made by morgan
A DIY Tradition
By Morgan Sprigler
TRADITION, AS DEFINED IN THE OXFORD ENGLISH
DICTIONARY, IS “A BELIEF OR BEHAVIOR PASSED
DOWN WITHIN A GROUP OR SOCIETY WITH SYMBOLIC
MEANING.” CAN YOU THINK OF A TRADITION YOU HAVE
CARRIED ON FROM YOUR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS
OR ANYONE SIGNIFICANT IN YOUR LIFE? I CAN THINK
OF SEVERAL, AND WHEN I DO, SO MANY MEMORIES
FLOAT AROUND IN MY HEAD. EACH ONE LEAVING ME
WITH A SWEET FEELING OF NOSTALGIA.
Last year, I decided I would begin my own tradition for Thanksgiving
dinner. My family loved it (or at least pretended to). I’m sure you have
seen the Pinterest instructions on how to create a sharpie plate, mug,
etc. Well, I borrowed this idea and went another direction with it.
Supplies:
White Ceramic Plates (Dollar Store/Big Lots)
Porcelain Marker (I used Vitrea, which worked
much better than a Sharpie. Let dry before baking.)
Oven (Bake at 300 for 40 minutes)
With a porcelain marker, I created
a large dinner plate for each family
member, filled with words of
affirmation, accomplishments and
successes for the year. They read
something like this, “Before you
fill your belly, let me fill your head!
This year, you celebrated 32 years of
wedded bliss.”
To be placed on top of the dinner plate,
I created a salad plate with each family
member’s monogram and some little,
gold dots.
The evening of Thanksgiving dinner,
I decided turn my project into a
guessing game! As I was setting the
table, I mixed up the monogram salad
plates to be placed on top of the dinner
plates. By going around the table, each
person read the dinner plate aloud,
and we all guessed who the plate
belonged to. This was such a fun way
to recognize each other and celebrate
our successes as a family!
At the end of the evening, I wrapped
up everyone’s plates and sent them
home to be enjoyed throughout the
year. (They’re dishwasher safe!)
The holidays are about to sneak up on
us, dear readers. I urge you to create a
tradition if you don’t already have one.
Family memories are priceless!
XO
Morgan
72
EXTOL • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017