While the holidays are filled with anticipation and fun, there is so much more than food, football, and parades to each of them. In our blog series, Thanksgiving Traditions, I am sharing ideas of my own and from the ABCJLM family that will help you leave a legacy while keeping Jesus the focus of the holiday season. While many fun and great ideas will be shared, no family can do all of these ideas. So, pick a couple that will work in your situation and begin making traditions this year!
Preschool and elementary aged children love to dress up and act out a scene from history or a book. A play about the Pilgrims and Indians would be a great addition to your family’s Thanksgiving traditions.
Begin by studying the lives of the Pilgrims and Indians. Learn how they left their homelands to find religious freedom. After traveling across the ocean on the Mayflower, they experienced much hardships. An Indian named Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to grow and harvest food. Thanksgiving was the feast of praise they gave God for providing them with many blessings.
Using this information, create a play – puppets or acting. The book, The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks has an excellent script to help you gather ideas and get started.
Create some simple costumes or puppets. Construction paper hats would be perfect! Popsicle stick figures or brown paper lunch bags.
Then on Thanksgiving Day (or whenever you hold your family gathering), perform the play.
Be sure to spend the few weeks before Thanksgiving praying for a person to invite to your Thanksgiving play and meal. You never know who God would have you show His love to!
While this activity may be geared toward older children, if the adults are game, have them act out the The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks play!
