While your family’s Thanksgiving holiday may usually run on celebratory autopilot, consider stepping back and thinking about the holiday as if you had never celebrated it before. What are the traditions? How do people get involved? What is considered vital to the celebration? Whether your live-in Care Professional is from the United States or overseas, if not celebrating Thanksgiving for the very first time, they may be celebrating for the first time with you and might feel insecure about how or whether they should get involved.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity for cross-cultural sharing and a great way to help your Care Professional feel like a family member. Unsure where to start? The following tips will help you think about a few ways to maximize this time together.
Share History: Read up on the history of Thanksgiving so you can give your Care Professional a primer on the holiday. For example, some Americans don’t know that the concept of Thanksgiving originated in England and is also celebrated in Canada, or that it was President Lincoln who first declared it a national holiday in the U.S.
Talk about Traditions: Most American families have specific traditions that go along with their Thanksgiving lunch or dinner. Maybe it’s running a “turkey trot” race in the morning, watching a football game in the afternoon, reviewing the “black Friday” advertisements, or passing a wooden spoon around the table with words of gratitude. Talk about these traditions and encourage participation in sharing experiences.
Spice up the Thanksgiving Table: Some Care Professionals may want to make a traditional dish from their home country to add to the delicious bounty of food. Others might like to learn how to make one of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes in your home. Talk to your Care Professional about how she would like to be involved and encourage her to help out with the cooking or decorating.
Remember the Moment: During some point in the daylong chaos, take some photos of the celebration so that both your family and your Care Professional will have a memento of your first Thanksgiving celebration together.
From all of us at Apex-Social Group to all of you, have a Happy Thanksgiving!