We’re reflecting on the many traditions that knit our family together during this season of giving thanks. One of the most important is expressing gratitude everyday, as well as at the Thanksgiving table. The smallest things can be gratifying ~ a surprise phone call from an old friend, the joy we feel at a beautiful sunrise, and acknowledging how very lucky we are to have a community of people who love and support us. Creating a peaceful and beautiful home and planning quality family time helps us dwell on happiness and teaches us just how beautiful life can be. In the spirit of finding reasons to be thankful everyday, we’re sharing some of the ways that we practice gratitude. Enjoy!
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Quiet reflection is good for the mind and soul, and there’s something about late fall evenings that lend themselves to firelight and contemplation. Use what nature provides to decorate your home this month and make it a place of beauty and calm. A trip around your yard should yield a bounty of interesting branches, seed heads, nuts, and grasses. A fireplace is an obvious focal point for fall decor. On this mantel, clear glass vases allow foliage cut from a “Bloodgood” Japanese maple to take center stage, but use what you have on hand. Accessorize with items that represent home: books, candles, photos, and other objects that carry memories. Take time to lay a fire, light candles, and enjoy the beauty you create.
Here in New England, we’ve put our gardens to bed by early November and turn our energy to indoor gardening. House plants that spent the summer outdoors are now soaking up what sunlight they can get indoors. Tending indoor plants is satisfying and has the benefit of cleaning the air in our house. This rustic, custom-built plant stand sits in an east-facing window where a collection of ferns gets morning light. When locating house plants within your home, the general rule is that plants requiring full sun should be placed in south and west facing windows where they will get direct sunlight for as long as possible, while shade loving plants tend to like eastern exposure where they get morning sun only. When the spring comes around again, the ferns and plant stand will resume their outdoor posts.
If you’re seeking inspiration for this year’s Thanksgiving table, look no further than family traditions. Below, vintage red and white china carries memories of childhood holidays at grandmother’s house. Who says red isn’t a fall color? Just look at the trees outside ~ red leaves abound, and for this table, we’ve mingled it with rattan place mats and the earthy brown hues of pears, pinecones, and nuts. Each Thanksgiving, grandmother set a beautiful table with Mason’s Pink Vista that was handed down from her mother and that she continued collecting painstakingly over the years. Using her china brings memories of cousins, aunts, uncles, and parents sitting around Thanksgiving tables ringing with laughter and family stories. Heirlooms carry powerful memories, reminding us of stories that we can pass on to our children. Completing the scene in this dining room, miniature corn husk dolls tell a charming story of household chores as they peek out of a hand-painted hutch. If you’re lucky enough to have inherited grandmother’s china (or great aunt’s crystal), use it this Thanksgiving, and pass memories of loved ones on to your children. Sharing stories is an important way to keep family memories alive and to express gratitude for the loved ones in your life.
The Thanksgiving menu below is a classic in our family, and we rarely deviate from it, except to include a new side dish here or there. Now that the children are old enough, they pitch in, which adds to the fun. Find the link below to print this menu or to print a blank template that you can fill in with your own menu.
Joy is about the little things, and it’s easy to find joy in abundance outdoors. This month, schedule family outings to local nature preserves, hiking trails, or beaches to make the most of the outdoors before the weather turns really cold. Hear the leaves crunching underfoot as you walk. Smell the wood smoke drifting from a nearby farm. Turn your face up to the waning sunlight and smell the crisp, clean air. Taking time to be aware of your surroundings is deeply gratifying. Upon returning home from even a brief outing, notice how calm you feel. Hold onto that feeling and carry it with you as long as you can.
We’d love to hear about some of the ways you and your family practice gratitude. Leave us a comment below.
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