Thanksgiving is a special holiday and always has been in our family.  Growing up, I can remember going to my aunts house to eat a big meal.  There was a lot of talking, laughing, and family fun.  And it was always around a big table with metal folding chairs stuck in between the beautiful dining room chairs. 

There were over 20 of us with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins.  The food was set out on the table in serving trays of all different shapes and sizes.  We passed it around… yummy turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, yams, and sweet rolls.  The memories and smells are engraved in my mind.

And now, I have my own family.  We have since moved states away so I had to start my own holiday traditions.  One tradition that we do when we get together on holidays is focusing on what we are grateful for.  We not only do this on Thanksgiving, but other holidays as well. 

My favorite thing to do is after all the food has been consumed and the table has been cleared, we pop open the sparkling cider and go around the table and each person will say what they are grateful for and we toast after each declaration.  More often than not, someone winds up crying… more often with joy than with sadness. 

I just recently thought about doing this on birthdays as well.  What a great time to talk about what we love about that person on their special day. 

Do you have any fun family holiday traditions?  We would love to hear about it!