Thanksgiving every day

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  Time has flown this season!  As I started to wrap some Christmas gifts, it hit me that I hadn’t even taken one moment to think about Thanksgiving yet. I have been so wrapped up in Daniel's Christmas gift that the holidays had taken a back seat. But now that I went to pick up his gift, I really want to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving!  I love the Thanksgiving holiday because it is the perfect time to focus all your attention on feeling grateful and giving thanks even when is not celebrated in the Philippines. I love the quote:

“Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.” –W.J. Cameron

So with Thanksgiving coming quickly I made of list of some actions we can take to really get into the spirit of Thanksgiving not only one day but every day. 

These are some examples:

Invite a neighbor to dinner. or take a Thanksgiving dinner to a family in need. You can either let them know ahead of time or you can leave a big frozen turkey on their doorstep with a box of Stove top stuffing and mashed potato flakes so they have all the ingredients to cook the dinner for their family.

Visit someone who is sick or go to a Children's hospital or any hospital and take stuffed animals or kids’ books or games to leave with the patients who will be stuck in the hospital for Thanksgiving.

Send a note to a family member or a friend expressing appreciation or send a care package to soldiers overseas. Being away from home is hard enough but being away from home on a holiday is the worst. Send a care package over and include some fun holiday movies on DVD to entertain them.

Visit a home for the aged at a rest home who are alone on Thanksgiving. Listen to their stories. Ask them for life advice.

Donate to a food pantry or food bank or shelter. Not only do they need food but they need coats and blankets to help keep people warm.

Invite someone alone to join your family for Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing is worse than being alone on a holiday. Most people won’t admit they don’t want to be alone so you have to be the one to reach out and invite them to join you.

I think that last one is so important. Being alone on the holidays should never happen to anyone, and the only way to avoid that is if all of us are willing to look around at the people we know and make sure that we reach out to anyone who may not have somewhere to go and include them. What better way to show Thanksgiving in action? And they may just end up blessing your life more than you bless theirs.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”  – Melanie Beattie

Have a blessed grateful day tomorrow everyone! 

Con amor,

Vero