Path To Peace; Thanksgiving Traditions

What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

I know I'm about to get some hateful glares by admitting this, but Thanksgiving for me has always just been about the food. It was a preview of what was to come for Christmas. I have a small family, and we all basically lived within a few miles of each other most of my life. There was no grand reunion at Thanksgiving....it was just a bigger dinner than we usually had.

I know many people say Thanksgiving is special because it's a day to pause and reflect on what we're thankful for. I guess it is. But I try to do that every day, not just on Thanksgiving. And I want to make sure my children remember to be thankful more than one day of the year as well.

So when I'm asked about Thanksgiving traditions in my home? I'm kind of stumped. It really is all about the food. And the parade. We always have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background. But the day itself is a jumble of baking and cooking and serving.

We always have turkey. Nothing fancy or exotic. Just turkey please.

The nasty bag of turkey stuff is cooked up and served with rice. (This has always disgusted me, and is one tradition I won't be passing on!)

Sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes.

Only homemade gravy will do.

Pickled onions and beets, made from my Great Grama's recipe. I don't eat them., but we've had them on the table each of my 32 Thanksgivings.

A vegetable or two....sometimes a cold Jello-fluff salad thing...and deviled eggs.

Pecan pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread...

Repeat for about three or four nights until it's all gone.

Are you as hungry as I am?

As a Path To Peace Inspired Blogger I was recently sent some beautiful items from the Macy's Shop For a Better World Rwandan collection, for my Thanksgiving celebration. As I held the beautifully patterned apron and basket in my hands, I began to picture new Thanksgiving traditions unfolding. Food is important, I won't argue that. But I really would like to have something more to pass down to my children.

I could wear this beautiful apron each year on Thanksgiving, and pass it down to my daughters. It's much prettier than the contraband Starbucks aprons I currently wear!
This small woven basket could hold our dreams, wishes, and gratitude from year to year. We could write our hopes and praises on small slips of paper, and use the basket to hold them until next Thanksgiving. How special would it be to bring out the basket each Thanksgiving, reading messages from years past, and adding new ones?
What makes me really want to use these items to begin new Thanksgiving traditions is the history of the items themselves. I told you about the Path To Peace Project, and what a fabulous organization it is. These items connect my Thanksgiving table to a woman's in Rwanda. My traditions to hers. My family to hers. What she wove, I now hold. I don't take that for granted. And I don't want my children to either. These items, although a part of our own traditions, will always remind us of the world from which they came. Of yet another reason to be thankful. And of the interconnectedness of all humanity.

**SEE IT**
Macy's is hosting a series of free in-store events for Path to Peace. There will be product discounts, door prizes, and special guests at each event. If you're local to any of the cities below, I encourage you to attend! Just promise to tell me all about it when you go!

Atlanta: Macy’s Lenox Square: Thursday December 3 at 6:30pm
Washington DC: Macy’s Metro Center: Friday December 4 at 5:30pm
Brooklyn: Macy’s Downtown Brooklyn: Saturday December 5 at 3:00pm
Miami: Macy’s Dadeland Home Store: Sunday December 6 at 3:00pm
New Orleans: Macy’s Lakeside: Tuesday December 8 at 6:00pm
Louisville: Macy’s Oxmoor Center: Saturday December 12 at 3:00pm

**WIN IT**

Winner has been notified

I have a second Rwandan basket for one of you! (I don't know which style you will get, so it may be different than mine).

To enter, leave a comment sharing a Thanksgiving tradition in your family, or a tradition you'd like to start.

For additional entries:
1. Visit Macy's Shop For A Better World and tell me one other item that catches your eye.
2. Make a purchase from Macy's Shop For A Better World and let me know you did.
3. Tweet about this giveaway
4. Blog about this giveaway
Leave a separate comment for each thing you do.

Comments will lose at midnight, November 30. Winner will be randomly selected and notified via e-mail on December 1. Winner will have 48-hours to claim their prize. Open to US Addresses only, please.

Keeping it real: I was provided with a Rwandan basket, apron, and tote bag as a Path To Peace Inspired Blogger, in exchange for writing this post and hosting this giveaway.