By
Courtney Patach,
Kandis Hamrick,
Kari Baker-Lott, and
Victoria Kulig
Easy, Kid Friendly Crafts (by Kari)
Cornucopia Placemats
As a teacher, I am always looking for easy projects to do with my kids. For our annual Thanksgiving Feast I needed a cute placemat, but I am completely over the handprint turkeys. I made these at school with my kiddies (ages 3, 4, and 5) and the children were able to do the entire project with little to no help from an adult. I printed the cornucopia, fruits and vegetables out on colored paper to save on class time, but they could easily be printed on white and colored. The children ripped up different shades of brown paper and glued them to the cornucopia to make it look like a basket. They glued everything down and we finished it off with some craft hay around the border. We laminated ours because they did eat on them, but if you don’t have access to a laminator, you can use craft laminate sheets from Walmart or a craft store.
Adorable Pilgrim and Indian Centerpieces
I made these with my preschoolers and very soon after beginning the project, I realized that this was not the ideal age for this. Although my kids were a little young for this project, these turned out crazy cute!!!! They painted the toilet paper rolls for the pilgrims peach. For the Native Americans, I mixed the peach color with brown paint to get the color darker. I cut all the pieces out so they just had to glue them all together. I didn’t have brown yarn, so I twisted pipe cleaners to make the braids for the Native Americans. Once all the pieces were assembled, we glued the Pilgrims and Indians to a paper plate we painted green and then finished it off with a bundle of hay.
How to Cook a Turkey (by Courtney)
Every year we strive to make the BEST Thanksgiving Day feast and let’s face it, the turkey is always the center of attention. Well unless you’re Vegetarian or Vegan, in that case you get to indulge in all the scrumptious sides!
I’ve been using this recipe for the past 4 years now and my turkey has always come out perfect; golden crisp skin and juicy meat. This is by far the
best recipe to date, that I have found on “How to Cook Turkey”!
Easy Pumpkin Mousse Shooters (by Kandis)
A couple of years ago, a friend introduced me to this pumpkin mousse recipe; it originally came from
Weight Watchers. It’s super simple and absolute divinity. This a great alternative if you want that pumpkin taste without the heaviness of pumpkin pie. The original recipe calls for vanilla pudding, but I’ve also make it with butterscotch pudding.
You can find mini single-serving graham cracker crusts which will save you some time, or you can use a simple recipe to make your own graham cracker crust. If you want to make shooters you’ll need glasses to put your crust and mousse in. If you’re making your own graham cracker crust, you can follow simple recipe like
this one, but then just press the graham cracker into the bottom of each glass. Fill the glass with the pumpkin mousse, leaving a little room on the top to add whipped cream (optional) then sprinkle a little more pumpkin pie spice on top for presentation.
Voila! Now you have a simple Thanksgiving dessert that can be made ahead of time and chilled. Plus, everything will already be portioned into single-servings to save you some time after dinner.
Keeping Thanksgiving Safe for your Dog and Cat (by Victoria)
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where everyone likes to gather all around a big table of food with their family, loved ones, and friends and be thankful for their time together. For a lot of families, my own included, this also includes our dogs.
It could be as simple as slipping a piece of turkey from your plate to the dog’s mouth, or clearing your plate after dinner and putting the leftovers in the dog’s bowl. Everyone means well, and the feeling of wanting to include the dog in the festivities is perfectly normal.
It is important to note however, that many of the foods we enjoy over the holidays can be very, very dangerous for our dogs - and cats too, in some cases. So here are a few tips that can help keep the family pets involved, but also keep them out of the emergency room.
To start with, limit who is allowed to feed the dog. While everyone is eating, it’s best to crate the dog, put them outside, or in another room. This prevents everyone from slipping things under the table, or the dog from stealing from the children’s table. This way, at the end of the meal, you can determine what goes into your dog’s bowl based on what is safe for the dog.
Safe is also a fairly relative term. What is safe for my dog, may not be safe for another due to allergies. I know my two little dogs seem to have cast iron stomachs built to handle anything - but my old Shepherd is sensitive enough that the wrong foods cause him to break out in hot spots. I have a friend whose dog’s allergies are so sensitive that he can’t have any treats that aren’t specifically homemade for him! Not letting anyone else feed the dog is key, especially if you have one with allergies.
It is also important not to stuff the dog. Even though it seems tradition for us to overeat and bask in the food coma all day, over stuffing the dog can lead to vomiting and diarrhea, and that isn’t pleasant in the best of times. It is really important to limit how much the dog is allowed to eat to prevent an upset stomach.
In addition to allergies - there are a lot of foods that are fine for humans that are extremely dangerous for dogs.
Cooked turkey bones. These are extremely brittle. If a dog bites into them, they can easily splinter into tiny shards, which can cause serious damage to the dog’s mouth, throat, stomach and intestines. Note that cooked bones in general are dangerous for this reason, but poultry bones are extremely brittle.
Onions and garlic. Onions and garlic are toxic to dogs.
Avocados. The entire avocado is toxic to the dog. If you have other fruits on the table, do not let the dog have the pits. Most fruit pits contain cyanide.
Raisins and grapes. Raisins and grapes affect a dog’s kidneys and have been known to cause renal failure.
Ham. Cooked ham, or any other foods with high salt contents.
Cooked food, please. Unless your dog is already on a raw diet, raw meat is very likely to upset them. Additionally, don’t feed any uncooked doughs to them. It will rise and expand in their stomach and that can be very painful on the dog.
Chocolate. No chocolate for dogs, ever. Although the amount of chocolate a dog can eat before becoming ill varies, why risk it?
Anything sugar-free. Many sweeteners that are sugar-free use xylitol, which can cause liver failure.
Alcohol. Never, ever, ever give a dog alchohol. It’s bad for humans, it’s awful for dogs. The difference is you know the consequences, the dog doesn’t.
Avoiding the above foods can help make your Thanksgiving incident free. So what can you give your dog?
Go ahead and let the dog eat some turkey (no bones!), some mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, and foods that aren’t heavy in sugar or salt, and foods free of the above items. Remember to go easy and not to overfeed the dog, or you still might have an upset stomach to contend with.
As for cats, be aware that their dietary needs are even more strict than dogs. All of the above foods should be off limits for cats well, but don’t forget that many cats are lactose intolerant and giving them milk can make them very ill. Turkey is one to be very careful about as well - while some cats can tolerate a little bit (it is a bird, after all) - many times we cook the turkey with items like garlic and onions, or even brining them, which can make the cat very ill. Some cats may have very sensitive stomachs and may not be able to tolerate the change in their food. It might best if you purchased a treat specifically made for cats, to be on the safe side.
