Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that is very relaxing and enjoyable. The basic premise of the holiday is to eat a lot of food, watch football, and celebrate together as a family the many blessings that we have and receive daily. We are truly a blessed people to have the many blessings and luxuries of life that we enjoy on a daily basis.

As a child I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving. I remember preparing the night before the big day by setting up the tables and chairs and helping my mom get the house ready for the large group of extended family that would be coming the next day. When Thanksgiving morning arrived my brother and I would put on our clothes and coats and play the annual game of Thanksgiving football. We played the game one-on-one and would hold our little game in rain, sleet, or snow. I remember many years when the snow would be coming down heavily but we would still be out there running around tackling each other. We would then come in and have a cup of hot cocoa and get warmed up and start helping our Mom finish up the final preparations for the big dinner.

About this time, the relatives started to arrive. My uncles, aunts, and cousins would come over for the big feast. It was fun to visit and play together while waiting to start the meal. We would often watch football while waiting. I remember watching many games with my uncles and cousins on Thanksgiving afternoons. The nearby coal stove would warm the room while we watched and the aroma of the food being cooked in the kitchen filled the entire house. We would snack on appetizers of chips and dips and veggie trays.

My Mom made the best Thanksgiving dinners. If the smell of her homemade rolls didn’t delight you, the taste of the crisp buttery outside and soft inside would win you over quickly. Her golden basted turkey always smelled incredible and the slices were moist and would melt in your mouth. She always made the best mashed potatoes and gravy. She used potatoes right from our garden and made the gravy from the turkey drippings. To this day when I smell hot butter rolls or a large turkey cooking in the oven I often think of the Thanksgiving days growing up as a young boy.

After enjoying this incredible meal every year, we would then retire back to the TV room to watch more football. The Dallas Cowboys would play their yearly game and it always seem to be an exciting game full of long passes, hard hits, and close finishes. After the game the desserts would start making the rounds. My Mom made pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and every other dessert you can imagine. As a child I thought this holiday rivaled Christmas. What can be better than lots of food, football, and family?

Now I have my own family, and we trade off every year going to my wife’s family for Thanksgiving one year and my parents the next. I still enjoy the hot rolls, the moist turkey, and watching football. I still enjoy the family and visiting together. I no longer play my brother in the annual football game, but the memories will always be there and I will play it out in my mind every year Thanksgiving comes around.

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Tips for a Happy Halloween

Halloween is right around the corner this year. Most of us think of Halloween as a one night holiday that comes and goes quickly. I am actually not a big fan of the trick or treating on Halloween night, but I do enjoy all the many other fun things you can do leading up to the big night.

When I was younger, Halloween in my family was never really that popular. We carved pumpkins and went out trick or treating, but other than that we didn’t decorate much and didn’t do any other activities. As I have started my own family, and found that my wife grew up in a family that loves Halloween, I have found that there is a lot that you can do in the days leading up to Halloween. I have a list of 6 fun activities that you
may not have thought of, that you could do this year during the pretty autumn days leading up to the 31st.

1. Find a local farmer that is doing a hay ride to go into a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. Over the past 3 years we have gone to the Red Barn in Santaquin, Utah to go on their annual pumpkin patch hay ride to pick out our pumpkins. The kids love the ride and are amazed at all the pumpkins in their large patch. It is a fun family night idea and after the ride you can buy a treat to enjoy. Watch for similar ideas in the area where you live.

2. Decorate your whole house in Halloween decorations with your kids. As I mentioned earlier I grew up in a house that didn’t decorate much for Halloween. My wife has now converted me to Halloween decorating because she brought to our marriage a bunch of different decorations that have been a lot of fun to take out every year and have the kids put around the house. This year we put spider webs all over the outside of our house. We also have an 8 foot Halloween Mickey Mouse in our front yard. The kids love all of it.

3. Go to a Halloween party. Every year there are certain places that have Halloween parties. Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah has all different kinds of fun activities for kids, parents, and even a Halloween dance for teenagers. Another good place for a fun Halloween party is at Young Living Farms in Mona, Utah. This year they are having their “Fall Festival” on October 25th from 4-8pm

4. Buy some Halloween books and read one every night during October. Kids love to be read to, and probably haven’t read many Halloween books. This will really get them excited for Halloween and will also provide good quality time for parents to be with their children every night.

5. Don’t just carve pumpkins, paint faces and even buy plastic eyes, noses, and parts for younger children to put on. Carving pumpkins with your family is fun, but when you have younger kids, it can be difficult for them to be involved very much. This year I saw a little package of plastic eyes, noses, ears, and mouths that could be put on pumpkins to make faces. Our kids have really enjoyed making different faces this year on the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch on our hay ride.

6. Make home-made treats to give kids that are trick or treating. When I was younger and went trick or treating it was an annual tradition to go to my older neighbors, who would always give us a rice puff ball. We would then go to another neighbor who gave us decorated Halloween cookies. The times like this are long gone, but we could try doing this one year and see how the kids react to a fresh homemade Halloween treat rather than the average piece of store bought candy. My wife and I tried making Halloween cookies a few years back and had wonderful compliments and enjoyed sharing our cooking with the parents as well as the kids.

Whatever you decide to do for Halloween, make sure that you remember that you are making memories for your kids. Remember you are making fun and enjoyable memories for your kids to think of during the rest of their lives. The things you do for and with them today will be with them forever.

Happy Halloween!

Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.