Bring The Warmth In and Give Thanks

Thanksgiving Traditions At It's Best

Decorating Made Easy

 

So the food is always the start of the show, but why not enjoy the yummy food looking at some amazing decor too. I love these inexpensive ideas that take the things around our house and transform them into simple, easy table settings for your festive get together. 
I love the white pumpkin idea. Take your leftover Halloween pumpkins, paint them white and line them down the center of your table atop of butcher paper. Now as the leaves and pine cones are falling, gather them, dry them and bunch them around the pumpkins to give it some depth. It really is that simple. Right now at Micheal's stores you can get pumpkins on sale, spray paint them and use them year after year.  This idea from My Crafty Spot took a banner from Halloween made of simple brown butcher paper that said Hocus Pocus, turned it around and now says Be Grateful!

The pear idea is ingenious. It smells amazing too. Rachel Gilbert came up with this easy and tasty decor item. Later you can use the pears to make one of the recipes I posted here. You can find a container of cloves at the dollar store and display on a cute pedestal you made from a candle holder glued to a dollar store platter/plate and spray painted in any color you'd like. Here is a 3 tier pedestal I made for a baby shower a couple of years back. I make it out of plastic plates, two candle holders with epoxy and some spray paint. 

Appetizers Ideas for Kids of All Ages

Kids don't want to eat the fancy frou frou appetizers. Short of the cheese and crackers lets face it, they're not grabbing at the veggie tray or the specialty cheeses and spreads. My child had fun making these a couple years ago. Goldfish crackers and popcorn. We even added some m&ms in there too.

Hanging Paper Lanterns
I love this idea from Handmade Holiday Full Tutorial Here


I plan on making these with my 7 year old tomorrow. They are easy to make and a perfect little activity on a cold fall day. The materials can all be purchased at your local craft store and you probably already have these items around your house. We aren't going to use the butchers string, we will use fishing line because that's what we have sitting around our house. Construction paper is a bit to thin for this project, you'll need a heavier paper.

Apple Cider Slush
  
1/4 Cup Splenda
2 Ripe Bananas, Cut up 
1 Can Crushed Pineapple in Juice
1 Cup Cool Whip 
3 Cups Apple Cider
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Cup White Cranberry Juice Cocktail (You can use regular Cranberry to make it pretty too) 
1 Bottle of Diet Sprite or Sparkling Water

Combine banana, splenda, pineapple and juice, and cool whip and mix together. Freeze into slush and then break up or shave. Combine all other ingredients and chill. When you get ready to serve your drink, put a scoop of the slush in the cup and top off with drink mix.

Parent Map has so really awesome children's ideas. At our house for years we had a kids table. Now that my child is the only kid, he sometimes needs to be occupied a bit while the adults savor their Thanksgiving meal and conversation. 


 You can pick up pine cones in your yard, we gather them from Liberty Park because they have larger harder pine cones that can hold a crayon. Give each child a little turkey and a coloring book as a place-mat at the table. They will love it!

It's great to start new traditions and I think that Thanksgiving Day is one of those holidays that really allows you to be creative in unique ways. To have a holiday devoted to being thankful and grateful for what The Lord and this country has given them helps each child, young and old re-prioritize the things that are meaningful and worth mentioning. Go around the table and have everyone express what they are thankful for or use this idea from 16 Thanksgiving Decor Ideas

 Half of a paper towel roll, some construction paper, googly eyes and voila! On the back you can write the names of each person coming to dinner and include pens down the table for each person to list their many blessings. 






Sweet Acorn Bites 
When I showed Sam this idea on Pinterest he squealed!  The original idea was very ambitious making the donuts from scratch, uh not my kind of idea of fun, so I purchased donut holes from the store, dipped the tops in nutella and and peanut butter, crushed up toffee and found brown sprinkles and topped them off with a broken pretzel stick. They turned out really cute and they are so good. I admit even though I'm Gluten Free I still ate a couple. Sometimes we have to sacrifice for the greater good. :)

This runner is way cute! Couldn't be more simple. The kids could literally make this the morning of Thanksgiving Day while they sit down and watch the Macy's Day Parade. It will have time to dry by dinner. What a great keepsake to have for years to come. When kids feel like they get to contribute it creates lasting memories. 

Last but not least these are the best. One of my favorite things in the world. 
Prosciutto Wrapped Cantaloup

1⁄2 medium cantaloupe or honeydew melon, seeded
4 oz. Prosciutto or Serrano ham, sliced into 1 inch strips

*In the deli section of your grocery store you can find already sliced and packed prosciutto, but I prefer to get it directly from the deli where they slice it for me. It's cheaper too.
Toothpicks or Skewers 

I garnished them with a little sage leaf, but you could use mint or parsley

Hope your Holiday is Great!