If you have a large extended family together for Thanksgiving dinner, this
is a good time to pull names for holiday gift exchanges like Secret Santa,
a Pollyanna Gift Exchange (popular in southeastern Pennsylvania and New
Jersey), or a White Elephant Exchange. Everyone draws a name, keeps the
name they pulled secret, and purchases a light-hearted or wacky gift to
exchange around the holidays.
In memoriam.
The holidays can be especially difficult for those grieving loved ones. Look through family photographs together,
watch old home videos or take time to tell stories about your special someone. After Thanksgiving dinner is packed
away, Mindy Foral, mom of two, says one of her favorite Thanksgiving night traditions is listening, with her children,
to a recording of The Night Before Christmas that her late mother had made in a Hallmark recordable book. “It’s such
an incredible treasure. There is something about hearing the voice of your loved one...especially of someone who
loved spending the holidays with her grandkids,” Foral says.
Remember those on deployment.
If your spouse is deployed for military duty over the Thanksgiving holiday, he or she will definitely be top of mind for
you and your family. After dinner, invite your family and friends to circle around the table to make cards and write
letters to your absent loved one. Mail everything in a package. Even though your honey will receive it after the
holiday, they’ll know that they were still an important part of your day.
Freelance journalist Christa Melnyk Hines and her husband are the parents of two sons, ages 13 and 11. Every year
after the big feast, they take their two dogs and anyone else who wants to tag along for a walk through the crunchy
autumn leaves.
DAVI D W. G LAS S ER
AT TOR NEY AT LAW
Former Special Education Teacher // Masters Educational Psychology
ANY A N D A LL CH IL D REN ’ S ISSUES, IN CLUD I N G:
•Custody/dissolution of marriage
•IEP’s/education law
•Adoptions
•Delinquency
•Dependency
•Guardianships
•Employment
T ELEP HO NE: 386-252- 0 1 7 5
EMAIL: [email protected]
10 | F L A G L E R
parent
MAGAZINE