Give Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.  ~E.P. Powell

Like many other holidays, it is easy to sometimes become overwhelmed at Thanksgiving by everything we are expected to do for the celebration to the point that we loose track of why we are doing it in the first place.  This year has been a year of tremendous change for my family and we are without almost all of our standard holiday traditions.  This has really helped me take the time to think about what I am truly thankful for and why those things and people are so special to me.  As we are on the road to forming new habits and traditions for our holidays, I took the time to do a little research and get some ideas.  I decided to share some of my findings with you.

History
National Geographic for Kids and History for Kids both have good articles summarizing the history of Thanksgiving on a child's level.

Fun Facts
Do you know what a baby turkey is called?  Do you know how to say "thank you" in Turkish?  Which balloon was the first balloon in the 1927 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?  Random History, Fact Monster, and Brownielocks have the answers to those questions and many more interesting facts about Thanksgiving.

Crafts & Activities for Kids
Crafts and activity pages are great ways to get children involved and keep them occupied while you are busy with preparations.  All Kids Network and Parenting.com both have some cute craft ideas, while Busy Teacher and Education.com have dozens of printable worksheets.

Family Traditions
In what unique ways does your family celebrate Thanksgiving?  As my family goes through a transition, we are looking for new ways to celebrate.  She Knows and Squidoo have some great ideas that I'll definitely have to keep in mind.

Ways to Show Thanks
Family traditions can be more than what you do when you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner.  Better Homes & Gardens, The Huffington Post, and Victoria Lynn write about ways to extend Thanksgiving beyond the meal, and even the day, to make the spirit of Thanksgiving a way of life.

How do you give thanks?

Karissa