One of the most recognizable symbols of Thanksgiving is a cornucopia, or horn of plenty. It represents a bountiful harvest. It can make a lovely centerpiece on any holiday table. There are many different ways you could make a cornucopia, using different materials, many of which you can find around your home.
By using a wicker basket shaped like a horn, it is quite easy to do a basic cornucopia. Most craft stores carry them, usually in early fall, if not year round. Once you’ve selected a lovely basket, you can either fill it with artificial or real fruit and vegetables. If you chose to use real produce, it’s probably best to wait to fill the basket the day of your dinner so it doesn’t spoil before dinner. Some fall leaves scattered around the cornucipia are a nice finishing touch.
If the children want to make their own cornucopia, they could make it out of paper. There are many patterns online for adorable paper cornucopias. Have the children glue the horn to a green piece of paper and arrange the fruit anyway they want, gluing them in place. They could even be covered in plastic and used as placemats, in addition to a centerpiece. Younger children might need help cutting the more complicated shapes. Remember to supervise children as is appropriate during the cutting and gluing stages of any craft.
Read the rest of this post here (482 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
2 Comments »
The most colorful and creative Thanksgiving craft you and your kids can engage in is making Indian headdresses. Whether you prefer one feather, or the full regalia – they are beautiful and fun to wear as well.
Let’s take a look at how to make a few of these headdresses. Basically, it’s one stop shopping at your local craft store. Purchase a plain headband; then choose a wide variety of colored feathers, long, short and in-between. In addition you will need some gold sparkles or stars or any color your kids choose.
Next, have your kids decorate the headbands with the sparkles using glue. Then take the feathers and one by one, glue each feather to the inside side of the band. Start with the first row of short feathers, then the next row of medium sized feathers glued to the first, and so on, until the last row contains the longest feathers. Mix up the colored feathers and place the band around the forehead and Voila! You have a superb looking Indian headdress.
Perhaps one of your children doesn’t want to be the Indian chief, but an Indian girl. In that case, one feather on a colorful band made by your daughter will be just as attractive.
Read the rest of this post here (366 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
1 Comment »
Fall winds blow and leaves make their decent from tree limbs. It is the perfect time for fun autumn activities for kids. Here are some ways to have fun with your kids this fall:
Create an autumn yard collage
This is a great way to get your kids involved in beautifying your front lawn for the fall season. Materials you will need to create your autumn yard collage include hay bales, pumpkins (all sizes), scarecrows, witches, cornucopias, etc. Anything related to fall will look wonderful. Stack your hay bales to create a backdrop. Next, place a huge scarecrow (or witch) on the center of the stack. Then add other complimentary fall accessories like cornucopias, corn stacks, ghosts, etc.
Make a haunted tree
Making a haunted tree is a fun activity for everyone. It is especially great to do right after raking leaves. First, pick the biggest, best tree in your front yard; preferably one with many long, crooked limbs. Next, take small white trash bags and stuff the top half with leaves from your yard. Twist and tie the bag into a knot, or use a twist-tie to close the end where the leaves stop. Turn upside down and you have a ghost! Make as many of these ghosts as you can, then tie them to tree limbs. As the fall winds blow, your ghosts will haunt your tree.
Read the rest of this post here (315 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
1 Comment »
Turkeys are popular at Thanksgiving time, both as the main dish and as decorations. There are many different ways to create nice turkey that may become a tradition for decorating for years to come.
The simplest turkey to make is by tracing around a hand, fingers spread. The thumb becomes the head, the other fingers the feathers and the palm is the body of the turkey. Color the turkey, add details like eyes and cut it out. They can be hung on the walls, scattered around the table or used to create a mobile.
Another fun project is a paper mache’ turkey. Prepare the paper mache’ paste. The two most popular methods are:
1. Non-cooked – 3 part white glue to 1 part water
2. Cooked – 1 part flour to 5 parts water, boil about 3 minutes and let cool
Blow up a large balloon and cover with newspaper strips that have been covered in the paste. Once dry, prime the body and paint brown. Cut out colorful feathers, feet, and a head and attach them to the turkey body.
Read the rest of this post here (517 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
No Comments »
A beautiful table setting is the finishing touch to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. By collecting a few simple things from around the house, and maybe a trip to the craft or fabric store, you have the makings of a festive table. Standard placemats start with a rectangle of construction paper, or fabric, in fall colors or white and come in endless varieties, limited only by your imagination.
Handy Turkey Placemats – Trace around a hand, with fingers spread, to create a turkey. The palm is the body, the thumb is the head, and the other fingers are the tail feathers. Each child can make their own. It can turn into a game, to try to find their handprint at dinnertime, to see who sits where.
Fall Foliage Placemats – Collect colorful fall leaves from your own yard to make a lovely, natural placemat. You can also use artificial leaves from the craft store, if you prefer. Cut two rectangle pieces of contact paper the size you need. Arrange the leaves neatly on the first piece. Carefully place the second piece on top, pealing part of the paper backing off a little at a time, and press in place. Give the placemat a boarder by gluing strips of construction paper about an inch wide along the edges.
Read the rest of this post here (543 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
1 Comment »
When we were young girls, we were fascinated with making bracelets and necklaces using beads in all shapes and sizes as well as their brilliant colors. Today, your kids can make a necklace and bracelet for Thanksgiving as well.
One trip to your local craft store is all that is needed to begin the process of creating necklaces and bracelets at home. Choose a leather cord and a variety of beads in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Then put the cord through each bead until you have the desired look. Follow this same process for both necklace and bracelet.
In the old days, shoelaces were used. You can do the same as well. Choose black or white shoelaces, which are easier to push through the hole in the beads, and tie a knot at both ends and you have a lovely necklace or bracelet.
Perhaps your kids would like to use some of your costume jewelry instead of beads. If you have several loop type earrings, you can make a lovely bracelet from those as well.
If you kids would like to make “sweet” necklaces and bracelets, they can use lifesavers which come individually packaged. Pick up the variety bag, and the kids can have a great time making candy necklaces and bracelets as well.
Read the rest of this post here (356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
1 Comment »
Thanksgiving in Canada can be traced back to Martin Frobisher in 1578. He came from England in search of a way to get to the Orient by going north. While he never found the passage, he did establish what later became Newfoundland and Labrador. His celebration of making it all the way from England to his new home became the first Thanksgiving in North America. More settlers joined Frobisher, and as the settlements expanded, people continued to celebrate Thanksgiving.
French settlers arrived in Canada, led by Samuel de Champlain, who had their own Thanksgiving feasts. Similar to the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving, the French shared what they had with the Indians who lived in the area.
Over the years, there were various special Thanksgiving celebrations. One was at the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763. The British took possession of New France and celebrations were held in Halifax. At this point, celebrations were not held every year yet.
Read the rest of this post here (471 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
1 Comment »
Thanksgiving is always a fun time of celebration and eating with your family. Here are some ways to make Thanksgiving even more fun for your family this year.
Thankful cards – Make a card for each family member that will be your guest for Thanksgiving this year. On each card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.
Recipe books – A few months before Thanksgiving, write a list of each family member. Beside their name, make a note of their best dish. Call each member and ask for a copy of that recipe, plus one or two of their own favorites that they’d like to share. When you have all the recipes ready, compile them into a booklet and print them, using your computer and printer. (You can also use professional services, if you wish, to make a longer-lasting recipe book.) After your guests all arrive for your Thanksgiving dinner, give them each a copy of your special recipe book.
Read the rest of this post here (287 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
No Comments »
A nice touch for any Thanksgiving dinner table is handcrafted napkin rings. They are relatively simple to make and something that the kids could easily do to help. It could be a great project for children to work on while the food is being prepared.
First, you need to decide which napkins you want to use; cloth or paper napkins. Roll the napkin to the size you want, allowing a little overlap for the ring to hold the napkin. To make the ring itself, either purchase them or create your own by cutting toilet paper rolls into the desired size. The cardboard rolls work especially well for napkin rings that stand upright, instead of lying beside the silverware. Then the fun starts. It’s time to decorating the napkin rings. There are many different things you can use including:
Stickers – Stickers are the quickest and easiest way to decorate the rings, especially for younger kids. There are many delightful holiday stickers available. The hardest part will be deciding which ones to use.
Paper Turkey – By gluing a simple turkey body to the ring and adding a few colorful feathers to the inside of the ring, you can create a delightful turkey napkin ring.
Read the rest of this post here (506 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
No Comments »
Why do people always get stressed at the holidays? Is it the rush to get everything done? Is it wanting everything to be “perfect”? Is it having to deal with family members that know how to push our buttons? Most likely it is a little of each. So how do we have a stress free Thanksgiving dinner? Here are a few simple tips to have a more enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Plan ahead – While planning the Thanksgiving meal, do you plan who is going to help? Instead of doing it all yourself, recruit your family to help. Not only will the work go faster, it’s more fun working together. Make a list of what needs done before everyone arrives. Give everyone something to do and assign things that are age appropriate to the children. Before you know it, the leftovers will be wrapped in foil and everyone will have had a great time.
2. Covered dish meal – If you are having a large group get together for Thanksgiving, divide the menu amongst all those attending. The host family can provide the main dish (turkey or ham) and the drinks. Each family brings a favorite side dish and dessert. If you want to make sure there is a variety, provide a menu and mark things off as people chose what they want to fix.
Read the rest of this post here (499 words, estimated 1:60 mins reading time)
Filed under: Thanksgiving by Dee
No Comments »
