We have entered the season of giving thanks…and I love it!
Can you believe that Thanksgiving Day is just two weeks away? In our family we want to make Thanksgiving a season and not just a day or an event. Growing up my Mom began a tradition of having a thankfulness banner up several weeks prior to Thanksgiving Day and every night before dinner, we would all write on it the things we were thankful for that year. By Thanksgiving Day the banner was full! It was a wonderful way of making November a “season” of thanksgiving (rather than just a day) and the banner was a great visual reminder to us all of how very blessed we were. It fostered a spirit of gratitude throughout the entire month.
Our Lambdin family has carried on this tradition. For years we too had a banner hanging up in our dining area but recently we switched to writing our thanks in a special “thankfulness album” that we add to every year. Both are great ways to establish a tradition of a season of thanksgiving. This past weekend I found a left over thankfulness banner in the garage. (over 10 years ago we joined forces with my brother Cliff & his wife Lynda and sold products to help establish meaningful family traditions – a great plan – we just lacked investors!) So this year we will use the banner and the album.
Another way to do this with family & friends who are not local (or college age children who are away from home) is to start a “thankfulness email” & send it back & forth to each other to add their email thanks. My extended family has done this on several occasions & it has been really fun!
I’ll use the next few weeks to share ideas & inspiration that perhaps you can add to your holidays to help make them meaningful and memorable.
Inspire Ministries 
We have ours hanging up! See you in 2 weeks! : )
The Thankfulness Banner is among many traditions that I miss now that everyone is grown and away. I am happy it is something that you continue in your family and find it a meaningful focus. Love, Mom
Dear Beth,
Your blog was shared with me by my sweet friend, Jeannene. She encouraged me to read what you share about your life, family and love for God … she said that you also had 7 children!!! I was just saying today how hard it can be in this day and age to have a large family … my husband and I have 7 children ages 12 and under. We are an anomaly … but we are really blessed. Our family has been built through birth and adoption out of foster care.
I really like your Thanksgiving tradition. I know our family has MUCH to be Thankful for and I think I will try to get an album THIS WEEK to begin this tradition with my family. I sometimes struggle with the fact that we don’t seem to have many meaningful traditions that were carried over from our lives as children. So it’s high time we start some new ones!!!
I’m looking forward to reading more of you blog … I hope you have a wonderful day and congratulation’s to your daughter’s Cross Country Team!
Blessings,
Dana
Dana…
You are blessed!
One of my passions is to help motivate others to have meaningful family traditions. I have several archived under the category – “Family & Friends Friday”. I will be writing a lot about these over the next month of celebrating but lso throughout the year!