So, I heard from a few people in Canaan and Orange that they have had snow already, but this is the first snow I’ve seen outside my window. With a potential trip to Manchester today and no snow tires on the car, I can say that it looks beautiful, but I am not ready!

I was just thinking about the word autumnal and how that is the sentiment usually matched to Thanksgiving celebrations, but more often than not, aren’t our Thanksgivings wintery or crystalized? This is the first year that my husband and I will not be visiting family at Thanksgiving, time to start new traditions and all. Maybe our first new tradition will be to go sledding at the high school, or to build a snow fort.
My favorite family tradition is Christmas tree tagging, which in my family has always happened the day after Thanksgiving. That is the day, in my mind, even though there is no shopping involved, that starts the Christmas celebrations in my home.
Decorations won’t go up for a while yet, but now is the time we start to think about what we can do to help our community locally and globally. Can we make gifts instead of buy them? Can we donated our gift money to someone who actually needs it?
Take time this week to not only be thankful for your family, but to think about what new traditions you can start to help make the holiday season better for everyone.