HEY, GRATITUDE TIME!

MAY FAMILY PILGRIMS

I love saving kid’s artwork! It is such a precious addition to any holiday. Somehow, for over forty years, I’ve managed to preserve this precious drawing without too much damage. Maggie was four when she drew our little May family as pilgrims. It is among my favorite Thanksgiving treasures.

You may notice the way she has clustered herself with Mom and Dad pilgrims, leaving Mollie off on her own.

You may also notice the giant red smiles Mom, Dad, and Maggie have on their faces while Baby Mollie cries.

Maggie famously had a low tolerance for crying and whining of any sort. Although she was the kindest big sister you could imagine, unhappy baby sounds made her wince in pain and cover her ears.

Perhaps we should title this drawing, “I Am Thankful For My Family - But With Her Over There.”

AFTER SCHOOL QUICKIE PARTY

Despite piano lessons, volleyball, karate, ski club, and all the other activities the girls have, we managed to squeeze in some Thanksgiving fun. Last week, the girls stopped by after school for some simple crafting: (1) decorating leaves with markers and stickers for family/friends, and (2) decorating little wood plaques of owls dressed up like indians and pilgrims — all while munching apple slices and Granny’s special Thanksgiving caramel dip (thank you, Marzetti’s). We added a few simple table decorations and festive paper plates and made a little memory to add to our life’s story.

Granny is grateful for the Dollar Store!

THANKFUL MEN

Yesterday, we had a lunch date with Roland, then he came over to hang out. I tried to get him interested in some of the leftover leaf and owl crafts, but he opted for a quasi-brutal game of “Slap Hands” with Keith. Eurkeka! I realized this has potential to be a Thanksgiving event which I will call “Slap the Turkey.” I have turkey hats and pilgrim hats in my party box. The reigning champ gets the pilgrim hat, and challengers wear the turkey hat until they dethrone the pilgrim. I already thought of a grand prize for the winner: a giant bottle of Curel Extra Healing Lotion for those very raw, pink hands.

Although nowhere as wholesome as making cute Thanksgiving owls, we also started teaching Roland how to play 5 card stud. Inspiration struck again: Pilgrim Poker! Players wear the pilgrim hats and we use candy corn in place of chips. Absolutely anything can be morphed into a Thanksgiving activity. What a great holiday!

THANKSGIVING CLOTHES

This was a spectacular craft event from the distant past. I heartily recommend it. The photo features our oldest grandchildren about twenty years ago + some new autumn gold sweatshirts with matching jogging pants + granny’s art supplies = a fantastic party to create some fancy matching Thanksgiving clothes.

The kids were thrilled. Everyone knows it’s so naughty to draw on clothes. Their glee was palpable. Giggles with every stroke.

Then they posed for this photo to memorialize their misdemeanor.
A mug shot of sorts. When he realized this might be evidence for the prosecution, Jaspir asks, “Will we get in trouble for this?” Still makes me laugh thinking about it.

THE TURKEY TUCK-IN

Nothing says “holidays” quite like a sleepover. At our house, they always seem to deteriorate into the craziest chaos you can imagine. Our weary hide-a-bed is front and center to the television - perfect for a movie night with a Thanksgiving flick.

I made some buttered popcorn to lure my two little turkeys into bed. They were certainly wild rather than domestic, gobbling down the corn and wiggling their wattles until they were finally tired enough to roost for the night.

One of the holiest moments in life is tucking in covers around a child at bedtime. I melt with delight each time I participate in this ritual. No matter how many foreheads I kiss, it never loses its solemnity. There is something reverent about having little people trust you to protect them. My kiss. Their peace. It feels like a sacrament. Gotta love the tuck-in!

POETRY CONTEST

A few years back (pre-Covid), we had a poetry contest where we made acrostic poems using the word THANKFUL. The goal was to write about things for which you are grateful, while making each line of the poem start with the corresponding letter in the word THANKFUL. If you want some lovely keepsakes, you should try it. Here’s my youngest grandchild’s entry. Not what I expected. I guess it’s safe to call this free verse and I just love it.

As you can see, Lilly’s poem has the efficiency and depth of a classic haiku poem. I love that her last entry of things for which she is thankful is herself. We can all take a lesson from that.

TURKEY FINGER PUPPETS

As my daughter reminds me, if you do something often enough, it becomes a tradition. Case in point, every Thanksgiving, I set a container of turkey finger puppets on the kids’ table to help keep them amused during lulls. This insignificant part of our holiday grows in importance each year until, if I forget, I’m sure someone would say, “Hey! Where’s the finger turkeys?” They eventually become one of the dumb things in your estate over which families argue fiercely.

A couple of years ago, we made a game with the turkey puppets.

1. Grab some puppets and put them on whatever fingers you choose.

2. You have to eat your food while wearing the puppets.

3. The number of puppets on your fingers at the end of the meal will equal the number of Kraft Caramels you will receive.

Despite being a challenging contest, all participants achieved maximum caramel status. And no turkeys were injured in the making of this game!

DEVIANT FOOTBALL

Many, many years ago, I was getting a little tired of our classic Thanksgiving traditions and decided we needed a little more zing (code word for demented). That’s when I invented this festive take on flag football.

THE PLAYERS
Instead of red team and blue team, we have THE TURKEYS (all the guys, of course) versus THE HUNTERS (all the gals). I am excited by the dynamic of boys against girls in football. It’s diabolical. They feel like big losers if they beat up a girl. They feel like big losers if they lose to a girl. This takes the guys off their game. Their angst is palpable (except for the sociopaths).

THE FLAGS
I bought some camo fabric and cut cute little flags for the ladies back pockets. For the guys’ flags, I took oversized flour dish cloths and drew turkeys on them with marker. Keith is the artist in the family but I wanted this to be a surprise for him too, so I was the artist for this project.

The guys’ flags were so long, they almost dragged on the ground. This definitely helps to even the playing field.

THE REF
Officials are optional. We have played with and without and never noticed any difference. My mom originally filled this role. We gave her a chair and a whistle and she would randomly toot now and then for reasons only known to her. It is key to have a Ref who is not well versed in football rules as the players usually ignore the Ref and argue amongst themselves - not unlike the NFL.

THE RULES
The play is pretty much like a normal football game but on a 25-30 yard field. I created a series of rules detailed in sealed envelopes. Every time possession changes due to downs or scoring, the offense gets to pick one envelope. Inside is the special rule that will be enforced until possession changed again.

EXAMPLES OF RULES
Here are a few of the rules we’ve used in the past to give you an idea how to write your own if you decide to play.

1. All players must run backwards.

2. All players must skip and flail their hands.

3. The quarterback must wear a blindfold.

4. The ball carrier’s feet can’t touch the ground.

5. Teammates must hold hands.

6. The football will be substituted with a stuffed animal, preferably a turkey if you have one (which I do).

As you can see, you just make up rules that will make the game silly. Make a mental note of the rules your family thinks are the funniest so you can use them again next time.

If we ever have a Thanksgiving where it’s not freezing, snowing, or raining, it will be super fun to play, now that ALL the grandkids are old enough to participate.

It’s been waaay too long since I’ve hunted turkeys on Thanksgiving. I’ve got my camo and my stuffed turkey. Tell Hank Williams Jr. “I’m ready for some football!”

TURKEY IN THE STRAW COOKIES

I found this recipe online for Halloween Monsters. I had already purchased the pretzel sticks, candy eyeballs, and green chocolate melting discs, but the kids and I never got to making them. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I brainstormed a way to adapt them for this alternate holiday by swapping out the green chocolate for yellow. Voila! “Turkey in the Straw” cookies.

My grandchildren are familiar with “Turkey in the Straw” because every Thanksgiving when we don our turkey masks for the turkey dance contest, “Turkey in the Straw” is one of the songs that gets us rocking the house. In case you are not familiar with this tune, here is a video of the The Schnickelfritz Band performing the original version in 1942.

“Cookies taste better if they come with a poem.” - Granny

WHERE’S MY LITTLE TURKEY?

I lost my little turkey.
I think he wants to play.
I hope he is just hiding,
He wouldn’t run away.

I looked inside the cupboard,
He’s not under the bed,
Or any of the closets,
I even checked the shed.

Where would little turkey hide?
In the truck with Paw?
Oh! There he is. I found him.
The turkey’s in the straw!

Now for the recipe! Not only is this the easiest recipe you will ever make, you really don’t need to measure anything either. Even the tiniest of kids can make “Turkey in the Straw” cookies.

INGREDIENTS

• Bag of pretzels (we used about half of a 16 oz. bag)

• Bag of yellow chocolate discs (we used a 12 oz. bag of yellow Wilton’s Candy Melts)

• Candy eyeballs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, you break up a bag of pretzel sticks (each stick in half) and put them in a bowl.
2. Then, you melt a bag of yellow chocolate discs in the microwave. We used 30 second increments on half power. Presley stirred after each increment.
3. Meanwhile, Lilly made the eyeball selections.
4. Stir up the sticks and melted chocolate until coated.
5. Make piles of straw by plopping the pretzel goo on wax paper.
6. Take some eyeballs and hide your turkeys.

MORE IDEAS

If you’re looking for some more Thanksgiving ideas, here’s a link to last year’s November letter with some additional fun.

THE THANKSGIVING READER
LEAF HEAD WREATHS
OUR FAMILY SONG
TURKEY TRACKS COOKIES
THANKSGIVING COLORING CONTEST
SQUANTO SCRABBLE
OUR GREAT THANKSGIVING GIVE-AWAY
TURKEY MASKS & TURKEY DANCING