Holidays, vacations, and Sunday drives bring back memories of singing hymns. Mom sang and played the piano so we often gathered around the piano to sing; and when we went on long trips we sang in the car. I learned the words to many hymns by heart, and much of the credit goes to the times we sang together as a family.

I learned more than words to songs when I learned the hymns. Those songs have meanings, and often the words of a song will come to mind because it fits a particular situation in which I find myself today.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to share my love for singing hymns. I have attached the beginnings of a small hymnbook with the words to 14 favorite hymns you can carry with you if you travel. Click here to download: Hymns-to-sing-in-the-car. I threw it together in less than an hour. The text for all of these hymns are in the public domain and were copied from the website HymnSite.com. I encourage you to add your own favorites to the file before printing it out and make your own family hymnbook. I included a couple of favorites specifically for Thanksgiving.  HymnSite.com is limited to offering only music that is available in the public domain, so you will have to type out the text for any of the newer hymns you wish to include.

HymnSite.com also offers sound links for each of the hymns they offer, so by using cell phones and other technology, you could even bring the piano or organ music along! The following links are to the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”:

Text filePlain MIDI | Piano | Organ | BellsPiano score (pdf file)

Tips on adding files and creating your hymnbook:

The file is printed horizontally in two columns so that you can print two hymns to a sheet of paper. To assemble the hymnbook, cut the hymns apart using a paper cutter at 5.5″ from the right or left side of the page. Then arrange the pages in numerical order (or alphabetical order). Fold the cover (1st page) and insert the pages, then staple close to the fold.

If you make a copy for each child, numerical order will be easiest for them to follow to find the song. One added benefit of giving each child a copy for singing is that by following the words children will be reinforcing their reading skills while they sing.

Enjoy your holidays with hymns and songs of joy!