Welcome Warm Fuzzies

Written by Kaley Morgan

Warm fuzzies and happiness swirl around the concept of tradition. There is history, nostalgia, and sweet memories attached to it. I find that no matter what is going on in my life, the reminiscing that accompanies tradition can’t help but blanket your heart and countenance with a smile.

Some of us have long standing traditions that we can hardly wait to repeat year after year. Others might be looking for some new traditions to start with your family. So, I asked the Foothills staff to share their favorite Thanksgiving traditions, which I’ve organized into categories below.

The purpose of this blog is for enjoyment, not overwhelm. So before we get started, a quick word to those who are already feeling stressed about that holiday hustle. I’m going to tell you something: you don’t have to do it all. Every single holiday doesn’t have to be completely identical year after year (gasp!). Don’t put pressure on yourself to do everything or let the perfectly curated social media feed tell you what you should be doing. If you’re feeling stressed out about all the things, identify the biggest stressors. Once you identify it, it’s easier to solve. Name what matters most to you this holiday season, and let the rest go. If you need room to breathe, prioritize it. Say no to some of the extra events to have a few more evenings at home, some space to think, and time to soak in some beloved sensory aspects like cinnamon apple candles and pumpkin spice lattes. Set some house rules with your family to be able to achieve a more desirable holiday season that fills up your hearts with refreshing cheer, not chaos. So steal ideas below if it aligns with your values this year and ignore the rest. Let’s be intentional with our traditions so we can let tradition do what tradition does best… warm fuzzies, smiles, and gratitude.

Food Favorites & Meal Prep

1. Cinnamon roll sticky buns for breakfast.
2. Charcuterie board for lunch that you can graze while prepping the main Thanksgiving meal.
3. Making cute name place cards for everyone’s seat at the table.
4. Martinelli’s sparkling cider in fancy champagne glasses.
5. Dutch Apple Pie from Apple Hill for dessert.
6. Grandma’s sweet potato pie with brown sugar, pecan, and coconut topping.
7. Pecan pie (and not dropping the whole uncooked pie on the floor because that happened once).
8. Sweet potato casserole (a lot of people's favorite).

Gratitude Activities

1. Create a paper tree and branches out of brown paper and put it on the wall. Cut out different shapes of fall-colored leaves. People can write what they are thankful for on the leaves and place them on the tree. You can even keep the “thankful leaves” year after year to reminisce about who was there that year and what you were thankful for each year.
2. Put a blank poster on the wall with colorful pens nearby! Throughout the day, people write what they are thankful for from the past year. Then, during dinner, read the list and talk about the memories mentioned. 
3. Put two kernels of popcorn on everyone’s plate before dinner started (why popcorn? No idea!) Then go around the table and say two things you’re thankful for. 
4. Place scraps of paper out in the morning, each person can write two thankful thoughts, and put them in a basket. During dinner, everyone picks two papers to read out loud. Writing them down sometimes helps you pause a bit longer and be more thoughtful in your thankfulness.

Games & Entertainment 

1. Watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade… whether it’s on while you’re scurrying about the kitchen, or if you’re all snuggling on the couch watching it.
2. Watch Michael Nedved’s The First Thanksgiving—Pilgrims, Puritans, and the Founding of America. It’s about 3 hours long, so you can start it in the morning with your coffee and then let it run loud while you begin some kitchen prep. If you want to hear American history recounted by a master storyteller, that includes God’s providence on full display, check it out!
   Free - you can access part 1 and part 2 on YouTube, which focus on the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving (part 3 focuses on the Puritans). Or you can purchase the whole show, parts 1-3, from Michael Nedved’s History store.
3. Play flag football with the whole family.
4. Around the World Ping Pong.
5. Watch the NFL Football game.
6. Watch A Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving.
7. Take an afternoon walk (helps make room for pie).
8. Play card games with the whole family.
9. Play a family game of hide and seek tag outside in the dark.

Transition to Christmas Activities

1. Scour the Black Friday Sales to make your plan, and then get up early to execute said plan!
2. Eat leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast Friday morning, and Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner… all while decorating for Christmas.  
3. Watch a Christmas movie as a family after all guests depart—the first Christmas movie of the season! 
4. New Christmas jammies each year and unwrap on Thanksgiving after dinner.

Comment below on any ideas you plan to steal, or share your own traditions and ideas!
Happy Thanksgiving!