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Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, but I’ve come to love it even more since becoming a mom! It’s a day to be with family. Of course it revolves around food AND it’s a time to celebrate the blessings in our lives!

I grew up in a Filipino household where Thanksgiving was a pretty big deal. Of course it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without food traditions! I’ve enjoyed introducing the girls to a few of the food-related traditions from my own childhood. With my mother being such an important part of my life, my family and my career, I work every day to give my girls the love and support my mother gave me! One tradition my mother instilled in me that we try to pass on to the girls is to make pancit—a popular Filipino noodle dish!! In a Filipino household, pancit is symbolic as it means “long life,” and it is traditionally served to celebrate birthdays and holidays! Between the Beans, Phil, Bantay (our dog!) and myself, we all celebrate birthdays starting in November and ending in February so pancit has become a household favorite this time of year!!

You can also sense the beginning of the holiday season when the girls start asking for Cheryl’s Cookies (one of our QVC favorites)! Cheryl’s Cookies have become a staple in our home and although they are not homemade, Cheryl’s Cookies have become a tradition for the girls!

When Phil and I became parents to our three beautiful daughters, we couldn’t wait to start some of our own family traditions to celebrate this day of thanks. One way we always try to teach the girls how to be thankful and grateful, especially this time of year, is by making special art projects! Every night before bed, Phil, the girls and I take turns saying out loud what we are thankful for. But on Thanksgiving, we take it one step further by making a special art project that tells others what we are grateful for, and then we hang it up on the wall as a visual reminder of how full and blessed our lives are. They can range from loving each other to their favorite stuffed animal!

We try to live each and every day giving thanks for all of our blessings because we truly have so much to be grateful for: our family and the love we have for each other, our amazingly supportive community of Mallynistas around the world, our QVC family and the opportunity that we have to be able to share our message of love and respect for others through the Mally Beauty brand. This philosophy of gratitude is something that we’ve tried to instill in our girls, and it’s something that we celebrate as a family each year on Thanksgiving.

As we move from being thankful to giving love and gifts to others, the Elf on the Shelf also makes his debut at our house right after Thanksgiving! The Elf of the Shelf has been an amazing addition to our family traditions (and something I hope the girls carry on with their families!) and now that the girls are getting older, they know to look for him each morning!

What traditions does your family celebrate this time of year?!

Sending much love, gratitude and thanks, My Mallynistas! XXX