A while ago I was catching up on a Law & Order: SVU marathon when Christmas commercials started advertising sales on clothes, decorations and other gifts that were appealing to the eye. Those commercials aired on September 28 — Halloween hadn't even been pushed that much! I was surprised to see four Christmas commercials virtually three months early. Not too long after Halloween, several radio stations quickly switched over to playing Christmas music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas — it's definitely my favorite holiday. However, it seems as if the one in November gets put to the side due to the Halloween and Christmas hypes. It's fine right now to pause the Christmas Spotify and Pandora playlist, hold off on hanging up the ornaments, and remember why Thanksgiving important.

My mom and I volunteered at our parish recently to make Thanksgiving bags for families in need of food. When we arrived, the amount of donated food was astounding — there were nearly 1,000 items going to numerous families. Packaging these bags together, my mom and I went around table-to-table making sure each item was present for every family. By the time we were done getting everything together, there had to have been about 50 bags of food (each bag having 15-20 items, depending on the size of the family) ready to go for these families to pick up the next day. On the way home, my mom and I talked about how happy we were to give a little bit of our time to help others. An hour and a half of our time would make a family's day, which is something that we were extremely glad we could do for them.

I couldn't help but think how grateful these families would be for receiving a little bit of food to have for Thanksgiving weekend. While most of us are thrilled to have mashed potatoes, turkey with gravy, and other favorite dishes for one day, these families are going to be ecstatic to have a loaf of bread, milk, eggs, and other necessary food to get them through several days. This reality shows how much of a difference one can make by sparing an hour or two from a busy schedule for those to worry less about their own hour or two.

Cherishing the holidays with families and loved ones is upheld as a favored tradition. However, getting the whole family together becomes a bigger challenge as we get older. Depending on the colleges we attend, sports we play, jobs we have, or where we live, not everyone is able to reunite with each other. It is difficult being separated for one reason or another, but knowing that we're with each other in spirit is something to never take for granted. A strong, loving bond between family and friends is incredibly special to have; celebrating it with one another puts the cherry on top of having gratitude of the things money can't buy us.

Thanksgiving is neither about the type of food that's on the table, how we dress for the occasion, nor is it about who will win between the Vikings or Lions in the Thanksgiving Showdown. If we can switch the words around, Thanksgiving is about "giving thanks" for what we have in our lives and everything contributing to where we stand. Thanksgiving is recognizing and remembering the sacrifices our loved ones have made to give us something better for ourselves and others. When you're sitting at the table with your family and loved ones, remember to take a little bit of time to say "thank you." Thank your parents and family for everything they've done for you to have what you currently have. Thank your friends for the unconditional love and support they will always give to you without question. Thank those that are overseas sacrificing their holidays with their families in order to have you spend it with yours. Thank God for bringing all of these qualities together and giving us the lives we live from the opportunities we had, blessing us with something that we can never be too grateful for having. These ways of giving thanks may not draw up creative notions of being promoted in the market or in the media, but they're still just as important to recognize and practice in everyday life, not just the holidays.