Tot Tip Tuesday- Easy Tips for Turkey Day with Little Ones

 

By now you have realized that one of the secrets to a successful Thanksgiving is happy and busy kids right? Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving or just on the guest list here are a few things to try this week with the kids on the big day or while they are off school to get that last bit of Thanksgiving in before Christmas hits in full force.

Make Nutty Boats

Walnuts to be exact. Adults can help crack the nuts and hollow out the shell. This might take more than a few tries to get right. While adults are cracking, give children a small piece of paper, 1 inch x 1 inch, and have them design their sail. 

 Once the nuts are hollowed out and sails are made simple bend the paper and insert a toothpick. Use a glue gun to glue the sail to the bottom of the boat. Apply a few layers of hot glue to make sure the sail is set, and give it time to dry.

 Use the boats for place settings at Thanksgiving Dinner if you like, and then take them for a sail if you live near water. If not a shallow baking dish of some kind with a towel underneath works just as well, and keeps you indoors if its cold out.

Happy Sailing! A word to the wise..... You may want to have several sails ready to change out when the boats get wet and little ones get upset. Believe me on this one. We are on our 4th set of boats for the season. Kids of all ages LOVE these!

Dollar Store Decor

Hit the dollar store for some fun art supplies for little or big ones. A roll of white or brown paper will both save your table from spills, and create a blank canvas for little artists. Just add crayons and stickers. Even if you don't use it for your Thanksgiving table, it will keep little hands busy while you are baking and prepping in the kitchen. 

Easy Turkey Tee's

While there are cute turkey tee's everywhere on Pinterest, we opted for simplicity because well, its easier. The past two years we have made Turkey Tee's for our kids. If you can buy a cheap T-shirt somewhere great do that. If not, use something you already have, that you are fine with having Turkeys on it. They will fade with washing but will not completely disappear. Get the little hands out, coat them in paint and get creative. Kids will love showing them to the relatives come Thanksgiving Day.

 HaPpY ThAnKsGiViNg! 

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Tot Tip Tuesday- Thanksgiving Books, Buns, and Baking

Books, Buns, and Baking top our list for fun things to do with the kiddos this week. 

Best Turkey Books

 First off books. We love reading with/to our kids but sometime the same old books get pretty old. Enter, holidays and the perfect reason to change books and have fun with the holidays. Here are a few of our favorites that are somewhat silly and perfect for the season. While we read all of these stories to our toddlers (we simply tell the story and point out pictures with the ones with more words and a deeper story). We have broken it down to ages we feel they would fit best if you are looking for that type of thing.

Age 5 and Under

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston and Illustrated by Rich Deas

*Bright pictures, simply rhymes. 10 fat turkeys falling off the fence one by one.

The Turkey Ball by David Steinburg

*A simple rhyme book telling of turkeys getting dressed up for a ball, dancing, and trotting home come morning. 

Count Your Blessings by Patricia Reeder Eubank (Lift the Flap and "find it" Book)

*Darling illustrations of Mom, Dad, brother, and sister bear, their home, and life in the forest. Each page talks about what they are grateful for and asks you to find different things in the picture. 

Age 6 and Up

A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman Illustrated by Jeff Shelly

*All the Turkeys have fled the town to avoid being dinner. One turkey falls for the plan to be a turkey model, and gets away in the nick of time leaving the townspeople to eat only veggies and wheat for Thanksgiving. 

A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

*Mr. and Mrs Moose host Thanksgiving for their animal friends. Mrs. Moose wants a turkey for dinner so Mr. Moose and friends set out to find one. He ends up being a guest at dinner rather than the main course. (This is my 3 year olds favorite.)

T'was the Night Before Thanksgiving By Dav Pilkey

*Set to the Twas the Night Before Christmas Poem the story tells of children on a field trip to a turkey farm. Upon learning about what happens to the Turkeys before Thanksgiving each child smuggles a Turkey onto the bus and back home to be a Thanksgiving guest.

Funny Educational 

You Wouldn't Want To Be An American Colonist by Jacqueline Morley

*With funny pictures and witty one liners this book tells children the ins and outs of what it would have really been like to be an American Colonist. 

Turkey Baby Buns

If you have been on Pinterest you have seen some form of the turkey bottom onesie. We opted for sheer simplicity because frankly who has time for some of this crazy business. We used a white onesie and some orange/copper ribbon and a glue gun.  Cut a few ribbons to a similar length place it where you'd like and glue it on. Insta turkey tush. It will pull at the Grandparents heartstrings, and have everyone saying, "ahhh". We used a stamp pad and ink to add the gobble but you could easily leave that plain.

Baking with the Babes

Roll out sugar cookies. Yes, it will be a mess. Most likely a big one. But, when you tell yourself that going in and you'll make it back out. Think of the memories. Kids LOVE these. Use your go to sugar cookie recipe or if you don't have one you love grab a package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix. You just add egg and butter. There is a variation recipe on the back for rollout cookies that is perfect. 

Best part about these is they ARE NOT turkeys. Hit IKEA for these forest animal cookie cutters. They are cute and cheap and if your kids love animals as much as ours do they will love stamping out cookies shaped as moose, porcupines, squirrels, foxes, and bears.

Frost and decorate as you wish. I think I'm still picking up pieces of dough and flour. Oops. :)

Happy Tuesday! 

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Tot Tip Tuesday- Trail Totes and Turkey Hunt How To's

While snow is currently falling outside the window, there is still time to take the kids outside to enjoy the fall weather and explore before Turkey Day. Our 3 Turkey Day Tot Tips today will take you outside and help bring outside in to your holiday festivities. 

Tip 1: Make A Trail Tote

To keep their minds off the cold, bundle them up and bring along a "Trail Tote" for them to collect treasures along the trail. We used the hanging flower baskets from our gardens. Simply tossed the dead flowers and rinsed them out. However, anything little hands can carry will work. Halloween buckets, Easter Baskets, any type of basket or bag will do the trick.  

Hit the trail and let little ones pick up what they would like and add it to their bucket. If you area allows for it try to find a few pinecones. We'll tell you why in a minute. Once home, or while on the trail let your little or not so little one show you what they found and find a way to make arrange it with them to show off their special treasures.

Tip 2: Make a Turkey 

If possible use something from your trail tote to make a Turkey of some kind. We cut out feathers from foam pieces and glued them to a pinecone and added eyes. Turkey done. You can also use fall leaves; real ones from the trail or your yard, or fake ones to glue to the turkey for a more natural look.

Tip 3: Go on a Turkey Hunt

Whether it is Thanksgiving Day to keep the kiddos out of the Kitchen or any other November Day, have the kids take their newly made Turkeys outside for a Turkey Hunt.  This will work in the yard, at a park or on the trail. Have one child hide their Turkey and let the other children try to find it. Taking turns, they can each hide and seek for as long as they are interested. Adults are more than welcome as the added walking will burn off all those pesky calories from Holiday treats.

Bonus Tip: Use those extra pinecones and trail finds for your Thanksgiving Day Centerpiece. Toss them in a glass container with pumpkins, leaves, or whatever else you have laying around and presto chango your table looks amazingo! Also if those cute little turkeys don't get used on a hunt they make excellent place card holders or decor for your Thanksgiving Table as well.

Happy Tuesday! 

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Tot Tip Tuesday - Turkey Day Traditions to Start Today

 Being sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving can sometimes get overlooked by the littles (and everyone else). So, its up to you to bring memories, traditions, and a little bit of fun to your families Turkey Day. But, the Holidays are crazy busy so it has to be EASY. 

 3 easy Turkey Day tips you can get started on now?

Fall Tree/Turkey Day Centerpiece

Turn your Halloween bat tree into a fall leaf tree which can pull double duty as your Thanksgiving centerpiece. Simply collect leaves and hang them on the branches. Didn't make a Halloween tree? Its as easy as finding branches and sticking them in a container.

Turkey Grateful Tree

Take the kids on a walk and collet branches, pinecones and anything else you want to put together. Trace turkeys, leaves, or pumpkins (or all 3) on card stock paper and add ribbon or fishline to the back to make ornaments. (We found this pack of 12 Turkeys in Targets $1 Dollar Spot and attached fish line to the back.) Write what you are thankful for on the backs or fronts and let the kids decorate the tree. Be prepared for them to decorate and redecorate. 

Hands or Feet Table Runner

Pick up a Thanksgiving or Fall table runner or table cloth and each year add your children's hand and/or feet to it with their names and the year. Years from now when it is full of growing hands and feet you'll have a treasured family heirloom. We do hands and make little turkeys. Gobble. Gobble.

Happy Tuesday! 

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