around the world. 

That first year, and then again when the boys were old enough to participate, we always talked about our boxes before we began. I explained why we were buying gifts and putting them in a shoe box, and then Ida, John, and Asa would choose either a boy or a girl and an age range. Then we would head to Dollar Tree, Walmart, and/or Target to fill our boxes with small toys, school supplies, and personal hygiene items. 

That first year, only Ida and I went shopping. I remember being impressed, as well as surprised, that she didn't ask for anything for herself, and that continued throughout the years with all three children. Something about that shoe box brought out the best in them.

As they got older, they chose the age range that coincided with their age. They also included letters and cards in their boxes. And then, they began paying for all the gifts with their own money. So, not only were they blessing other children, but they were also being generous. For a few years, we had three boxes being sent out by Samaritan's Purse, then it went down to two, and this year we are at one. But it isn't the youngest who is filling a box, it's the middle child. It seems the older he gets, the more sentimental he becomes when it comes to traditions.

The sweet memories of three little Sorannos scouring the shelves to find the perfect surprises for their boxes still makes this mama's heart happy. And even better? I'll be going shopping with my nineteen-year-old later this week and keeping the tradition going for another year.

Advent Jar

Yes, I know it's only the first week of November and a little too early to start Christmas traditions. Wait. In my book, it's never too early for that! But my reason for posting it this week is so if you decide to do it, you'll have some prep time before the first day of Advent. 

The Advent jar was one of my - and Ida's - favorites for many years. We were both sad when age and busy schedules knocked it out of our tradition rotation. The good part was that it was adaptable as they got older, so it lasted as long as it possibly could. 

If your family doesn't celebrate Advent, it can be your Christmas countdown jar instead. If you prefer not to use a jar, there are all kinds of pre-made things out there that you can buy, and some are really neat. But if you are thrifty like me, all you need is a quart size jar and perhaps some fabric or ribbon to make it look festive. 

Inside, I'd place strips of red and green construction paper on which I would write an activity. Some were as simple as read a Christmas book or watch your favorite Christmas movie. Some involved cooking or baking, and some were crafts. When I first started this tradition, we weren't homeschooling yet and had a very flexible schedule, so it was safe to randomly choose a strip and do whatever it said on any given day. As they got older and I had to work around lessons, ballet, and basketball, I would number the strips so that we wouldn't end up with a time-consuming activity on a busy day. Each year there was a bit of a modification to make it fit with our home life. 

We did all kinds of things over the years, and I would be happy to dig out my old list and share some with you, but I have no doubt you can think twenty-four fun things that your children would love. I hope that this tradition becomes part of your family and that you love it as much as we all did. I still have our jar up on a shelf in my homeschooling closet. To this day, I still get nostalgic when I see it, and it still makes me happy.