Thanksgiving | Simply Modern Mom

Posts Tagged ‘thanksgiving’

Start a New Holiday Tradition

In Holidays on December 1, 2009 at 8:59 am

Our 2nd annual gingerbread house contest with my parents and brother.

There are so many great ideas for family traditions out there floating around the blogosphere. One of our family traditions at Christmas is our annual gingerbread house building contest. It was a tradition that Nathan and I started our first Christmas together as a married couple where we spent it with my family. Every year, the houses get more and more elaborate. And every year, we find numerous creative ways of using graham crackers, frosting and candy decorations. My little brother is notorious for building the craziest stuff.

Here are some other ideas for family traditions you may want to try…

Have a guest of honor each night at the dinner table. Everyone says something nice about that person.
Visit a local nursing home to cheer up those less visited – carol, do a puppet show, karaoke, play games.
Anonymously donate items to the homeless shelter or to a family less fortunate.
Have a family outing to a museum or a play.
Start a traveling package with a family member out-of-state by filling a shoebox or a flat rate box with little gifts or homemade items back and forth to each other.
Make a special meal or treat and only make it around the time of the holiday.
Write a year in review letter to your future self or to your children/grandchildren and talk about the lessons learned that year and the things you are grateful for.
Look through old family photo albums or scrapbooks and laugh at old memories.
Do a Christmas treasure hunt by hiding all the gifts Christmas morning and having the children hunt for them.

What are some of your most cherished family traditions?

Tags

children, christmas, families, ideas, thanksgiving

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I’m Gobbling…

In Holidays on November 26, 2009 at 9:00 am

Happy Thanksgiving from Simply Modern Mom! I am off to spend the day with my family and you should do the same. Have a wonderful day and I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Three winners for the Pomodoro Giveaway will be announced and the usual Friday’s 5 at 5 with things I am grateful for. Sign up for the giveaway if you haven’t yet. It’s your last day to do so.

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thanksgiving

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Entertaining the Children

In Crafts, Entertainment, Holidays on November 18, 2009 at 9:01 am

{image by Parents Magazine}

If you are hosting a party or the actual holiday itself, one of your sanity savers this holiday season will be keeping the kids busy. Sending them outside won’t always work. Here are some children’s craft and game ideas to keep them entertained on their own. Or designate another adult or a teenager to supervise. And don’t forget about the Thanksgiving garland.

Prop improv. Gather random things around the house and the kids have to improv a scene with that prop.
Sock puppet show. Collect old socks, provide decorations, and have the children make sock puppets. Then have them do a show for everyone.
Magic tricks. Look up some simple magic tricks online and have the kids learn a few.
Entertaining kids’ table. Cover the table with butcher paper and have a cup of crayons or markers for the kids to doodle while eating. Let them design their own placemats with pre-cut paper shapes or foam shapes.
Yarn necklaces. These never get old as long as you supply them with edible beads such as Fruit Loops and LifeSavers.
Fake mustaches. Have them make fake mustaches on a stick. Then take a picture of each child with his/her mustache to take home as a souvenir or mailed later as a thank you card.
Fingerprint tree. Draw a tree with only the trunk and branches. Or use brown yarn and glue on paper. Then have the children fill the tree with leaves made by their finger prints. Use water based paints that will be easy to wash off such as tempera paint.
Pumpkin bowling. This will have to be done outside. Use uncut leftover Halloween pumpkins as the bowling ball and empty liter soda bottles as the pins.
Gratitude pie spinner. It is pictured above from Parents Magazine. Go to link for a how to.
Mayflower place cards. It is picture below, also from Parents Magazine. Go to link for a how to.

{image by Parents Magazine}

Tags

children, ideas, thanksgiving, tips

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Did You See Me on Tangled & True?

In Crafts, Featured, Holidays on November 17, 2009 at 9:01 am

Did you see me yesterday on Tangled & True? The lovely Brittany from Tangled & True invited me to be a guest on her blog and I posted the Thanksgiving garland that is super simple to make. You can also find the tutorial on my TUTORIAL page or this link. Thanks, Brittany, for allowing me to experience Tangled & True. It was fun!

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decorating, ideas, thanksgiving, websites

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Thanksgiving Garland Tutorial

In Holidays, Tutorials on November 16, 2009 at 8:21 pm

I love this time of year when we reflect on the many things we are grateful for in our lives. The last couple of years, I wanted to teach my 3-year-old Kaye to express gratitude for the many blessings in her life. Thus began the tradition of our Thanksgiving countdown. A little tradition that began with construction paper chain links a few years ago. The main idea: Write down one thing we are grateful for each day in November. Each member in the family participate in writing down things they count as blessings. Then we display it somewhere visible as a daily reminder of the things appreciate in our blessed lives.

This year, I upgraded the construction paper chain links to a leafy garland. Here is a simple tutorial for you to count your blessings in November with a garland.

Supplies:

paper – white, scrapbook, paper bags, construction, printer, etc.
scissor
pencil
pens
raffia

1. Draw your leaf pattern. If you need inspiration, collect some fallen leaves outside then trace. You will want to make the stem about 1″ long. Then cut out the pattern.

2. Trace the leaf pattern on various different types of paper. Trace 30 leaves for each day in November.

3. Crumble the paper with the tracing on it. Then smooth out and cut.

4. Give each family members a few leaves and have them write their blessings.

5. This is an optional step, but it makes the garland look fuller. Cut out smaller size leaves to put in between the large leaves. Luckily, I had a large leaf punch.

6. Gather about 6 or 9 strands of raffia then tie a knot on one end.

7. Begin braiding. Braid about 3-4″ before adding leaves into your braid, sticking the stem of the leaf into your braid.

8. If you are using the small leaves for a fuller garland, insert the small ones into some of the braids between the larger leaves. Keep going until all the leaves are gone or you have reached your desired length. Make sure to do 3-4″ of plain braids before ending the raffia with a knot. If you need a longer length, add more raffia into the braid.

A back and finished view of the garland.

If you make this garland this Thanksgiving, please leave a link to a picture of it so I can check it out!

Tags

children, decorating, families, ideas, lists, thanksgiving

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Simplifying the Holidays: Table Centerpieces

In Holidays on November 9, 2009 at 9:00 am

We are two and half weeks away from Thanksgiving and seven weeks away from Christmas. Are you stressed yet? From now until the holidays are over, I will be focusing articles on simplifying all the worries that surrounds this time of year. I am going to throw ideas at you, make up a few lists, and inspire you to have a delightful holiday season. Are you ready?

Simple 5-minute table centerpieces. Click on picture for details, descriptions below. What are your centerpiece ideas and tips?

Floating fruits in glass vase. Also good to mix the colors or use fall colors.
Bold color fruits in serving bowls.
Gerbera daisies in wheatgrass box.
Pinecones in glass vase or other glass serving bowls.
Fall wreath hanging from a ribbon.
Pumpkins and foliage on cake dish and table runners.
Vegetables tied to candle with ribbon.

Tips for centerpieces:

Use what you have around the house — serving bowls, antique china, glass vase, cake stands, platters, bottles, trays, candles.
Use what is outside of your house — leaves, twigs, thin branches, berries, nuts, seeds, sand, rocks.
Use what is in your grocery bag — fruits, vegetables, candies, nuts.
Think colors — bold colors, fall colors, shades of white.
Table runners can be made from anything — wrapping paper, tissue paper, colored plastic wraps, scrapbook paper, butcher paper, fabric.
Don’t make it too tall. It blocks people’s views and slows conversations.