My 6-year-old daughter scored a new board game and a skateboard for her Build-a-Bear Portuguese Water Dog on Thanksgiving morning. Not because Santa got his dates mixed up and not because St. Nick got a jump start on his feast day. Rather, the Thanksgiving Turkey made his annual visit to our home and left the gifts as a calling card of sorts.
All right, all right, the truth is I had some extra toys that I didn’t want to give out as Christmas or St. Nick’s Day gifts, so the Thanksgiving Turkey wrapped them up and placed them at the foot of my daughter’s bed, so she’d have something else to be thankful for on Thanksgiving morning.
I realize this tradition (it’s the second year in a row that a gift-bearing “turkey” has paid a visit to our home) goes against all that Thanksgiving stands for. After all, Turkey Day is one of the only non-commercialized holidays left on the calendar. It is a time meant to be shared with loved ones, who could care less if we show up to the dinner table in sweats, and gorge ourselves silly. It is also one of the only holidays where gifts are not mandatory. All we bring to the table is a hearty appetite and a spirit of gratitude.
So why then am I tainting the holiday by allowing my daughter to receive gifts from a fictional turkey who leaves behind notes that wish her a “Happy Thanksgiving GOBBLE! GOBBLE!” and signs his greeting with a black ink stamped footprint/claw mark?
Because I’m the mom and that’s how I roll.
The gifts were not extravagant and they helped keep my daughter busy while I slaved away in the kitchen. Plus, I’m a celebrater. I commemorate all kinds of different dates, from the day my daughter spoke her first word, took her first steps and got her first haircut to the day I got my first TV job. I celebrate with hugs, kisses, homemade cards, special meals, flowers, and yes, on certain occasions, toys for my kid.
Have I opened a can of worms with the Turkey Day gift giving? Perhaps, but my daughter is in first grade, so the likelihood that she will believe that a funny-looking bird is going door-to-door on Thanksgiving Eve delivering gifts to good little girls and boys will last a couple more years at best. Actually, if it lasts that long I’ll be shocked. Then again, if her innocence extends beyond 2012 that’ll be another reason to celebrate.
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