Giving Thanks

Gratitude Door

This year, I wanted to set up some ways to remind us of all that we have to be grateful for, and how we can share what we have with others. We are trying to center our family "mission statement" around one of my favorite hymns:

"Because I have been given much, I too must give."

(I love the print of this quote by the Caravan Shoppe HERE).

That said, I decided to pick up some pictures from Deseret Book of the Savior, the prophet, the temple, etc. I developed some recent family photos and put out some magazines where they could cut out pictures of things they're grateful for. We set everything out on the floor and started choosing our favorites and taped them to our front door, where we could see it every time we come and go.

 I had the "G-I-V-E" letters from last year. I was pretty sure we had "Give Thanks" but turns out I actually just had TWO "Gives." It works.

 This picture may not show it, but we had a lot of fun looking through the family photos. Edison got so excited when he saw a picture of himself on his bike. And Charlotte wanted to keep a picture of Jane for her room. (We had to keep all the photos up high so Jane couldn't reach.)

Turkey Tablecloth

 We're starting a new tradition. I bought a white canvas tablecloth at Target and a pack of fabric markers...

 We're calling it our "Turkey Tablecloth." Charlotte had this idea that we could trace our hands to make turkeys and Hazel said we could write what we're grateful for inside the turkey.

I love it when my kids have ideas. Especially when they involve their little hands.

 The idea is that we will add a hand each year with five things we're most grateful for that year.

 Some of us are still brainstorming.

 I really love the legs on Ellie's turkey.

 I like the idea of writing down what we're grateful for every year, but I also like the idea of being able to keep it and look back at it every year that follows. I hope this works and one day I'll have a tablecloth FILLED with growing hands and words of gratitude.

Here is Hazel's completed list for this year.  I love that she's grateful for food.

And Charlotte's list: Water, house, world, food, and family.

Also, check out my other Thanksgiving ideas here.

Thanksgiving Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Snoods

Ever played the card game "Spoons"?

Well I like to call this version "Snoods" because you use that funky part
of a turkey--the snood--instead of spoons.

Click here for the rules of the game (it's simple enough to play with older kids).
Here is the original idea by Family Fun. I made mine a little simpler.
The snoods can be made and enjoyed by all ages!

Materials:
Popsicle sticks (large ones are best)
yellow and orange (or red) foam paper
glue

Step One: Cut out a tear drop shape in orange or red and glue it onto the top of your stick, tilting it to the right or left a bit.


Step Two: Cut out a long triangle for the beak, snipping off the top corners (see third photo). Glue on top of the orange piece.

And you're ready to play!
For young toddlers or preschoolers, you could use these to play "I Spy." You name something you see and once they find it, they can grab their snood and hold it up to their face.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Racing Turkeys

If you have some a group of kids together this Thanksgiving, here's a fun activity to keep them entertained for a while. Remember the little spiders we blew across the floor with straws? Well, now you can race with mini turkeys.

Materials:
brown fuzzy balls
orange construction paper
small feathers
hot glue

Cut your feathers small enough so that they're not too heavy to blow across the floor. Glue them on the back of the fuzzy ball. Then cut your beak out of the orange construction paper and glue in on the front.





Aren't they cute?

Now time to race!

Preschooler Activities for Thanksgiving: Turkey greeting cards

Sometimes it's nice to send a little hand-made note to the grandparents on the holidays.
Here's a fun idea for Thanksgiving.

Trace your toddler's hands onto construction paper, leaving room to fold the sheet in half at the wrists.

Cut out the hands so that the fold is at the wrist, making a card that opens up at the fingers.
Have your toddler glue eyes and beak and color the "feathers."

Write a nice note inside and mail away!

Have fun preparing for the holidays! More ideas coming shortly...

Toddler and Preschooler Activities for Thanksgiving: Gratitude Turkey

Well, my due date is coming up in about 2 weeks...so I'm trying to squeeze in as many Thanksgiving activities as possible with my girls before baby #3 comes along. Unfortunately, I'm cleaning and painting and "nesting" like crazy, so I haven't been as consistent as I'd wish. Anyway, here's a fun activity that doubles as a homemade centerpiece for your table.
Materials: styrofoam ball markers foam paper toothpicks hot glue stickers
Step One: Color your styrofoam ball brown OR if you have the energy, have your toddler paint it brown. You could also cut out brown feathers with your foam paper. He just needs to be brown!

You can tell we weren't aiming for perfection here. Step Two: Give your turkey two feet and a tail. This will allow him to stand on his own. I taped the toothpicks to the foam paper in this picture, but later glued them with hot glue because it was stronger. Step Three: Using the foam paper, cut out several feathers of varying colors for your toddler to decorate. They can draw, use stickers, or write what they are grateful for on each feather. The one my daughter is holding in the picture above is supposed to say "smiles."
Step Four: Make your turkey's head. I cut out the head from black foam paper and made the eyes out of sticky felt. You could also use googly eyes.

This feather was a favorite of mine. My one year old found a sticker that put it simply: I'm grateful for "u."



Ta-da! A gratitude turkey that can sit on your table and remind you of the little things that matter most.
This year, I'm grateful for girls. I love that I get three of them all to myself.