Thanksgiving

I love, love, love this roundup of 15 ideas for making a meaningful family Thanksgiving" courtesy of Ohdeedoh. From pumpkin scented play dough to a funky family Thanksgiving day photo to playing parlor games (and much, much more) there is something there for literally everyone. Did I mention the interviewing an older relative idea?

This handprint Mayflower craft from Almost Unschoolers is a clever Thanksgiving craft for many reasons. First, if your little pilgrims are like my little pilgrims and love Thanksgiving because it means they get to make tons of handprint turkeys here's another fun idea for painting those palms. Next, they get some sweet scissor cutting gluing practice (go fine motor skills)!

Waaayyyy back when I was a youngster my cousins and I dreaded having to be seated at the kids' table. Every holiday forced to sit at the ugliest, most boring worn down card table with equally old folding chairs. In fact, the best thing about sitting at the kids' table was complaining to one another about how much we hated sitting at the kids' table.

This turkey shaped sandwich from Jill of Meet The Dubiens is going to be THE turkey sandwich that will finally convince my kids to give bell peppers a second chance (I hope). Who wouldn't want to gobble up this sweet as pumpkin pie lunch? It's super easy to assemble giving you no excuse to give it a try while giving your picky eaters a reason to broaden their veggie horizons in preparation for your Thanksgiving feast.

Again, as we enter the Thanksgiving season I'm on the hunt for an important new fall tradition for my family that helps them express gratitude for all the things they are thankful for. With so many excellent ideas out there like this gratitude garland from Full Circle fulfilling my goal will be a cinch.

After seeing Maya*Made's tutorial for fall newspaper bunting I knew I just had to jump into Autumn action.

Moving to Northern California means enjoying a fall season. Something we've never really experienced being native Southern Californians. Our kids are obsessed with the vibrant autumn colors emerging all around us. Evening walks collecting leaves to press have become favorite activities for our family.

My 10 year old son and I came up with a quick and easy leaf origami mobile made from recycled materials. We think it gives a rather bare corner of our living room a nice pop of much needed color.

To make the fall leaf mobile you'll need:

Old magazines

It's down with the old holiday (Halloween), up with the next holiday (Thanksgiving) time. As I unpack our Thanksgiving decorations I'm struck by how grateful I am for all the wonderful people I have in my life. That's not to say I don't constantly think about how fortunate I am; but, I tend to get extra emotional around this time of year. I'm one lucky girl and one of my biggest wishes for my children is as they grow they continue to truly internalize gratitude, reflecting on the good things in their lives and expressing that gratitude to the world through their actions and words.

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you. Eat lots of turkey, bite your tongue and hold your family tight. Enjoy.

Native tent making equals Thanksgiving fun. Why not get a little crafty with the kids and raise(make) a village and perhaps learn a little something about these cone shaped homes along the way?