THANKSGIVING IS ALMOST HERE!
The day before Thanksgiving my family and I usually watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The Peanuts gang always puts us in a good mood.
“Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck…we should just be thankful for being together.” –Marcie
As Marcie says, it is more than just eating. Besides being thankful in each other’s presence, there is another exchange I enjoy sharing with guests. It begins with believing in the power of positivity and what better time to focus on thinking positively than Thanksgiving. Creating wishes and putting positive energy and faith so that wishes come true is a great way to end your year. Giving hope and receiving hope is one way to build positive thinking.
Making wishes and believing in them with all of your heart can sometimes lead it to come true. Since you already have everyone’s attention and all are in the greatest of moods, it is the perfect time to put positive energy and faith on high and make your wish. The idea is to not only turn the flame up on the side dishes you’ll be cooking, but to turn up the flame of your heart’s desire that if accomplished could bring you great joy.
In the spirit of this idea, creating a wish box for your guests is a GREAT way to get them to get started on the power of sharing something they wish they could change in their lives or achieve in the near future. Here’s how it works:
- Purchase a box that has that special look to you (purchased mine at Marshall’s Department Store). At a glance, it should appear special and bring a smile on your face when you look at it. Chances are if you smile when you look at the box, your guests will too. You can also create a box on your own if you wish to do so. No limits here.
- Using the left over multi-colored paper used to create the leaves on the Thanksgiving Tree, cut them into squares big enough for someone to write a simple sentence or word(s).
- Have writing utensils (pens, pencils, markers, etc.) at the ready for your guests to use.
- Demonstrate the box to your guests.
- Describe the idea of the box you are holding.
- Ask them to think of a wish they would like to see reality. Make sure that they understand the wish has to be made with all of their heart and the belief that it will happen.
- Add that the hope is to have them push themselves in the next year to see the wish come true. Emphasis that they should make it something personal and realistic. For example, winning the lottery may not be one of those. (Then again you never know right?) You want to make it a reachable goal/wish.
- Once they have had a few moments to think about it, ask them to write it on one of the squares, fold it, and place them in the wish box.
The goal is to keep the wish in the box until the following Thanksgiving when it will be revealed during the gathering. Hopefully, you are lucky enough to have the same guests return. Each guest will have the opportunity to claim their wish and see if it came true. If it did not, what could they have done differently. Also, what if a guest has moved away or has alternative plans the following year. A good idea would be to call them on Thanksgiving, wish them well, and say, “Remember that wish you wrote and placed in the wish box? Let’s read it together and see if it came true.” It is a wonderful conversation piece!
This is an amazing way to get people to strive towards something. Without knowing it, they have just sealed a goal they can work for. If done in the presence of family and friends, it may push them to accomplish the goal/wish even more. Unlike some New Year’s resolutions which a lot of us do not keep, this is something that is doable, simple, and highly possible. Chances are if you believe in yourself and the wishes you are making, claim/seal them before those you love or who care about you, they can come true and can certainly happen to you!
Related articles:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068359/
http://www.completeselfimprovement.com/positive-thinking/how-to-stay-positive/
http://www.marshallsonline.com/
Thanksgiving Wishes (hvwinegoddess.blogspot.com)
Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Meal (amyswandering.wordpress.com)
Great Diaries of an Adventurous Mom 