By Courtney Burkholder

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I admit, a good 75 percent of that is the food. Why we can’t eat turkey and dressing and green bean casserole every day and save the sandwiches and Lean Cuisines for once a year is a mystery to me!

But aside from the delicious food, Thanksgiving brings families together to celebrate, give thanks for all that we have, and remember our heritage.

Thanksgiving is also about traditions. Growing up, my mother always made us do corny Thanksgiving projects with our cousins. We made turkeys out of Popsicle sticks and construction paper, writing all that we were thankful for on the Popsicle stick tails. We wrote Thanksgiving poems and read them aloud to our grandparents at the dinner table. We dressed up in pilgrim and Indian costumes, and told the story of the first Thanksgiving from our fireplace stage.

Every year, we grumbled and groaned, but we knew better than to argue with Mother and Aunt Janie. And we learned early on, that being thankful for a Walkman or tickets to the Sean Cassidy concert rarely garnered a chuckle at our dinner table. Being thankful was serious business.

Now as a parent, I feel compelled to continue the tradition and instigate corny Thanksgiving activities for my kids. There’s something about a beautiful Thanks-giving table WITHOUT handmade turkey place cards or construction paper Indian headdresses that just isn’t appealing to me. And sharing what we are thankful for is a part of Thanksgiving I wouldn’t live without. Sometimes this is done creatively with a project, sometimes we hold hands, go around the circle, and share.

Whatever is your preferred method of torturing your children, you have my blessing. But teaching them the importance of being thankful for all that we have is one of those life lessons they will carry with them always. And we have much to be thankful for!

Be thankful that we live in a free country, where we have the right to celebrate as we wish, worship God, and pursue our goals and dreams.

Be thankful that we live in a country where our water is clean and food is plentiful.

Be thankful that each child has the opportunity to learn and have an education.

Be thankful for jobs and homes and transportation.

Be thankful for special times with family and traditions.