Today I am so excited to have Katie Hurley LCSW, Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychotherapist and Parenting Expert from Practical Parenting guest posting. I absolutely love the great information that Katie shares about parenting. Since we both have children that are preschool age, I often feel that she personally writes the posts just for me. I encourage you stop by and take a look around; honestly she might just have the support you have been looking for to keep from losing your mind when dealing with your children. And you can even find her lurking around twitter @PracticalMom.

The wait is over, here is what she is sharing with us today. Trust me, this is going to be GOOD!

6 Tips for Putting the Thanks Back in Thanksgiving

Children love holidays. Mine will celebrate anything. The level of excitement is the same for Christmas as it is for Father’s Day. If there’s a reason to decorate, eat something yummy, and to just be together…they’re in.

The pre-excitement for all holidays is not, however, created equal. I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow Halloween became a ten-day celebration (the choosing of Halloween costumes often begins in the summer, and many kids attend several parties before they even head out trick-or-treating) while Christmas and Hanukah joined forces to take over the entire month of December. Between the shopping, planning, and arguing over who is hosting which portion of the holiday, the winter holidays have become one very long event.

Sandwiched between the multiple days of dressing up/sugar highs and all things snowy and glittery lies one of my favorite holidays…the one that remains a one-day affair: Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving seems to be a bit of a forgotten holiday (it is often referred to as “Turkey Day” instead of Thanksgiving). Sure, families get together to eat a nice meal, watch some football, and enjoy pumpkin pie, but how many people truly stop to think about where it all began?

As much as children love to celebrate holidays, they also enjoy understanding the meaning of them. While we assume that they are most interested in the decorating, crafting, and gift giving associated with many holidays research actually shows that when children are asked what they are most thankful for they often respond, family, friends, and spending time together. At the end of the day, all they need is love.

With that in mind, below are six tips to help you teach your children about the meaning of Thanksgiving:

1. History lesson: Sometimes parents avoid teaching young children about the origins of various holidays for fear that the details will be too overwhelming. To some degree, those parents are right. Young children (toddlers and preschoolers) are egocentric and have a tendency to worry about how things will affect them, even when learning a history lesson (ex: will we have a terrible winter and no food to eat?). Give them the information, but at a level that they can understand. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth Colony in 1621. The Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down together to give thanks for a plentiful 1st harvest, which occurred after the Native Americans taught the pilgrims how to grow crops and hunt wild game. While they ate geese, duck, and deer at that Thanksgiving, the wild turkey is native to the Eastern states and has become a symbol of Thanksgiving. History lesson complete.

2. Thankful tree (or jar): While the first Thanksgiving was centered on that very important harvest, we have a lot to be thankful for every day. Create a thankful tree to post on the wall (or a jar on the counter) during the week of Thanksgiving. Using picture cut outs for younger children and paper leaves (to write on) for older children, have children (and parents) add at least one thing they are thankful for to the tree each day. Within a few days you will have a beautiful tree full of thankful leaves. Reading the reasons to be thankful aloud before the start of the Thanksgiving meal is a great way to stay focused on the true meaning of the holiday.

3. Traditions: The pilgrims and Native Americans sat down together to give thanks for the harvest, as well as to appreciate the bonds that they formed by working together for a common goal. Thanksgiving is a time for families (and friends) to be together and appreciate one another. Instead of spending the day stressing about the meal or sitting in front of the television, get out there and start a tradition. Play a football game, take a walk on the beach, have a sing along…whatever you do, do it together.

4. Prepare together: Thanksgiving tends to become more about the meal than the holiday, and often this leaves young children to play independently while the adults fuss over the cooking. Why not get the kids involved? Young children love to help with cooking and are more than capable when it comes to washing fruits and vegetables, mixing, pouring, and gathering ingredients. Talk about what was served at the first Thanksgiving and ask them for opinions about what you might serve this year. The pilgrims did not eat the green bean/onion casserole, you know, there’s no rule that you have to serve it every year! Your kids will feel more involved and take more away from the holiday if you include them in the cooking, decorating, and table setting.

5. Cards: It used to be that large extended families lived close by, but now more than ever families are spread apart. We live 3,000 miles away from most of our family members. Having children make Thanksgiving cards to show family members that they are thankful for them even when they are far away is a great way to help them feel connected. Ask them why they are thankful for each person, and write it in the card. The recipients will love to hear how important they are to your children, especially the specifics.

6. Family service project: After talking about the first harvest and what things your kids are thankful for today, it’s a good time to talk about helping others. While you want to be careful not to scare your children with specific information about hunger and homelessness (remember, this is difficult information to process), it is a great idea to do a family service project together that helps others in the community. Collect food to donate to a local food bank or soup kitchen, gather old clothes and toys to share with others, or donate your time by helping with an environmental cause (there are many organizations that plant trees and gardens or clean up local parks and beaches). Working together as a family to help others is a great way to stay focused on the meaning of Thanksgiving and teach your child the importance of giving back to the community.

How do you teach your children about Thanksgiving?