Category Archives: Thanksgiving

DIY Thanksgiving Gratitude Sign

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year, I’m trying to start a new tradition with my family: a DIY Thanksgiving Gratitude Sign.

Since there’s been so many events, people, and things in general that have happened in our family, I thought it’d be special for everyone to write it all out. It’ll be a snapshot of gratitude.

Who doesn’t need a little dose of that?

Like this year’s Christmas Bucket List, our DIY Gratitude Sign only uses craft paper and markers. To make it a little more special, I used some left overs fall elements from a centerpiece.

Then, just add tape to the back and it’s ready to go.

I added the first three items to the list: family, health, and laughter.

After looking at it, I decided to add my name to the sign too. Hopefully all my family will so we can all see what everyone says.

I think this will be a beautiful tradition for my family. It’s something I want to do with Mila as she gets older. Even if she’s not in a positive space, I want her to know that I’m always thankful for her. Plus, sometimes the things you’re most thankful for are ‘small.’

This simple and easy to make gratitude sign will make a big impact on Thanksgiving Day.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and holds their loved ones close this year and for as long as they can.

With that, I know so many people grieving through the holidays. They are so hard. I miss Jensen everyday and am so thankful that he was in my life. No matter if you can’t think of anything else to be thankful for, I know a name can be powerful. Write and say your loved ones names.

I know anytime I hear Jensen’s name, I’m so thankful others are thinking of him. I’ll never be able to thank him and Mila for choosing me to be their mom.

How do you talk about gratitude during the holidays? Do you have a tradition like this? Let me know in the comments.

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Bingo Marker Turkey Craft

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Quirky Turkeys don’t always have feathers, sometimes they have spots. At least that’s what Mila says. This easy craft is perfect if you run out of feathers or just want to give your child a simple turkey craft.

Plus, It turns out really abstract, which makes this one of my favorite turkeys of the year!

As I’ve said over and over again, I try to find crafts and activities that are easy for Mila to do by herself. This gives me time to clean or cook a dish for Thanksgiving. It also promotes her being independent and in turn it helps her with her confidence. Little ones need all the confidence to get by in the world.

For this activity, we only used a few things. That means it was SUPER simple to set up for her… and me!

Here’s the things we used:

To start off, I made a turkey head and face. I used cardboard from a box, googly eyes, and random scrapbook/construction paper that I had leftover. Your child could have also made a turkey face too.

Then, I unscrewed the tops of the bingo markers and told her to make the turkey’s feathers with them.

I actually love using bingo markers in crafts and activities. They aren’t very messy, unless your child goes wld with them. They also are pretty cheap. I found these at the dollar store and we’ve had them for quite a while. Plus, there’s a lot of different colors you can find!

The only other thing I instructed Mila to do was to fill up the background. You could also have your kids sort the colors or do different numbers of dots for more learning.

When I look at her last quirky turkey of the year, I keep seeing a rainbow in the background. I don’t think she meant to do it like this, it just feels really symbolic. All her turkeys this year have been so great. As always, I’m just so proud of her.

This is another activity you can easily do before Thanksgiving or on Thanksgiving Day. I hope if you do, your child loves it as much as Mila did!

What are your favorite turkey or Thanksgiving inspired crafts? If you have any links, please feel free to post them in the comments. I’d love to share and maybe do them next year too!

If you’re looking for more crafts that Mila and I have done for Thanksgiving, here they are:

As always, I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and are able to spend time with their family and friends!

Thanksgiving DIY: “Turkey” Feather Headband

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Since Mila loved her Googly Eye Headband at Halloween, I knew she needed the perfect hair accessory for Thanksgiving.

With a little imagination and a lot of feathers, I came up with a Turkey Feather Headband.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again here, feathers are to Thanksgiving as eyes are to Halloween. They make all Thanksgiving crafts and activities just a little more special. The best part of each… they can both be found at dollar stores!

Another similarity… I got almost all of the items to make this headband at the dollar store too. Everything besides the yarn!

  • Feathers
  • Fluffy kitty headband
  • Hot glue/gun
  • Yarn

To start, I took off the ears of the kitty headband and hot glued them back on. I put them bottom on the band and close together. This way the feathers stick up.

Then I wrapped the band and the ears with yarn. This took a little bit of time, but make sure to use hot glue where the yarn starts and stops. I didn’t have to hot glue the entire time. Thankfully because that would have burnt my fingers.

After it’s covered in yarn, I stuck feathers in by the ear part through the yarn. I made sure to add a little hot glue so the feathers didn’t fall out.

I ended up using a ton of feathers, especially since I covered the front end back of the headband. At first I just had the front done, but I think having both made it more complete and full looking.

When Mila saw it, she instantly fell in love! Of course she wants to wear it to preschool one day this coming week!

I’ll try to make a clip with a few feathers too.

Maybe now she’ll want to dress up for Thanksgiving Day. We usually take a cute outfit AND something comfortable to wear. Especially after eating all the turkey!

No matter what, I think this Turkey Feather Headband will be making an appearance.

Let me know in the comments whether you dress up or down for Thanksgiving. I’ll let you know what Mila ends up deciding to do.

Pumpkin Pie Counting Paper Plate Activity

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In this house, playing with your food is encouraged; especially when it helps with learning!

This Pumpkin Pie Counting Paper Plate Activity is perfect to help kids get excited about Thanksgiving, number recognition, and counting. All in one activity.

Last week I got Mila’s first preschool assessment. Overall, she did amazing! Sometimes I forgot that she’s only three and a half because she’s so smart and social. It makes me so proud to be her mom.

These assessments also gave me an idea of what we need to be working on at home.

One thing I’m not good at are numbers. Math definitely wasn’t my favorite subject in school, so sometimes I forget to add it into our play.

In her assessment, she counted to fifteen and only recognized a few numbers. I know she can count to 20, but I honestly didn’t know about her letter recognition skills. So, that’s what we’re going to try snd do more of.

Since the holidays are right around the corner and we’re excited for pies, I thought this activity would be perfect.

All you need for it is:

  • Paper plate
  • Orange, white, and tan paint
  • Scissors
  • Cotton balls

To make the pumpkin pie paper plate, you first need to paint it. I used tan paint for the crust and orange for the filling.

The orange took me two coats of paint and three for the tan.

Next, I cut the plate into eight slices and wrote the corresponding numbers on them with white paint.

After it was all dry, I added some decoration to make it more sparkly for Mila and gave her cotton balls to count with.

She had a lot of fun counting the cotton balls, but I saw her work out the different numbers in her head too.

It was amazing to see that even if she didn’t know the number at first, she would count around to figure it out. Hopefully the more she sees them, the more she’ll know!

Either way, we had fun pretending it was a pie and eating it too. I love how fun learning is with her.

What are some ways to help kids with number recognition?

The BEST and EASIEST Jiffy Corn Casserole

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Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without tasty sides. Even though I love all the classics like stuffing and green bean casserole, this Jiffy Corn Casserole is a staple for our family’s Turkey Day!

Like the title of this post says, it’s so easy to make and will be the BEST Jiffy Corn Casserole you’ll ever have.

Intrigued to try? Here’s all you need to make it:

  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 can of creamed corn
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 8 ounces of sour cream
  • 1/4 cup of sugar

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then, in a large bowl or your greased/nonstick sprayed casserole dish, mix in all the ingredients. Just mix until it’s all together, minus the corn!

Afterwards, stick the uncovered casserole dish in the oven for 45-50 minutes and you’re done.

The first time I ever made this recipe, I was shocked! It tasted so good. It’s almost like corn bread, but softer and better? I’m unsure how to explain it. My best comparison is to Chi-Chi’s corn side.

Hello to that Chi-Chi’s throwback!

If you don’t like corn casserole sweet, just take out the sugar and you can still make it. My family usually likes cheese on top of it too. If I decide to make the casserole with cheese, I’ll sprinkle shredded cheese on, then put it in the over to melt it.

It just makes it even tastier!

Mila usually helps me mix everything together, but it doesn’t take any time at all. It’s so easy and tasty that your family and/or friends will ask you to make it for all your get-togethers!

What’s your go to side to make for Thanksgiving or any other type of gathering?

Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls

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Want to know my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? The desserts! I think it’s a lot of people’s favorite part too. Pumpkin pie, in my opinion, is the best pie of the day.

This year, I’ve taken this classic dessert and out a little twist to it and made: Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls.

Even though I love pumpkin pie, these Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls taste even better!

Here what you’ll need to make them:

  • 2 crescent roll tubes
  • 1 cup of pumpkin purée
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

First, preheat your oven to 375 F. Then you can line your baking sheet with parchment paper or spray your sheet with nonstick spray.

I used nonstick spray and they turned out great.

Then, mix the pumpkin purée, sugar, brown sugar, egg yolks, pumpkin spice, and vanilla in a bowl.

Next, unroll your crescent rolls. You can cut them in half, but I just went with how they were packaged instead of making smaller rolls.

After unrolling the rolls, spoon one tablespoon (or make your best judgment) of pumpkin pie filling on to the crescent roll. I liked putting a little extra so some of the filling came out.

Next, put them in the oven for 10-12 minutes and they’re done!

I ended up putting sugar and pumpkin spice on them when they were finished. It just made the flavoring pop more.

And who doesn’t love extra pumpkin spice.

Although we ate them as is, I think they’d be delicious with whipped cream or ice cream. Maybe even some caramel drizzle over them too! Either way, you’ll want to take these to your Thanksgiving dinner!

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

Thanksgiving Treat: Rice Krispie Turkeys

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The holiday season goes so quick! I’ve been thinking of Thanksgiving Treats and how to make them festive. Eventually, I came up with these Rice Krispie Turkeys.

All made from leftover Halloween candy, these turkeys are cute and perfect for Thanksgiving.

All I used to make these turkeys are:

  • Rice Krispies
  • Candy corn
  • Eye sprinkles
  • Twizzlers
  • Feathers

As I mentioned above, everything I used to make these came from Mila’s candy stash. We got a ton of mini Rice Krispie treats and this seemed like a fun way to use them. There was always an abundance of candy corn left from the Fall Scarecrow Snack Mix.

I ended up cutting little slices of a twizzler to make the turkey’s wattle. Yes, that’s what it’s called.

Then, of course, we used eye sprinkles to complete the look.

To assemble, you simple just press everything into the Rice Krispie. It’s not too difficult. One tip I’d give you is to use your hands to hold the shape of the Rice Krispie while pressing everything else in.

That way none of the ‘feathers’ or eyes fall out.

To complete the look, I added a craft feather to the back. I think it looked adorable. I’d suggest wrapping washi tape around the feather so it doesn’t stick to the Rice Krispie.

Another added bonus of this fun Thanksgiving treat is that Mila loved helping make the faces too! This could end up being a really fun activity for Thanksgiving day with the family. Im always looking for kids activities to keep them busy and smiling.

Either way, these Rice Krispie Turkeys are tasty, easy to make, and will be perfect for your Thanksgiving Day.

What foods or treats do you make for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving? Let me know in the comments.