Living outside of the U.S. and having married an Italian, I work extra hard to keep up American traditions that are important to me. Thanksgiving remains one of my favorite holidays, even if it is just a regular work and school day for everyone else wherever we are.
Part of that tradition is, of course, practicing gratitude. But I found that asking my children to reflect on something for which they were grateful resulted in bland choruses of "I am thankful for my family."
Photo Credit: Nicole Blades.
A few years ago I instituted a tradition of writing on a slip of paper one or two specific things for which each person is thankful about every other person in the room. It can be gratitude for something that person does, or appreciation of a quality that person has. When we’re a small table, we write two tributes for each person. When grandparents or friends visit for Thanksgiving, they join in. At dinner, we each read aloud what has been written about ourselves.
My own mother is poetic: “Amy generously shares her love of life.” My son tends to toward the pragmatic: “I am thankful that Mom picks me up from school.”
Some years, the slips of paper have been shaped like paper feathers that are then pinned with a paper turkey face onto an orange, to form a turkey-shaped table decoration. Other years we have glued the slips of paper into cards or onto construction paper to take home. Every year, the messages are saved by each family member, as memories of the love and gratitude in the room.
The Quick How-To on Tribute Turkeys
Photo Credit: Amy E. Robertson.
1. Print and cut out as many turkey heads as you have guests. Use the feather pattern to make turkey feathers from construction paper in light brown, red, orange or yellow (a mix of colors is pretty).
2. Hand the feathers out well before Thanksgiving dinner is served. This will allow everyone time to think of what they want to write for one another. (Be sure everyone writes the name of the intended person on the feather, as well as their tribute.)
3. Collect the feathers before the dinner. Sort them by guest and pin the heads and tail feathers onto the oranges to form a turkey. These can then decorate the table, and even serve as place cards.
4. During or after the meal, each guest reads his or her tributes aloud.
5. Feel thankful. Bask in glory of all the good people you have in your life.