Just One Mom Trying: Thanksgiving

Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Turkey Place Setting

So, I know it's WAAAY past Thanksgiving but I thought I'd post this cute little turkey place setting buddy.

I painted a little wooden peg (meant to be a baby or bee shape), sprayed it with some glossy finish, and added some raffia "feathers" on the back. I thought he was a cute little guy so I thought I'd share.

These are super cheap and easy to make. The piece of wood was $0.10 each.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Thank You Notes: Tips for Meaningful Thanks

Emily 8:44 AM 0 Comments

Writing thank you notes are important when someone has done something nice for you. With Christmas just ending, it is time to bust out the thank you's.

Some pointers for writing thank you notes:

Write a thank you note with nice, clean paper and a pen. Use your own handwriting. Send it in the mail, stamp and all.
Send it in a timely fashion. Do not procrastinate! It's best to send your note within a week of the event- but better late than never.
Be specific in your expression of thanks. (See below)
NEVER mention anything that was wrong with the gift, and/or never write anything that would hurt someone's feelings.

Being specific:

If you received a gift, mention the gift and say something nice about it. If you received money or a gift card, tell how you spent it or what you plan to do with it.

Good words to help express your thanks (taken from How to Say It from the Heart by Jack Griffin)

acknowledge

appreciate

commitment

contribution

grateful

gratitude

generous

generosity

heartfelt

invaluable

opportunity

pleasure

priceless

profound

sacrifice

sincere

thoughtful

tremendous

thanks

Words NOT to use (also taken from How to Say It from the Heart by Jack Griffin)

eternally indebted

greatest in the world

have to

how can I ever repay you?

made the effort

must

old college try

shocked

sorry I had to ask

surprised

thanks a bunch

thanks a million

tried your best

Imagine getting a thank you note that reads:

Dear Suzie,

Thanks for the gift you sent. I was surprised when I saw it was from you. I was also shocked to find out that it was broken when it arrived but we put some glue on it and it looks just like new. How can I ever repay you? Thanks a million.

Imagine getting a thank you note that reads:

Dear Suzie,

Thank you for the handmade Christmas gift. You know how much I love ornaments, especially ones from my dear friends. What a thoughtful gift! I love how it sparkles on my tree and I think of you every time I see it.

Which one would you like to receive?

Time to get those notes in the mail asap.

# birthdays # Christmas

Monday, November 7, 2011

Alternative to Cupcake Liners

Emily 11:28 AM 0 Comments

Today I made a bunch of pumpkin bread for some thank you's today. I had some left over batter and wanted to make some pumpkin muffins. Instead of cupcake liners I used a 5" x 5" piece of parchment paper as my liner. I love the look of it! And, since it's parchment paper, it's meant for baking and it doesn't stick.

The paper peeled off great when they were done! I will be doing this more often, especially for gifts. I wonder where I can get different colored parchment paper? I know they have it in a tan color. Hmm...Anyone?

Wrap these up in cellophane and tie a ribbon around it. I'm sure it would look so cute. (This bag is a little too big for the muffin. A jumbo muffin would look a whole lot more awesome.)

# birthdays # cake

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Preschool Thanksgiving Costumes: Indian Vest

Emily 11:23 AM 8 Comments

When I was a kid we had a Thanksgiving feast at preschool. We all dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians, sat cross-legged on the floor, and ate popcorn and creamed corn. It was so fun! This time I get to dress up my own preschooler. Here's the first tutorial of Thanksgiving costumes. We will tackle the Pilgrim next time.

To make your Indian vest you will need a brown paper grocery bag.

I turned this brown paper bag inside out because I wanted my vest ALL brown, even on the back. I then crinkled the bag up to give it a leather look. If you really want to get fancy and you have some time, spray the paper bag with some water and then crinkle. It looks really nice and it's a LOT easier to crinkle. I rushed through this "vest" so it's not going to be pretty or fancy.

Open your bag up again.

Take a warm iron to flatten the vest out again.

Cut holes for the arms and neck, and one straight cut up the front for the vest opening. Here's a rough diagram of how to cut the bag.

It should look something like this.

Cut some "fringe" along the bottom of the bag, and decorate! Markers aren't the best for decorating. I prefer tempera paints or crayons. You could also use ribbons, rickrack or colored paper to add some flair.

We just might have to make these for dinner one of these nights and make up Indian names for each other.

# dress up # Fall

Count Your Blessings

Emily 11:21 AM 0 Comments

Thanksgiving is in a couple weeks which means that it's time to be grateful. Take some time to count your blessings.

In our house we put up this tree (made for a bulletin board). We are adding one leaf for every blessing we can name. No repeats!

We have a lot of laminated paper leaves (that we are actually going to write on with a wipe-off marker so we can use it next year) and we also have some pretty silk leaves to add to our tree. I think we got a pack of 75 silk leaves from Michael's craft store for a buck or two. MJ loves decorating this tree!

Since we hold preschool at our home the kids will be able to add to the tree when they come. This tree has an extra insert to make it taller but I kept it out so that the kids could reach the branches without any problems.

I would have preferred to make my own tree out of brown butcher paper as shown on THIS site (scroll to the bottom to see the picture) because it is SO much cuter, but I already had the tree and we needed to get this thing started ASAP.

# Fall # preschool