The Thanksgiving holiday can be a precious occasion for children and can assist them in developing an attitude of giving thanks. Here are a few ideas that may help create a memorable family Thanksgiving experience that will spark feelings of true gratitude.

- Emphasize the fundamental idea of the Thanksgiving holiday - a time of expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the abundance in our lives. Tell traditional stories about America's first harvest-time gatherings when the Pilgrims acknowledged God's hand in causing the crops that they had planted to yield sufficient food to sustain them through the coming winter.- Be specific about the abundance that we enjoy. It is easy for all of us to overlook the everyday blessings of food, clothing, a house, schools, and especially each other.

- In special ways express gratitude for family. The tradition of gathering for dinner on Thanksgiving day is in itself an effective way to help create in children feelings of gratitude for family members. Mingling with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents helps children know and understand their family ties.

- Make phone calls to family members who are absent. Let everyone express greetings, interest and love to those who are absent. Take pictures and send them to those who cannot attend the family activity.

- Hold an annual Thanksgiving family testimony meeting. This will help bring focus to all of the feelings of gratitude that we would like to stimulate in the lives of children. If such an activity were held at the same time each year it can become an honored family tradition.

- Develop some special event in conjunction with Thanksgiving that children find unusually attractive and will want to continue year after year. More than 30 years ago on the Friday after Thanksgiving we went with our children to choose and cut the family Christmas tree. Soon, as other family members joined in the annual Christmas tree hunt, it became one of the best family times of the year. Today, for our family, this is still a treasured tradition that continues to build happy family memories.

Maybe instilling an attitude of giving thanks is not so much to be accomplished in an annual one-time event as it is the gentle accumulation of attitudes throughout the year. The holiday we call Thanksgiving ought be a time of telling our Father in Heaven in simple terms how grateful we are for each other, for the gospel plan that can keep us together as a family, and for His constant watching over each of us. - Bill and Nila Siddoway, public affairs missionaries, Independence, Mo.

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What we did:

Family activities

Here are some things that helped our children understand the spirit of Thanksgiving:

- About a week before Thanksgiving, we had a family home evening about the first Thanksgiving, using children's books from the local library. Each family member listed the things they were grateful for on Pilgrim-shaped construction paper. They later read these to the family at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

- We found family activities to do on Thanksgiving. For example, over the years we have made nut cups for the table with a harvest theme, made candles like the Pilgrims did, went on a nature walk and collected colorful leaves to press in waxed paper, and made Pilgrim ships from pieces of squash. - Anne M. Kirby, Salem, Ore.

Seven blessings

When members of our family finally come to the table on Thanksgiving Day, they know they won't immediately start eating. I recount to the group the story "A little Late." (R. Don Oscarson, Improvement Era, November 1960.) It reads, "Shortly after the Pilgrims settled in this land they planted crops. Seeds held their hope for the future. So when the harvest was in and the seeds for spring stored away, they surveyed their surplus. How much was left. Not bushels nor baskets, not piles nor pounds, only . . . seven kernels each. This was their bounty, and for it our Pilgrim Fathers gave thanks."

Then each of us tell our seven blessings received during the year. - Avon Brooks, Mesa Ariz.

Cultivate all year long

The spirit of thanksgiving doesn't enter children's hearts suddenly in November. It is something that has to be cultivated all year long. We try to have an "attitude of gratitude" in our home. Some ways to do this are:

- Be grateful for all you have, especially your children, and express this often to them directly and in prayer.

- Have children involved in work projects at home. They appreciate what they have worked for.

- Visit Church historical sites if you can, or read Church history stories or family histories to your children. This will help them appreciate the sacrifices others have made so they can enjoy the blessings of the gospel.

- Invite the missionaries or someone else who may be alone on Thanksgiving to share your meal with you. It makes the day complete. - LeAnn Wankier, Brookfield, Conn.

Write down blessings

Our children are very young, but we still had fun this year helping them understand what Thanksgiving is all about. I always enjoy decorating our home for the holidays and I try to have the children help me as much as possible. This gives us an opportunity to have fun together and learn as we talk about the different symbols of the holiday: the cornucopia, the Pilgrims and Indians, the pumpkins, corn and squash, etc.

I helped in my son's kindergarten class the other day and the children had made paper turkeys and wrote down something they were thankful for on each feather. They were thankful for things like families, friends, brothers and sisters, and their homes. I think writing down our blessings and placing the list where it will be seen can remind all of us that we have much to be thankful for.

Being thankful and aware of our many blessings naturally lends itself to service and sharing. Even our 3-year-old enjoys delivering a plate of cookies to the neighbors. - Kristine Cannon, Salt Lake City, Utah

Be thankful

In today's world where so many people are mainly concerned for themselves, it is important that we teach our children to be thankful for all the blessings and privileges they enjoy. We try to:

- Teach them who is the provider of all we have.

- Encourage them to think for a few moments, before prayer, about all the things Heavenly Father gives them each day and then offer thanks for these things in their prayers.

- Set an example for them of thanksgiving by paying tithing and fast offerings.

- Teach them the value of labor. Have them help with the daily chores in the family and learn a good work ethic.

- Don't over-indulge your children on toys and other things. Provide for them instead in moderation.

- By attending the temples ourselves we can teach our children to appreciate all that our ancestors have done for us and that we in turn can do something important for them. - Milan and Susie Minarchik, Charlestown, Ind.

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How to checklist:

1. Be thankful and aware of our many blessings.

2. Express gratitude for abundance in our lives.

3. Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving all year long.

4. Teach children appreciation; find ways to serve others.

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Write to us:

Nov. 30 "How to appropriately develop a dating relationship as single adults."

Dec. 7 "How to reach out to the lonely during the Christmas season."

Dec. 14 "How to apply the principle of repentance in daily life."

Dec. 21 "How to be more Christ-centered in our relationships with others."

Dec. 28 "How to maintain hope in the midst of affliction."

Jan. 4 "How to apply in one's life the legacy of faith as found in the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history."

- Also interested in letters on these topics: "How to be more patient with your children," "How to foster positive communication in your family."

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