Except for the early wake-up for our kiddos.
And ourselves. Ugh.
Still, I'm looking forward to school starting again. This summer has blitzed by in a flurry of craziness that has left me breathless. The school year will start crazy as well, with Ironman Wisconsin looming on the horizon. My husband and I will join my sister-in-law and her husband in Madison the weekend after Labor Day for George's annual self-abuse at the hands of his crazy hobby.
Then, we have two weeks of company coming to our house.
Then, things might get, um, normal.
Whatever that means.
Anyway, I said good-bye to my zippy red VW Bug rental today and picked up my Mazda at the body shop. I love my car. Seriously. I was giddy with joy. So of course on my way home I stopped in at Barnes & Noble to sniff the books in celebration. There, I found this:
Seriously?
It's August 14th, and the DIY industry is already pushing Christmas. A quick flip through the magazine shows not a single, solitary craft for Thanksgiving, despite pages 8-22 being dedicated to Halloween.
So I want to remind everyone that...
Thanksgiving is a Thing.
We will be gearing up for our Thanksgiving Crusade again this year. That link takes you to the special page for my Thanksgiving Crusade (previously called the Gratitude Campaign but due to a cease-and-desist email, I had to rename it...long story). That page shows the two InLinkz collections for 2012 and 2013. Beautiful inspiration there!
The Thanksgiving Crusade is one woman's attempt to save Thanksgiving from the huge commercial shadow cast by Halloween and Christmas. I'm tilting at windmills here, but dag-nab it! Thanksgiving is an awesome holiday that deserves more attention.
And not just because my birthday falls around then.
Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on October 13th this year, and in the States, we celebrate on November 27. Please consider joining us for the Thanksgiving Crusade even if you're not Canadian or American...thanksgiving knows no national boundaries.
The only rules for my Thanksgiving Crusade are that you make and send cards of thanks by whichever deadline you choose (October 13 or November 27). You may thank the people closest to you, or you may choose to thank people whom you haven't seen in years or you may thank someone who doesn't know you at all. Doesn't matter. Let's just take this as a perfect opportunity to thank someone.
Show gratitude. Give thanks. Save Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a Thing.
So let's celebrate it.
I hope you had a great time! So glad that you got to go to the conference. As for Thanksgiving, I'm certainly guilty of making Christmas cards, buying decor, etc., prior to Thanksgiving. BUT...and a huge but! We have always loved Thanksgiving. We've often said that if we had to choose between the two holidays, it would be Thanksgiving over Christmas. It's such a nice, low-key, thoughtful, thankful, loving time for our family. Unfortunately, with 'kids' in Germany and California, these days, it's just DH and I. Hugs, and thanks for keeping Thanksgiving alive and well!
ReplyDeleteYes!! Thanksgiving has always been closest to my heart as well. And thanksgiving cards so delightful to make! Perhaps we should be grateful that it hasn't been taken over and abused by commercial excess. Thanks for keeping it a special and precious holiday.
ReplyDeleteI have some "thankful" cards ready to go as soon as I figure out what to write inside them. These cards are for some Very Important People: my Mom and my 3 sisters.I can't imagine my life without them. Without the laughter... and the tears... and the love. Hey, I think I just figured out what I'm going to write...
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is a shame that Thanksgiving is skipped. However it continues to be observed and is not commercialized. I/we complain all the time about the commercialization of Christmas, so maybe it's a good thing??? I think the historical part of the holiday is especially important for all of us to take note of each year. We need to know and understand our past so we can appreciate the present and protect our future. And what with the football games, and parades, especially Macy's, surely it will always be important enough to continue on a large national scale.
ReplyDeleteYes, the parades and football games help remind people of the historical importance of Thanksgiving, and certainly I am not proposing the commercialization of it to promote it as a holiday. But many people focus more on the meal preparation and on getting ready to hit the Black Friday sales than on the spirit of thanksgiving. Sending cards thanking people who are important to us, taking that extra time to express thanks intentionally and tangibly, isn't promoting commercialism...it's promoting gratitude in the spirit of the original Thanksgiving.
DeleteI haven't made the effort to photograph and link my Thanksgiving cards in previous year; but I do make them. I have felt the same as you for many years now and once I even sent more cards around Thanksgiving then I did at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Holiday Crafts magazine you found....does not surprise me at all.
Around here my Hobby Lobby starts putting out all the Christmas stuff right after July 4th. They still save the first two aisles immediately to the right of the doors for the "current" or next upcoming holiday. Everything past that to the far wall is the Christmas corner except for about Feb.-July 4th. The full size trees haven't gone up yet but all the aisles and aisles of decorations have been put out. The trees will probably go up over Labor Day weekend!
I can understand that Thanksgiving isn't as big of a COMMERCIAL holiday as the other two, but BH&G should be FULL of decorating ideas for Thanksgiving. FOR SHAME!
ReplyDelete