BJU Press Blog

Thanksgiving

Food, Friends, and Family

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Why? Because of its simplicity. There’s no need to decorate my house, no need to spend hours searching for the elusive “perfect” gift, and no need to stress about how to squeeze fifteen different social functions into three days. Thanksgiving is all about taking a day to reflect on what the Lord has blessed us with and enjoy the company of family and friends (and good food!).

Image of a little boy eating corn bread.

Yes, good food is a big part of this holiday’s appeal. Somehow, spending hours in the kitchen preparing food with my family members and friends ends up being therapeutic. We laugh. We share stories and swap recipes. We make a big mess and enjoy taking the time to clean it up. For this day and this day only, I don’t mind if my preschooler ends up covered with flour. I just laugh, snap a picture, and preserve the memory for years to come. I end the day tired, but it is a happy kind of tired, the kind of tired that comes when you know that your cup of blessings has just overflowed.

A few weeks ago, the Interactive Marketing Department here at BJU Press got together to enjoy a good meal and swap recipes. Below are some of our favorites. We hope you will enjoy them.

Vegetables

Byron’s Cheesy Veggies

Megan’s Corn Casserole

David’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Bread/Stuffing

Meredith’s Cranberry Stuffing

Nick’s Cornbread Muffins

Dessert

Carolynn’s Pumpkin Cake

Soup

Megan’s Comforting Turkey Noodle Soup (great to make with leftovers!)

What’s your favorite part about Thanksgiving?

A Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving

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When you hear the phrase “the first Thanksgiving,” what are some images that come to mind? You have probably seen enough artists’ renderings of this event to have a mental picture of fall trees, a table loaded with traditional Thanksgiving fare, and an assortment of Pilgrims and Wampanoags enjoying a peaceful meal together. A number of historians have exposed the mythical elements in scenes like that. For example, while there might have been turkey at the feast, there would not have been potatoes. The Pilgrims would have lacked sugar for sweetening cranberries and ovens for baking pumpkin pies. The menu may have even included such nontraditional items as mussels, crabs, and eels. Since furniture would have been scarce in Plymouth Colony, even the table itself is a questionable detail.

Historical errors have also crept into the way Pilgrim clothing is depicted. Large buckles on hats and shoes were not affordable for common people, and Pilgrim men probably would not have worn them even if they had been. Written records of the Pilgrims have revealed that they wore bright-colored garments, especially for festive occasions, rather than mournful black.

It’s also possible that the presence of the Indians at the Thanksgiving feast was not entirely comfortable for the Pilgrims. No doubt there were lingering tensions on both sides, despite peaceful relations on the surface.

But perhaps the one thing most of us lack in our mental picture of this feast is an understanding of the Pilgrims’ state of bereavement. The Pilgrims were undergoing a period of deep personal grief. Only about half of their number who had voyaged on the Mayflower had survived the first winter. Nearly every family had experienced a death. Only four of the married women were still living. Most of the Pilgrims at the feast were men or children under the age of sixteen.

The exact character of the 1621 harvest feast is a subject of debate. Some scholars think it was more of a festival than a serious religious holiday. But whatever the mood of the occasion, the fact remains that even in the face of excruciating personal trials, the Pilgrims took a day to celebrate God’s goodness. The Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving teach us that giving thanks is an act of faith. A truly thankful person looks beyond the present difficulties to see God’s gracious hand opened, giving what is best. May we be reminded this Thanksgiving Day that we too are pilgrims on a journey planned and guided by an all-wise God. May we have the faith to lift our eyes above life’s barren fields to thank God for His bountiful blessings—past, present, and future.

What are you thankful for this year?

Count Your Blessings

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Encourage children to count their blessings and share them with others by making these simple table decorations for Thanksgiving.

Materials Needed

The same materials can be used for both table decorations.

  • Patterns:  (centerpiece) double turkey; (placemat) leaves or single turkey
  • Markers, crayons, color pencils
  • Pencil or pen
  • Scissors
  • Glue (glue stick works best)
  • Construction paper (optional for centerpiece)
  • Clear contact paper (optional for centerpiece)

Thankful Turkeys Centerpiece

  1. Download and print out the double turkey pattern.
  2. Have the kids write out what they are thankful for on the turkey’s four feathers. (They can write the same or different things on both sides.)
  3. Let the kids decorate their turkeys by coloring in the body and feathers. (If you decide not to use contact paper, adding feathers, sequins, and fabric to the turkeys might be fun.)
  4. Make sure the kids follow the dotted lines to cut out the turkeys. (If you want to leave the legs, don’t forget to trace and cut around them!)
  5. Finally, have them fold the printout on the solid black line and set it on the table. (Tips: For added firmness glue the printout to a piece of construction paper before folding it; or cut out the optional bottom piece, fold on the solid black lines, and glue the flaps to both sides of the printout. For added protection trace over the dotted lines on both burkeys. Next, lay a piece of contact paper on the front side of the printout. The contact paper should overlap the edge of the printout by half an inch. Cut out the turkeys and fold the printout on the solid black line.)

Blessings Falling Down Placemat

  1. Download and print out the leaves pattern.
  2. Have the kids write out a blessing on each leaf.
  3. Let the kids color the leaves. (The kids only need to color the side they wrote on.)
  4. Make sure the kids follow the dotted lines as they cut out each leaf.
  5. Encourage the kids to write a title for their placemat on the piece of construction paper. (For example: “I am thankful for . . . ” or “My Blessings”)
  6. Have the kids glue the leaves to either side of  the construction paper. (Preferred paper size is 9×12.)
  7. Cut out a piece of contact paper so that it overlaps the edge of the construction paper by half an inch. Place the construction paper onto the contact paper. Repeat the process so that both sides of the construction paper are covered and the contact paper is sealed; then trim the edges. (Optional: A placemat can also be made using the single turkey pattern.)

I hope you enjoy making these crafts. Making placemats was one of my favorite activities to do while growing up. In fact, I still use placemats, notepad paper, and 3×5 cards to help me reflect on the goodness of God. Teaching children to thank God for all things prepares them to trust Him in the future.

How do you encourage children to express thankfulness?