In the spirit of environmentalism, simplicity and common sense, Enviro-Girl is doling out a few free tips on how to make Thanksgiving a better holiday.
1. Start with the “Thanks” part — this is not a holiday about spending money. It’s a holiday about spending time. Time with family, friends, strangers. And “Thanks” is an attitude — it’s gratitude that we have enough and that, frankly, should be enough. Don’t get wrapped up in the presentation of your table that day, whether you have enough fall-themed placemats or organic cranberries for the sauce. Don’t let Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray, or anybody else tell you what Thanksgiving has to be. That pressure is unneccesary and unnerving.
2. Relax. If you don’t have enough turkey to go around or the mashed potatoes turned out lumpy, Enviro-Girl guarantees people will fill up on sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. Gluttony is unhealthy anyway. Thanksgiving dinner should not mean giant, heaping plates. Again, it’s about the “Giving Thanks,” not “taking Tums.”
3. Delegate. Tell your guests to bring a dish to pass — assign one person a salad, another person a pie. There’s no reason to go bankrupt at the grocery store laying out a Thanksgiving feast, nor is there any reason to stress out because you have to do it all because you don’t.
4. Reduce. There’s no reason to have a mountain of food — one kind of pie is plenty — there’s no “Thanksgiving Rule Book” dictating that every household should serve mincemeat, pumpkin, and apple just because it’s tradition. Make what you know you’ll enjoy and what you know you’ll eat. Wasting time, effort and money on leftover that you’ll throw away is a shameful way to celebrate this holiday.
5. Spend your time on what matters: give thanks. Whether it’s through prayer, individual testimony around the dinner table or as part of a game, spend a portion of Thanksgiving doing exactly that. When the younger generation sees that part of Thanksgiving Day is about appreciating all we have, that’s progress. Thanksgiving isn’t about replicating a scene in a Norman Rockwell painting, it isn’t about football, it isn’t even about turkey. However, wherever and with whomever you spend this day, Enviro-Girl encourages you to relax, delegate if necessary and spend your time cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
We always go around the table at Thanksgiving and say one thing we’re thankful for.
My most important thing of the holidays is spending time with the family.
These are all wonderful suggestions.
Amen to this post.