Giving Thanks & Preparing for the Season

We hosted a great family Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family on Sunday.  Here are a few scenes from the afternoon.

Based on this idea.

My dad and Kate

Grandparents and grandkids playing a computer game before everyone arrived.

There were 45 of us which is almost exactly half of the family as my mom is one of 14 siblings.  It's an amazing privilege to grow up with a close family of so many immediate relatives.

I tried this idea, but I didn't buy cones with flat tops.  These were the only survivors and they didn't look very cute.

We had a potluck which made it easy work for us to prepare.  Everything was yummy.  My contribution was turkey pot pie rather than the typical turkey.  I made this recipe and used my own which I created for chicken pot pie as well.  I doubled my own recipe and didn't use a crust on the bottom of the other recipe.  Both went into 13x9 pans.  The Pillsbury continuous dough sheets are awesome for this use.

I made my version of this awesome ribbon belt and tried a few other styles of flowers from my Fabric Flower board.

Cousin football!

We will have my family over for the big day tomorrow.  It will be laid back.  We are planning an appetizer lunch and traditional dinner.  I've put several of the recipes we'll be making on my Recipes to Try board on Pinterest.

The much more important reason for this post is to get ahead of what's been hanging over us all since Halloween....Christmas season, the commercial version.  I like a nice gift as much as the next gal and LOVE picking out the perfect gift for someone else, but this year is just different. 

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Experiencing a humbling financial  and spiritual year with all of our big changes (becoming a one income household, receiving Deane's autism diagnosis and pursuing treatment, etc.), has given me inspiration to make something more of this holiday season than the pursuit of gifts and parties.

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I'm so thankful for other bloggers out there who inspire me and are on the same page with my plan.  One of my favorite bloggers, Glennon from Momastery, just published a post about the exact concept I've been working on....a season of Random Acts of Kindness.  So, here's a list of the ideas we're working on/planning:

1. Package for the homeless (items to distribute to homeless/panhandlers such as hand warmers, socks, gloves, snacks, etc.)
2. Food Pantry donation
3. Pay for someone else's toll, parking meter, fast food order, etc.
4. Send gift card to someone for no specific reason
5. Send note of encouragement
6. Compliment good service directly to the manager
7. Take a homemade meal to someone
8. Angel tree
9. Support a child in something important to them.
10. Gift for mail person/paper delivery person
11. Treats for police, fire, emergency workers with note of thanks
12. Recognize military families in some way
13. Pick up litter
14. Help someone having a winter weather emergency
15. Let someone ahead of you in line
16. Smile at every stranger you see
17. Donate to coat drive
18. Do something for someone who causes you to be jealous, frustrated, angry, etc.

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I thought I would have all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, but I now hope to have it done by the end of the month.  We will start our Random Acts of Kindness on Friday and hopefully we will follow through daily until Christmas and then focus on the celebration of Christmas through January 6th.  I'm also hoping to participate in a lot of the family oriented seasonal events like Christmas walks, etc.  Hopefully good pictures to share will follow.

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I would love to hear how others celebrate the season or additional Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) ideas.  Happy Thanksgiving and Christmas season to you!