* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.* REPOST FROM NOVEMBER 1, 2021
I think it's safe to say, our Thanksgiving Day Dinner is pretty epic. When the kids were younger, we would often travel back to Philadelphia and have Thanksgiving dinner with Jay's family. We would do the Thanksgiving Day Parade, sightsee around the city, take in the holiday festivities, and of course eat plenty of Thanksgiving dinner.
However, as the kids got older and busier, making that trip became more and more difficult, until it was near impossible. Eventually, we just had to say, we weren't coming. And while it was sad not being able to go "home," it did give us the opportunity to start some new family traditions. One of those traditions included having the kids help with Thanksgiving Dinner! At first, preparing dinner was Amy's job, not by some mandate, but it was just kinda assumed that Amy was cooking. Jay was also in the kitchen helping, but most of the work fell to Amy. Now that might have been okay, but as you know, we had 5 kiddos. That's a lot of work.
But somewhere around 2014, Amy had an idea. After years of doing most of the work, Amy suggested that we start having the kids help with the meal. She would ask each kid what their favorite dish of the meal was, then have them help prepare that dish. It was a brilliant idea. Not only did Amy get some help in the kitchen, but she got to spend some 1-on-1 time with each kid as they learned how to prepare their favorite dish.
Since then, Amy and the kids (and Jay) have been working together to cook and prepare our Thanksgiving dinner. But we've since realized that there were some pretty cool blessings that came from this new tradition. 1-on-1 Time with each kid.
Yes, we already mentioned this, but we want to go a little deeper, because this isn't just about teaching someone a recipe. Amy is a great asker of questions. She sometime takes some ribbing because of it, but Amy has a gift for asking questions that get our kids talking. So for her, this time in the kitchen with each one of the kids is the perfect time to get them talking. It's become a sweet time of sharing as the kids let their guards down and open up.
Passing on the recipes.
Yes, we mentioned this as well, but hang in there. Think about this for a second, was there ever a dish that your mom or dad, or grandparent made that you absolutely loved and looked forward to eating? But how many of you ever knew how to make that dish? We remember early on in our marriage, sharing the different food items that we loved to eat, and then saying, 'I have to get that recipe from _________." Right?
But when you're learning how to cook your favorite dish with the person who makes your favorite dish, there's no need to "get the recipe," you already know it. Down the road, when we gather for our family Thanksgivings, our hope is that the work of preparing dinner might be spread out as each kid (and their family) arrives to dinner bearing their favorite dish. More time with the kids,
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Welcome to the Life in the Higham House , we are glad you are visiting. As a family of 7, we have had our fair share of adventures. We share our stories with the hope of passing along what we have learned, what we love, and what God is doing in our lives to encourage you and your family. But we love to hear from our readers, so please share your thought in the comment section of each post.
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