Can Every Day Be Thanksgiving?
Posted by Erin Nantell on November 18, 2011 3 Comments
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. I think it’s the
culmination of many of the things I enjoy—time with my family, great food,
comforting rituals and friendly conversation.
But why should Thanksgiving be the only memorable meal of
the year? There are many aspects of Thanksgiving that we can incorporate
into everyday meals. Especially after a tumultuous day, the time spent at the
dinner table should be a calming ritual where we can reconnect. But if your
family is anything like our family was a year ago, meals were more mayhem than
merry.
Slowly, we found little things that made meals with the
family much more enjoyable (including the fantastic Crunch a Color™ game).
Surprisingly, many of the things we’ve learned are things we do at Thanksgiving
too, but I never made the connection until now.
Here are a few tips to bring the best of Thanksgiving to our
family meals the other 364 days of the year:
- Give your kids a job. Whether it’s washing the veggies, baking dessert, coloring place cards, or setting the table, make them feel included.
- Include seasonal side dishes in your meal plan. You’ll save 70% by eating what’s in season too. What’s not to love about that?
- Light a candle to signal the beginning of a meal and snuff it out when it’s over. Kids get squirmy at long meals, but by making it a ritual, with a defined beginning and end, you’ll help build impulse control.
- What are you grateful for? I am not sure why Thanksgiving was the only time of year that this was the topic of conversation at the dinner table. They say feeling gratitude is a significant contributor to happiness. As parents, if we are positive and express gratitude, our child will pick up this attitude and habit. For more conversation ideas, try the free, printable Crunch a Color™ conversation starter cards.
What Thanksgiving traditions does your family cherish? Can you make them part of the everyday? Please share in the comments section below!
Mom of two reformed picky eaters, Erin Pasero credits Crunch a Color™ for making mealtime fun for her family. When she's not eating, she also blogs for HealthyHipMama.com.
Kebabs are a fun and easy way to mix it up for the kids. You can also get all 5 colors on one stick :) Thanks to Simply Recipes for this tasty recipe: 
