Search Results for: blog thanksgiving fun in the kitchen

Fun Ways to Work Up Your Appetite

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. For some home cooks, Turkey Day meal preps are already underway. Given how much blood, sweat and tears are shed in order to create a sumptuous holiday spread for the entire clan, it would be nice to see it completely consumed. If you are worried that your hard work in the kitchen will go unappreciated and that you’ll be stuck with enough Turkey Day leftovers to feed an army, consider getting the clan to partake in the following activities that are sure to work up their Thanksgiving appetite: Pumpkin Sweep: Give each person … Continue reading →

Sweet Turkey Day Fun

Turkey Day is so close I can smell it. So can my 7-year-old. However, it’s not make-ahead cranberry sauce, green bean casserole or stuffing that we’re sniffing. Rather, our kitchen is covered in chocolate. Thanks to the crafty folks at Kellogg’s our pint-sized Thanksgiving guests will be chowing down on homemade chocolate cereal turkey parts. My daughter caught sight of the adorable, edible treats a few mornings ago while perusing the back of the Rice Krispies box. She’s been begging to make them ever since. Last night she got her wish. We went to town hand molding sticky turkey legs … Continue reading →

Funny Thanksgiving Layouts

Remember the Thanksgiving when Aunt Lucy made salmon instead of turkey? Okay, maybe that just happens in my family. Whether it’s being served fish instead of bird, or a pumpkin pie exploded in the kitchen, or great-grandpa fell asleep in the middle of saying grace, Thanksgiving is a hotbed for humorous scrapbook material. When you get sick of trying to figure out new and exciting ways to display photos of your family eating turkey, consider adding sidesplitting journaling supplements, funny poems or cute quips to mark the holiday. Many scrappers are afraid of adding poems to their layouts, but if … Continue reading →

Putting Kids to Work During Thanksgiving Break

When you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 30 guests, there’s no room for pride. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in the kitchen… and other parts of the house. One of the biggest mistakes stressed out parents make during the chaotic countdown to turkey carving is letting their kids run around aimlessly when they could be helping with a myriad of holiday preparations. For example, even very young kids, can lend a hand when it comes to crafting decorations for your Turkey Day feast. Simply line a table with newspaper and let kids go to town making their own … Continue reading →

Have Fun with Holiday Cleaning

Thanksgiving guests are gone, but the beginning of December ushers in a new round of house cleaning chores, especially if you are hosting Christmas at your chalet. While most homeowners dread the drudgery of getting their house in order for additional guests, cleaning can be fun if you incorporate the following suggestions: Rock Out: Turn up the volume on your favorite music and get cleaning. Or, put on some classical or Christmas music and sway in time to the beat as you dust, mop or scrub sinks. Feel the Burn: Instead of looking at house cleaning as a chore, look … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Reflections

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays were I tend to do a lot of reflecting. Sure, I realize that many choose the New Year to do this sort of thing but I believe that part of reflecting is counting your blessings. There was something about this year’s Thanksgiving that just really brought up lots of nostalgia within me. It is amazing to me how differently things become as your children begin to grow up. For instance, this year my daughter helped to prepare the parts of the meal that I contributed to. I remember a time when I had three … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Fun in the Kitchen

One my family’s favorite holiday traditions is making at least two or three kid-friendly recipes and allowing the youngest members of the clan to create edible masterpieces with help from mom, dad, grandma or grandpa. Each year my mom, my sister-in-law and I comb through our recipe boxes to find simple yet tasty treats the kids can make with little assistance. I always make sure that we choose at least one dessert and one main or side dish, so they can feel as though they contributed to different aspects of the meal. This year I settled on the following recipes: … Continue reading →

Dessert Fun with Kids

My 5-year-old loves to lend a hand in the kitchen, but because I’m normally in such a rush to get dinner made and served, my young daughter doesn’t always get to participate in meal preparation as much as she would like to. Recently, her daily pleas to help out more at dinnertime prompted me to set aside a couple days whereby she took control of the dessert making. The following recipes are easy enough for a kindergartner to make (with a little bit of help from mom or dad). What’s more, they’re the perfect project for budding chefs to work … Continue reading →

Easy and Affordable Homemade Thanksgiving Decorations

You don’t have to scale back on Thanksgiving decor, just so you can afford to pay for the Turkey Day spread. The following craft projects are not only easy enough for kids to create, but they’ll leave you with plenty of money to spend on an extra pumpkin pie or two: APPLE TURKEY PLACECARD Materials (for one turkey): Googly eyes Craft glue Almond (in shell) Small apple One Lifesaver candy Peanut (in shell) Paper napkin Small paper clip Construction paper Directions: Glue googly eyes to almond and let dry. Glue Lifesaver to front of apple and let dry. Glue almond … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Fun in the Kitchen with Kids

My mother banned kids from the kitchen during holiday parties. While I understand why she made the area off limits during Thanksgiving and Christmas (when hot dishes were being removed from even hotter ovens and sharp knives were out in full force carving turkeys and hams), it’s not a tradition I continue in my own home. My 5-year-old daughter loves to cook and I would never rob her of the chance to contribute to our holiday meals by booting her from the kitchen. I impose a set of safety rules, but other than that I allow my budding chef to … Continue reading →