Thanksgiving and Family

Retailers seem to want us to forget about Thanksgiving and just skip straight to Christmas (except for day after Thanksgiving sales). Even on my blog, I seem to focus on Christmas only (but only because I'm trying to plan ahead so I can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas).

But, Thanksgiving deserves our full attention, too. It is a day most of us spend with family and friends, reflecting on all that we are thankful for. It's a time for family traditions, whether it's a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings, fun with family, football, long naps, walks around the neighborhood, football in the backyard, etc.

We usually go to my in-laws house for the long weekend. We start out Thanksgiving morning with the Macy's Day parade, and then we have a huge turkey dinner with the extended family. The men (and a few women) watch the football game, and then by evening, we've pulled out the Christmas movies and start watching them.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some websites that have activities that you can do with kids to reinforce the meaning of Thanksgiving.

• Annie has some ideas for faith-based Thanksgiving ideas.
• Kaboose also offers some fun facts about Thanksgiving as well as the history of the day.
• This article has some great ideas on teaching your kids to be thankful.

How are you teaching your kids to be thankful? What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

For more ideas that work for others, visit Rocks in My Dryer.