Thanksgiving Hostes Gifts

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Prepare one of these cute Thanksgiving Hostes Gifts for every family member this year.

Thanksgiving is always a fun time of celebration and eating with your family. Here are some ways to make Thanksgiving even more fun for your family this year.

Thankful cards - Make a card for each family member that will be your guest for Thanksgiving this year. On each card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.

Recipe books - A few months before Thanksgiving, write a list of each family member. Beside their name, make a note of their best dish. Call each member and ask for a copy of that recipe, plus one or two of their own favorites that they’d like to share. When you have all the recipes ready, compile them into a booklet and print them, using your computer and printer. (You can also use professional services, if you wish, to make a longer-lasting recipe book.) After your guests all arrive for your Thanksgiving dinner, give them each a copy of your special recipe book.

Mini family scrapbooks - Gather family pictures, if you don’t have many pictures, take them to a local copier and have extra prints made. Purchase mini scrapbooks at a scrapbook supply store, along with stickers, markers and various scrapbook supplies. Create miniature family scrapbooks, using one picture per page. Write what you are thankful for, in relation to each family member, on their designated pages. On Thanksgiving Day, give a copy of your mini family scrapbooks to each family member as a memento.

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Making Your Own Thanksgiving Cards

There are cards available for just about every holiday out there, and Thanksgiving is no exception. But who wouldn’t love receiving a handmade card as a keepsake? With a little creativity, imagination and time, you can create wonderful cards for family and friends. There are quite a few techniques and mediums that can be used to create cards from the heart. Children and adults alike can have fun making the cards.

One of the simplest Thanksgiving cards to create is the standard “hand turkey” that can be cut out and glued to either folded construction paper, card stock or even scrapbook paper. This is a great project to do with younger kids. First, trace your child’s hand on a piece of paper, being sure to have them spread their fingers as far apart as they can. Make it dimensional, by not gluing the finger feathers down. Use a pencil to curl the feathers, so that they stand out off the paper a little.

There are many rubber stamps available in holiday themes, sometimes combined in kits. Different inks, embossing powders and paper can be combined to create unique looks, even when you use the same stamps. Practicing on scrap paper before making your final product can sometimes provide ideas that you might not have thought about, such as overlapping the same stamp a couple times, with different colors, offset a bit. This particular technique provides a shadow effect.

Stencils are also a simple way to make a nice design on your greeting cards. Using either stencil brushes or sponges can give you totally different looks. Playing with different layouts such as overlapping things can allow you to create many different and unique designs.

Stickers can also be used to create simple cards or can be combined with other mediums. There are many kinds of stickers including those with metallic accents. There is enough variety of stickers that make it easy to create a nice scene on the front of the card complete with turkeys, Pilgrims and Indians. There is also a lot of free clip art available in graphics programs and online. Many of which can be printed on sticker paper or on regular paper and glued in place.

By using some scrapbooking techniques, you can create some very artistic looking cards. Layering different kinds of paper together, changing angles, ripping edges, etc. will allow you to create an almost old fashioned look. Accenting it with stickers, paper cutouts or other details will give your card some wonderful finishing touches.

If you know calligraphy, or someone who does, hand lettering can really set off a handmade card nicely. Even if you can’t do calligraphy, there are many nice fonts that can be found on your computer. Print the words out on a nice paper, cut out creatively (scrapbooking edge scissors are great for this) and glue onto your card.

Even if you feel like you have no artistic talent at all, there are many options available to make card making easy and enjoyable. As with most handcrafted items, it doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s what makes it special; they are made with love, not mass-produced in a factory. So try your hand at a handcrafted card this Thanksgiving and let your loved ones know how thankful you are they are in your life.

Summer Fun Places For Kids

Summer break is finally here. After the first few days of enjoying their new found freedom, your children may start looking for new things to do. Here are some great summer activity ideas for children.

Cheap Summer Fun for Kids

Entertaining your children when school is out for the summer can become quite expensive, especially if you enroll them in pricey summer camps for a large portion of the time. However, many parents feel that the alternative is to have their children sulking on the couch while moaning about how bored they are, especially if friends are all attending camps. Actually, there are plenty of ways to have cheap summer fun with your kids. Why not try a few of these budget friendly ideas?

Your local YMCA is a family oriented place with plenty of great activities. Your children can go swimming, take a variety of classes and even attend day camps for a very reasonable price. Most YMCA’s have family memberships, which makes the classes more affordable for families with several children. If you don’t have a YMCA close by, check with your local parks and recreation department to see if they are offering events for children and families during the summer months. Many times, they offer low cost art, sports and even cooking classes for kids.

Another great way for your kids to have fun this summer is to set up events in your own backyard. Have them put together a circus. After they’ve practiced the event and have the ring set up, friends and family can make up an audience to view the final result. Don’t forget to add some games and serve some refreshments that match the theme, such as popcorn and corndogs. If your children don’t like the circus, suggest that they put on a play, hold a pet show or set up a fair.

If your children like collecting things, they can make a natural history museum in a spare corner of the house. Then, you can take field trips to local places so that they can create their museum exhibits. Take them on nature hikes so that they can make rubbings of tree bark and leaves. Let them take photos of local wildlife and flowers, but be sure that you don‘t actually take home any wildflowers, since these plants may be endangered. Go to the beach and collect interesting shells and bits of sea glass or visit the areas where your local rock hounds hang out. If you have prolific gardens or you can get permission for them to pick some flowers in someone else’s garden, your children can also press flowers and mount them as part of the display.

If your children are budding entrepreneurs, they may have more fun making money. Why not try a good old-fashioned lemonade stand? Just be sure your town or city doesn’t have any ordinances that would prohibit it before the kids set up. If they need to clean out their closets and toy chests, suggest that they combine the lemonade stand with a yard sale.

Finally, don’t forget about gardening. Growing their own produce can be fun for kids, especially when they discover a two foot long zucchini hiding in the garden bed.

Aurelia Williams is the owner of Real Life Solutions, your resource for free positive parenting tips and information.

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