“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go . . .” One of these days I should really learn the rest of the words to that song, we sing it so often this time of year, but we never sing all of it! Yes, it’s definitely that time of year. With Halloween wrapped up (though I bet you’re still unwrapping the candy, am I right?), it’s time to think about all of our favorite family holidays.
What tops the list of favorite holidays? Well, here in America it’s just got to be Thanksgiving: it transcends all religions and ethnicities. Generally celebrating involves your nearest and dearest relatives, if you’re lucky. I remember when my brother first got married, and suddenly our small family of 4, who went home to my parents for all major holidays, had to change our tune. Suddenly he had another family to consider: the in-laws. At the time I remember feeling a little snubbed—and concerned. I wasn’t ready for such big changes to our long-standing traditions. But now that I’m married as well, and we all have young children to boot, it makes more sense. The chaos that is, not the losing of tradition! Learning how to divvy up the holidays between family members, in-laws, and extended circumstances is one of the great rites of adulthood, don’t you think?
One of our newer traditions is celebrating with my parents on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite part of the holiday, because we host at our house and cook good things all day long, with good conversation. So this week’s printable is partially in honor of that tradition: meet the grandparents and their Thanksgiving turkey! (No, they don’t look like my parents, if you were wondering!)
