With the hustle and bustle of the holidays you may feel overwhelmed when you consider the idea of traditions. Thanksgiving is typically the start of the holiday season and many people, despite wanting to initiate traditions with their family, feel that they simply do not know where to start. If you find yourself confused and overwhelmed at the idea of bringing more traditions to your Thanksgiving, read on for simple ideas to get you started. Here is the best of Thanksgiving Traditions 101-
1.Focus on what you really want. For a new tradition to be meaningful it must be a part of something that will count for your family. Try to focus on bringing in just one or two new things to make your Thanksgiving more meaningful and special. That way you won’t feel overwhelmed by trying new things (in addition to making dinner, decorating the table and everything else) and your family won’t be overwhelmed by trying a lot of new things as well.
2.Do not feel pressured by something someone else is doing. If you run across a tradition you want to try and think it would work well for your family-then go for it! But do not assume that just because your neighbor or best friend is doing something during their Thanksgiving that it will work for your family. Be sure and consider the ages, abilities and interests of your family members. Realize that not everyone may want to decorate turkey cookies, serve at the soup kitchen and make gratitude wreaths. Choose to incorporate the traditions that will work best for your family and you will be insuring less stress and more success.
3.Take a look at what you are already doing. If you are a brand new family than the slate may be blank and ready for some new Thanksgiving traditions, but if you are a well established family you may already be doing traditions that your family does not want to change or give up. Do not assume that watching that football game together or making pecan pie is not meaningful to your family. Just because it does not fit what you think is a Thanksgiving tradition does not mean it is not one. If you are using the same platter to serve the turkey or the same heirloom recipes, you already have some traditions in place. Take a survey among your family about what they love most about Thanksgiving it may just pleasantly surprise you or spark your creativity to try some new ideas!
4.Research some ideas. After you have decided that you want to add some new traditions to your Thanksgiving celebration, research some ideas. Numerous websites can provide you with a wealth of ideas to try. Consider if you want a tradition that revolves around the meal, decorating, free time on Thanksgiving or perhaps something that would reflect your family’s heritage. After making a decision about the direction you want to go with your new Thanksgiving tradition than you can find the idea, craft or project that will work well for your family.
5.Reduce the stress. While everyone may strive to have a perfect holiday be sure and keep your expectations reasonable. One family recounted that after dividing up the work of the Thanksgiving meal that the potatoes were lumpy, the rolls were too brown and the food had never tasted better since they had made it together. Remember that the idea of Thanksgiving is to bring those nearest and dearest to you together, so whatever tradition you choose to incorporate into your Thanksgiving just be sure that it reflects the joy and gratitude of being with family and friends!
