The week following Halloween, George and I took the crew to Half Price Books in search of Thanksgiving books.  Behind an elaborate Christmas book display, we found a meager shelf labeled, “holiday”.  This shelf contained a conglomeration of holidays ranging from Valentine’s Day to Easter with a smattering of Thanksgiving books.  Sadly, the majority of the Thanksgiving books were geared to older children.  We snagged two age appropriate books worth purchasing so we’ve read these two at least once daily all month.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever is a charming story about a family of turkeys that gather to celebrate their many blessings. Naturally, their feast consists of corn.
Let it Fall describes the change in seasons and family activities during autumn. The illustrations are beautiful and capture the beauty of family time.

After our trip to the bookstore, my Facebook news feed began overflowing with pictures of children clad in Christmas attire as they visited Santa, evidence of wrapped packages, and fully decorated Christmas trees.  Seriously, this began around November 3rd.  Anytime I entered a retail establishment, holiday music lingered and Christmas products were in the fore front.  It started feeling as if it were December already, and there was an urgency to prepare for Christmas. Then, our neighbors began adorning their homes in twinkling lights.  It became such a trend that our home owner’s association left notes at homes where decorations were out 30 days prior to the holiday.   Consequently, the HOA president has been dubbed “Scrooge of the Neighborhood” by some overzealous residents.  Holiday light citations may not have been necessary, but I tend to agree with the notion it’s too early to commence Christmas activity the first week of November.

Instead of following the masses, I dug my heels in this year and refused to begin decorating for Christmas when the turkey hasn’t been carved.  This year, the quads are learning about the seasons and holiday traditions, and I want to teach them about Thanksgiving as much as any other holiday.

To give a little attention to Thanksgiving, we spent time decorating die cut leaves and then writing what we are thankful for this season.  (In case you were wondering, the quads dictated, and I transcribed.)  Since the quads have been working on prayers expressing gratitude, this task was an easy one for them.

For a little festive fun, we also made turkeys from paper plates and toilet paper rolls.

Once we finished our Thanksgiving crafts, I nestled the turkeys into our mantle decor and taped the die cut leaves among the autumn garland.  The leaves are nice reminders of the little things we appreciate in our lives.

Despite my reluctance to start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, I did purchase the quads Christmas pajamas.   In my defense, I was burned the first two Christmases with the quads.  I waited until after Thanksgiving and found barren shelves!  Harper was forced to wear pajamas about a size too small two years in a row.  I wasn’t making him do it again.  They’ll get to wear their new pajamas the night our Christmas tree goes up.

When do you begin decorating for Christmas?  Perhaps you’re an eager beaver.  Maybe you wait until Christmas Eve. Maybe you’re like me and want the turkey gobbling to cease first. Or maybe you celebrate a different holiday altogether.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amber