This family’s signature tablecloth is such a sweet Thanksgiving tradition

Each family has its own holiday traditions, but once you see this one, you may want to convince your family to adopt it as your own.

Deb Mills has made her family sign a white tablecloth with permanent marker at Thanksgiving since 2000. Each year, she passes around a permanent marker of the same color. Each year gets its own color, and everyone signs. Then, over the winter months, she takes the time to hand-embroider each signature. After this Thanksgiving, she’ll have 16 years of signatures.

“That makes it much more durable,” she tells ABC News.

Looking at the tablecloth each year serves as a reminder of family members who have passed away. Mills lost her daughter, Mary, three years ago when she died unexpectedly of a ruptured aneurism.

“We lost a daughter three years ago, and it is very special to be able to put that tablecloth on the table each Thanksgiving and there is Mary’s name and she’s among us. As well as my mother and my husband’s father,” Mills told ABC News.

For every name that is meaningful, there are also names that maybe people don’t want to remember. When the younger grandchildren invited dates, they signed their names, as well. Now that they’ve broken up, “we have gravy boats strategically placed for just that reason,” Mills said.

So, all in all, this is quite a sweet family tradition. It reminds the Mills family that they’re all together and that family is what’s important on Thanksgiving.

So, no matter your family tradition, be sure to take the time to be grateful for your loved ones this year. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

[h/t: Yahoo!]