Thanksgiving Gatherings become Blessings

November seems to stir something deep with in me to acknowledge my feelings of gratitude and thankfulness. Since I have the privilege of hosting our extended family Thanksgiving celebration dinner, I also have the opportunity to guide our time around the table with traditions that mean a lot to me. For as many years as I can remember, we have had a tradition of placing three corn kernels at each person’s place setting. After the blessing and sometime during the meal, we would begin passing around a small basket and placing our corn kernels into the basket while we shared what we were thankful for that year. There were years when the basket went around two or three times as we had so many joys to share and then other years when it took the entire meal to make it around once, as family members shared how they were thankful to have made it through a year full of some difficult situations with health or other struggles. This time of intimate sharing always reminds us how grateful we are to be sitting around a table with loved ones in a country where we are free to worship God.   

We added a creative twist a few years ago that gave us a way to express our thankfulness to one another that brought added blessings in a tangible way and it has became a new tradition. We made place cards out of 8 1/2 by 11 card stock for each person coming to our Thanksgiving gathering. We folded the card stock in half and decorated the front with their name and other fun fall stickers and stamps. The sky is the limit…you can make the place cards as elaborate or as simple as you like. We placed them on the table at each person’s seat and we put a small basket full of colored Sharpies in the middle of the table. As the guests arrived we explained our new idea. Anytime during the afternoon or evening they were asked to write inside each person’s card and at the end of the evening everyone would have a card full of blessings to take home. Everyone loved the process and the results, so we have added this to our Thanksgiving tradition.

Here are the supplies you need:

8 ½ x 11 card stock (any fall color will do)
Colored Sharpies or other felt pens
Fall and Thanksgiving stickers
stamp pads
Thanksgiving stamps
Sometime a few days before the Thanksgiving day preparations begin, set aside some time to create your place cards. Get your family to help, kids love this activity. Set out the stickers, pens and stamps. Fold the card stock in half and write the names on each card of all the guests that will be seated at your Thanksgiving Feast. We also added a bible verse on the inside or on the bottom of the front. Then enjoy decorating the cards, making sure you leave the inside blank for the guests to write encouraging notes to each other.
Enjoy! Blessings will come back to you as you read the messages from your guests.

What Thanksgiving traditions do you love?