Next weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. It will be a Thanksgiving like we have never experienced before. So how can we celebrate and be thankful when we can't all get together?
I think that celebrating Thanksgiving is still important and it can still be wonderful in a different way even if we can only be with our loved ones with a socially distant visit, phone call or video call.
Are you normally so busy preparing, travelling, hosting or visiting for Thanksgiving that you often don't get to truly enjoy the weekend? Of course we love being with our loved ones but maybe we can love or at least accept the COVID gift of time and space.
Be Grateful
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful so hopefully you take a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for. My friend Brenda is offering a free 10-day gratitude experience starting on Monday October 5th. Click here to sign-up for her daily emails or join her private Facebook group.
Eat
We can try a new recipe or prepare a more time-consuming meal that we may not make when hosting others. Here are some ideas from Canadian Living to try. Even if there isn't enough people for a whole turkey, I have purchased turkey breast, drumsticks and thighs separately in the past. It's a great way to enjoy turkey for two or four. A rotisserie chicken is also a great option. We can make the celebration extra special by setting a beautiful table and using our most special china, silverware and crystal.
We can support our favourite restaurants by visiting their patio or ordering takeout. While working on this post, I started getting ads for catered meals. That's another great idea if we don't want to cook.
Decorate
We can celebrate by purchasing new fall decorations and taking the time to decorate our table, house, front porch or deck. I've just added pumpkins to my next pick-up grocery order to ensure I don't forget. This could also be a good time to start thinking about Halloween decorations.
Reminisce
We can take the time to reflect on past Thanksgiving celebrations and getaways. With the extra time available, we can go through past October photos and videos to prepare a slideshow to enjoy. While going through the photos, be productive by deleting bad photos and duplicates. If you're using a photo program that allows it, add keywords or descriptions for future reference. We can also enjoy sharing the stories with our loved ones.
Music
A Thanksgiving playlist is something fun to do, whether they are songs that are about giving thanks or just songs that you're thankful for. Creating and listening to a playlist you love can add enjoyment to your weekend.
Movies/TV
Another entertainment idea is to watch movies or television episodes set around Thanksgiving. Here's a wikipedia page with a list of movies and another list of Thanksgiving-themed episodes from television shows. Choose your favourite and hopefully you can find the episode or movie on a streaming or TV service you have.
Tourist in Your City
The extra time we'll have gives us a great opportunity to enjoy our city and parks. We can take in a sunrise or sunset, enjoy the fall colours or go for a hike. We can visit a tourist site that is open or visit a farm. Here's a list of farms in the Greater Toronto Area. Make sure to check to ensure it's open before driving out to one. We can get more ideas by googling Thanksgiving events in our area.
Fall Colours
The To Do Ontario website has a great fall colour report. Click here to go to their website and find out where and when to see the fall colours. The website also has great road trip and drive ideas.
This map shows the peak timing of colours. Click here to go to the website for updates and to use the interactive map for your area. If you're not in Ontario, hopefully you can find a similar website by googling "fall colour report" for your area.
Even if you're "not in the mood" and more like Meredith in Grey's Anatomy:
"Gratitude, appreciation, giving thanks - no matter what words you use, it all means the same thing. Happy. We're supposed to be happy, grateful for friends, family. Happy to just be alive. Whether we like it or not."
"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful is recognizing what you have for what it is. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human."
"Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate. "
(Grey's Anatomy Season 2; Episode 9 - Thanks for the Memories)
Perhaps in 2020, we can add a twist by also being thankful for what we don't have and can't do that we don't want.
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