A monthly online magazine chock-full of insightful articles for busy mothers.

by Peggy Baron

Thanksgiving can be a little stressful when you have company coming and you have to cook the whole meal. Sure the company is bringing a pie and will help with the dishes and clean up, but you’ve got a whole lot of work ahead of you when you wake up on that special Thursday morning. Don’t despair and stress – rally the troops!

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably got one or two or more children running around that house don’t you? Put them to work and give them all jobs. Just don’t mention the words “work” or “job”. Kids like to be helpful, especially when they see how much you appreciate it. Let them help!

First off, you need to have a plan. Take some time before Thursday morning to plot everything out. Of course you know what you want to prepare and serve – you do the same thing every year, don’t you? So that’s the easy part. Really look at each recipe and see what’s involved. You could probably do it in your sleep, but your kids can’t. Assign a recipe to each child, depending on their skill level. You may even want to find an easier version of the recipe. Go over the steps with your child and explain how it’s all going to work. Do kind of a foodless dress rehearsal with them.

If the child is too young to do a whole recipe, just give them certain tasks in a recipe and have them help you. Little ones can melt butter in the microwave, mash the potatoes, wash the vegetables, toss the salad, and put the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole.

This is one meal where everything seems to happen at the same time. To help prevent this, the kids can mash the potatoes ahead and keep them warm in the crockpot, ditto with the sweet potato casserole and veggies. If you don’t have a way to keep them warm, time them to come out before the mad rush, put a lid on them and wrap them in several towels. They can stay quite warm that way. The salad can definitely be made earlier in the day or even the night before.

Try to schedule the prep time so there aren’t too many people walking around the kitchen with sharp knives at once.

What about the pies? Kids love to make the pies! Go with the pre-made pie crusts if their pastry skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Maybe they could pick the pies they want this year and shake tradition up a bit. I’m sure a Chocolate Dream pie is a tradition in someone’s home even if it isn’t (yet) in yours.

Keep one step ahead of total chaos by having someone wash the dirty dishes that are accumulating. Perhaps those who are watching football on TV could lend a hand! Not only will there be fewer dishes to do at the end, but it leaves lots more room for the cooks to prepare the grand feast.

If you give it some thought and plan ahead of time, this Thanksgiving could be a lot easier on you and a heck of a lot more fun for the whole family. Have a good attitude and lots of patience and just enjoy yourself. Your kitchen will be filled with those you love, and that’s something to be thankful for.

About the Author: Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin’ Kids Newsletter. Interesting themes, fun facts, silly clip art, easy recipes, kid jokes, cooking terms, and safety tips make this newsletter a hit with kids! Learn more about it at cookinkids.com

Thanksgiving Day Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints

by Shelly Hill

When our daughter was around 8 years old, she invited over a few friends for the day to do some crafting with us. Since it was the beginning of November, we decided to make a Thanksgiving holiday garland.

This project can be done in one afternoon. If you are doing several of them at a time (group project), I suggest precutting all of the fabric strips ahead of time.

1 roll of sisal twine (2 or 3 ply for durability)
scraps of homespun fabrics
all-purpose craft glue (or glue gun with adult supervision)
acorns, twigs, pinecones, dried pods
scissors

Step 1: Measure out the length of sisal twine that you will need to make your garland. We usually do 3 to 4 feet. Cut it from the roll. Tie each end into a loop, this way when you hang it up, you can easily do it via the loops.

Step 2: Collect scraps of homespun or various fall print fabrics. We like to use 4 to 6 different prints and/or colors. You will want to cut out strips that measure approximately 1″ wide by 4″ long, or however long you would like. I usually cut out 50 to 75 of these strips when I make a garland.

Step 3: Lay your sisal twine out across the floor. Take your strips and lay them out in front of the sisal twine and alternate your colors and prints. Let the children sit on the floor to do this part of the project. You will want to tie all of the fabric strips onto the twine until your garland is filled up. There is no wrong or right way to do this. You can make your garland as full or as sparse as you would like.

Step 4: Take a nice walk outdoors and collect some fall theme nature items, such as: pinecones (small and medium-sized), acorns, dried pods, small twigs, pieces of bark, etc. Once you have your items collected, you will want to glue several of them onto your garland. I like to space them out about every 6″ or so. Let your project dry for a few hours to make sure all of the items are glued firmly into place.

Now that your garland has been made, you can decide where to hang it. I like seeing them hung on a mantle, across a doorway or up a staircase.

Optional: If you don’t want to use found nature objects to decorate your new garland, you can visit your local craft store and purchase fall or thanksgiving items to glue onto it.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania. Shelly has been crafting for over 25 years and enjoys a variety of crafts. You can visit Shelly online at http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com for craft projects for kids or her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for family friendly recipes.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Thanksgiving Day Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints

by Shelly Hill

During the holiday season, we like to entertain friends and family members here at our home. Along with our traditional holiday spread of delicious food, I like to serve a cranberry holiday punch.

You will need to purchase a large punch bowl and punch cups to serve the following recipes. You can use traditional flavored ice as explained at the end of each recipe or you can make an ice ring mold to keep your punch cold.

How To Make An Ice Ring Mold:

Making a punch bowl ice ring is really easy. Buy an inexpensive gelatin ring mold, fill the mold with punch juice and freeze for several hours. Remove the ice mold from the ring and add it to your punch bowl before pouring in the punch juice. Making an ice ring mold from punch juice keeps your party punch from getting watered down, which is what would happen if you use traditional ice.

Cranberry Mixed Fruit Punch

1 quart bottle 7-Up soda
1 pint cranberry cocktail
12 ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
12 ounce can frozen pineapple concentrate
1 quart raspberry sherbet

In a large punch bowl, combine all of the above ingredients together in the order that they are given. All ingredients should be chilled or cold before placing into the punch bowl.

Punch Bowl Ice: Take 4 ice cube trays and purchase an additional bottle of cranberry juice. Pour juice into the ice cube trays and freeze. Use cranberry ice in your punch bowl so that your punch doesn’t get watered down.

Cranberry Apple Punch

1 large bottle cranberry juice
1 large bottle apple juice
12 ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
6 ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
6 ounce can frozen grapefruit juice concentrate
2 liter bottle lemon-lime soda

Pour all ingredients together into a large punch bowl in the order that they are given in the recipe. All ingredients should be chilled or cold before placing into the punch bowl.

Punch Bowl Ice: Take 4 ice cube trays and purchase an additional bottle of apple juice. Pour juice into the ice cube trays and freeze. Use apple ice in your punch bowl so that your punch doesn’t get watered down.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking and entertaining her friends and family during the holidays. You can visit Shelly online at her Shakin ‘N Bakin blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional free recipes.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Thanksgiving Day Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints

If you’re preparing the Thanksgiving meal for friends or family you’ll be happy to know that there are things you can do to save money. By following these tips, you can have a wonderful holiday meal without spending a lot.

1. Look for a free turkey. Many grocery stores offer a free turkey with a certain amount of groceries purchased. You can also find rebates on turkeys from specific brands. Local agencies and the United Way also have free turkey programs available. Ask around and you’ll be surprised with what kind of deals you can find.
2. Suggest a potluck dinner. If you provide the turkey for the meal and everyone brings a side dish, it definitely lowers your costs. The practice is becoming more and more common, especially with families. Assign each person a portion of the meal. Not only will you save money, but everyone at the party will feel involved in the meal.
3. Have your guests RSVP. Although leftovers are a hallmark of every Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t want to spend too much at the grocery store buying for guests who won’t be there. Confirm your guests a few weeks ahead of time so you know exactly how much food you need to prepare.
4. Shop smart. Start shopping for canned foods, such as yams and vegetables, early. You can make a lot of different side dishes from inexpensive canned foods. They often go on sale in the weeks prior to Thanksgiving. Stock up so you can make Thanksgiving dinner as well as a few other inexpensive meals in the holiday season. You can also shop smart by clipping coupons for your holiday shopping. A lot of stores offer double or triple coupons on specific days. Call the grocery stores in your area to see where you can get the best deal. With coupons, you can significantly cut the costs of your holiday meal. Printable grocery coupons are becoming more prevalent online as well, and that can save you time with locating and clipping coupons because you only print the coupons you plan to use.
5. Decorate on the cheap. If you need some decorations to make your table more festive, don’t step foot inside a department store! Head to your local Dollar Tree or other similar discount store and you’ll be impressed with what you’ll find. You can pick up inexpensive toys to entertain the kids, holiday dish towels and even serving plates. Take a look at the selection of nuts and party mix there as well to round out your holiday meal.

About the Author:Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where you’ll find printable grocery coupons, as well as wine discounts.
Contact the Author, Jamie Jefferson
info@bestselfhelp.com
More Details about free printable grocery coupons here.

Thanksgiving Day Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints
Thanksgiving Day Links

Old Fashioned Holidays.Com
where they believe holidays are events to be treasured throughout our family histories.

The Family Corner Thanksgiving

Years of having to make do have turned me into a…”There must be someway I can do this cheaper type person.”

My old new house needs total make over. We are thinking about moving into my MIL’s house. So I am walking around looking and thinking, my goodness, this will be way too much to do and then the old, “There must be someway I can do this cheaper type person” kicks in and I think, yah, there must.

First curtains need to be put up on the windows. I will check all of Grandma’s fabric…and she has tons, and see if some of it can be salvaged for window treatments. Gee, today all you really need is a nice wooden Venetian blind and a swag or scarf.

I am thinking about sticking with the umbers I see outside this time of year (November). I already bought my border for the kitchen at a B&B we went to a couple of weeks ago, and it kind of has a sultry tone to it. You can do the same thing with fabric. Just take a quick trip to Wal-mart’s fabric Dept. They are always getting rid of material at bargain prices. If you are doing a dining room for Thanksgiving, do swags/scarf for the windows and a table cloth, placemats and napkins.

It really wouldn’t take as long as you think. Put up some lace curtains and make a scarf from the fabric you use for your table cloth..or maybe you have a plain white table cloth already available. Just make a runner that matches your window scarves, napkins and placemats.

Now what about the centerpiece? I like this idea on about.com Just has some greens and Fall leaves, candles…well, take a look: About.com It’s one where you can just remove the fall leaves and replace with berries for Christmas. Saving time is what it’s all about. Put up some wreaths on the doors and over the mantle. A simple grape vine with dried flowers in fall tones is nice. Use some wire ribbon to make a bow.

Put up plain candlesticks with fall colored candles and don’t forget the whole theme of Thanksgiving is giving thanks for our bounty. Use displays of fruit and gourds, pumpkins and mums. Get out an old watering can and fill it with leaves to place on the porch, any old galvanized buckets? Put wheat or tall dried grass display in your bucket. Don’t forget the grapes. Take a nice glass pedestal compote and cascade different varieties.

If you have a garden, pile the day’s garden harvest into a wheel barrow at the back door.

Just remember …you don’t have to use all these ideas. You don’t want to have to take all this down to prepare for Christmas that’s just around the corner.

Complete Thanksgiving Menu and Recipes by Lorrie Ann Deanner http://www.amomslove.com/holidays/complete-thanksgiving-menu-and-recipes.html
Now, you must read Decorate Naturally…use Ebay