Celebration

Thanksgiving Craft Activities for the Kids

If you have children in the house and you are busy trying to get everything done to host a Thanksgiving dinner, you may want to have some activities for the kids to do too.

Here are a few fun Thanksgiving craft activities for kids that will not only keep them busy, but will produce some nice Thanksgiving decorations for your home as well:

A Turkey Wreath – Buy a straw or rattan wreath and various Thanksgiving decorations, at the local craft store. Let your kids glue on the decorations to make a holiday wreath to hang on your front door.

Turkey Placemats – Let the children make their own placemats for the Thanksgiving table. Give them some colored construction paper and let them create their own turkey. They can either draw and color or use the various colors of the construction paper, to cut out the shapes of feathers. After they are finished, mount each turkey on a separate sheet of construction paper, then laminate it. Now they have their own special turkey placemat.

Thanksgiving Flower Pots – Buy the smallest red clay pots you can find at your local gardening store (these are super cheap), a bag of potting soil, and packages of various flowers, vegetables, or herb seeds. Let your kids write the name of the seed on the outside of the pot with a magic marker. Next, have them pour potting soil in each pot and plant the seeds. When the seeds begin sprouting in a few weeks, let your kids take their Thanksgiving pots to the local nursing home and give them away as Thanksgiving gifts to the patients. (Depending on when you make these little pots, they can also make nice Christmas presents for the patients as well.)

Pinecone Turkeys – Gather pinecones from around the your area. (This in itself is a fun activity for kids!) At the craft store, purchase some colored construction paper, all-purpose glue, and one or two  pieces of red felt. Let the kids cut out colorful turkey feathers from the colored construction paper. You may have to help them cut out of the felt, a small red comb for under the turkey's neck.  They can then glue the Thanksgiving turkeys together, inserting the feathers in between the pine comb leaves.

If you have any additional craft activities for kids, feel free to add them here. If you'd rather leave a voice message instead of typing, that's fine. The record button is on the right hand side of this page.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Have You Thought About Hosting a Thanksgiving Party This Year

When we think about celebrating Thanksgiving, we often think about family.

In fact, the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year. Family members travel from all corners of the planet just to be home for the annual family Thanksgiving dinner.

But every year, millions of Americans spend Thanksgiving alone. Some may have no family to celebrate with, while others may be unable to make it home because of a lack of financial resources. Still other folks have lost contact with their family and find it emotionally impossible to re-unite for the holidays.

Whatever the reason, the truth is that you or maybe even some of the people you may know, will not have anyone to celebrate with this Thanksgiving. So ... the question is, have you thought about hosting some sort of Thanksgiving party this year?

It doesn't have to be an elaborate affair. Of course, you will find that some planning and preparation is involved. But what is nice about planning your own Thanksgiving party, is that it can be whatever kind of party you want it to be. And it goes without saying, that the type of Thanksgiving party that you choose to host will impact directly on exactly how much it will cost and how easy it is to host.

Then make-up your guest list. Invite your friends, elderly neighbors, International students, neighbor families, co-workers, your church group, ... the list could go on and on. It's your party!

The idea of a Thanksgiving party is to socialize and share feelings of togetherness during the holiday season. There is just something about the holiday season that makes us all a bit more vulnerable. Your Thanksgiving party may help make it a bit easier for you or some of your guests, to feel more connected and in-touch.

Of course, there are other reasons you might be interested in hosting a Thanksgiving party. Maybe you're new to the area, married into a new family, or have a new job. A party is a great way to familiarize yourself with the new people in your life. What a great way to create a social network of friends, family members, neighbors, or coworkers.

And if none of those circumstances apply to you, it might be a good idea to host a Thanksgiving party and invite someone who is in one of these situations. You may help make it easier for that individual to feel more comfortable in their new setting, whatever it may be.

If you are a parent, it may also be a good idea to for you to host a Thanksgiving party. No matter what the age of your child or children, one thing is for sure, kids love parties. In fact, you may even want to think about hosting a Thanksgiving party for kids. Your child would likely enjoy the fact that you are willing to plan a party just for him or her and their friends.

Whether you are looking to please your children, avoid spending the holidays alone, or if you just want to have a party, you may want to seriously consider hosting your own Thanksgiving party. If you decide that this is something that you want to do, then get started with preparations, and invite your guests as soon as possible.

Some Creative Thanksgiving Activities

Traditionally, the Thanksgiving season, for many families, is a season of celebration, fun, and thankfulness. Why not add some more fun to the agenda this year, with some new Thanksgiving activities for you and your family.

Here are a few suggestion to help you get started:

• Make some recipe books – In the weeks before Thanksgiving day, make a list of every member of the family that cooks. Then beside their name, make a note of their "special" dish.

Contact each of the people on your list and ask them for a copy of that special recipe, and one or two more of their favorite recipes that they might want to share. When you have collected all the recipes from family members, use a computer to compile them into a booklet and print them out and bind them together in a folder.

After the Thanksgiving dinner is served, present each guest at the table with your special gift, their own copy of your special family recipe book.

This activity can be a combination effort of everyone in the house. Children can make the calls to request the recipes, and in many cases, older children will be able to do the computer work to compile the recipes. Younger children may enjoy creating the artwork on construction paper, using crayons, marker, stickers, and glitter, to make the covers for the recipe books.                                                      

• Consider giving thankful cards – Make a card for each family member that will be your guest for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Inside of each card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.

Don't have time to make some cards, there's nothing that says that writing your thoughts on stationary means any less. And you could always head off to the local card-shop if time and resources permit.

Got children? Let them create their own cards to give to the family this year. It could become an annual tradition that will help your children to learn the real meaning of giving thanks.

• Put together mini family scrapbooks – Gather together some of your favorite family pictures. If you need additional copies of the pictures, bring them to any retail store that develops photos and they will be able to make copies even if you do not have the photo negatives.

Then, purchase mini scrapbooks at any craft supply store, along with stickers, markers and various scrapbook supplies. (Children love this activity!) Create the miniature family scrapbooks, placing one picture on each page. Under each picture, write about that family member, what you cherish about him or her, and in what way you give thanks for them being in your life.

On Thanksgiving day, present each family member their own copy of your family scrapbook, as a lasting memento and cherished family memory.

These are just some of the new and creative activities that you and your family could do to share not only a turkey on Thanksgiving, but some lasting memories as well.

Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips Every Child Should Know

Halloween is a famously loved holiday by kids everywhere. It’s a fun time to dress up like silly or scary characters and go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.

But it's also a time to stay safe.

Please be sure that your kids, regardless of their age, understand these safety tips before they go out trick-or-treating this year. Impress upon them how important these few rules are to their health and safety.

Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips to Teach Children

Wear Bright Colors

Both adults and kids should always wear brightly colored clothing. Tell them: "If you are wearing a costume that is dark in color, you must have some reflective tape attached to parts of the clothes or shoes so that you can be seen by drivers in cars." (Many communities now enforce a trick-or-treating curfew to prevent children from roaming after dark. Be sure to check for any curfew rules that may apply to your community.)

Be Sure That You Can See

Smaller children just love the store-bought costumes that come complete with a facemask. Tell them: "Before you leave the house, double-check to make sure that you can see through the eyeholes of the mask. This will help to prevent tripping, falling or running into something while out trick-or-treating."

Obey the Rules

Tell them: "If you are trick-or-treating in a city, remember to follow traffic safety rules. Always look both ways before crossing the street. Stay on the sidewalks, don't run, and walk at a normal pace."

Visit Familiar Places Only

Tell them: "It is safer to trick-or-treat at places where you know people. Do not go to strange houses or places that look unsafe. Never accept the invitations of strangers to go inside the house, even if it's to get some candy. Remember the “never talk to strangers,” rule!"

Let Parents Inspect all Candy Before Eating

This is a commonly known rule of trick-or-treating, but yet so many parents don’t follow it. And let's face it, it's hard for kids to accept or understand this one, but they must.

Parents should remove all unwrapped candy from buckets (cupcakes, homemade candy, etc.). There are just too many dangers to eating unwrapped candy or treats to take a chance with your child. It is also a good idea to look for holes in plastic candy wrappers as well.

Tell them: "Not to eat anything until they bring their "loot" home and you get to check it out first."

Always remember that kids will be excited about Halloween, and with these basic rules and any others you deem appropriate, they will have fun but remain safe while doing so.