Thanksgiving meal,crafts,stories and recipie ideas.

This is a picture of Horton, our very thankful pet turkey.

Our very first thankful Thanksgiving pet turkey was named Ethel.

That year we raise a number of turkey for eating,and kept Ethel for a pet.

As we sat down to give thanks for our Thanksgiving dinner, Ethel came up on our country porch

and gobbled out her heartfelt gratitude (our door was open due to all the warm cooking)and then went back to the barnyard.

She had never done that before or came back to the house after that.

Enough said I guess. ( umm come to think of it, I hope she wasn't expressing her feelings about some "buddy" or should I say biddie?)

This looks like such a fun Thanksgiving craft for the kiddo's -- http://www.care2.com/greenliving/natural-indian-corn-necklaces.html

It is one that would lend itself well for week long Thanksgiving mini history "lesson.

If I could have a do over for our grown kids, this is perhaps how I would plan a week long Thanksgiving celebration.

We'd gather some colorful fall leaves, some to use in making a ceramic platters and dishes for table use ,some for wall decorations.

We'd go to an outdoor country garden store,where crafts,veggies etc are available.we'd pick out our Indian corn,some eating corn ,some various fall fruits/veggies for filling a large cornucopia used for our table centerpiece and a pumpkin for our pies.

We'd make various corn necklaces from the Indian corn,with the above link.

The garnet necklace especially appeals to me, next town trip and I will pick up Indian corn to make one for myself.

We'd make various fall crafts and perhaps even make costumes (Indian and or Pilgrim) to wear during the week. We'd write, then practice a Thanksgiving skit or puppet show,to present one evening or on Thanksgiving day.

It would be fun to pick out red and "pale face" Indian corn to use for making corn puppet "heads".

I'd set up an Indian "basket" on the coffee table. It would be used for dropping in slips of paper with writings of what and who we are thankful for,to be read on Thanksgiving day. Perhaps we'd even weave a basket for this purpose.

We'd learn about how to be thankful, ways to be a blessing for others, what real sharing and giving is. We'd learn how to really listen with our hearts: especially to "see"the needs of others.

A lesson in manners would fit in well, especially table manners and etiquette.

In writing this post I'm seeing how this could be a whole month of lessons and fun.

We might learn some new(old) skills,such as weaving,spinning,darning,knitting.

Then we could spend time making gifts for Christmas. Socks for our troops,

potholders(even a simple inexpensive loop loom is fun. My sister and I spent many an hour creating potholders for gifts and to peddle door to door. I think we sold about 10 :-) earning a couple of dollars).

There would be fun and inspirational stories to read , story telling time and movie time complete with what else.. popcorn of course. Our movies would include Squanto,perhaps Old Yeller,(I like the movie the yearling, I cry every time. Hubby hates this movie with a passion) ,Last of the Mohican's, Follow the river(true story),selected Disney Davey Crockett movies. I'm sure there are others ,perhaps even better ones,but you get the idea.

The week of thanksgiving, we would grind corn for our cornmeal stuffing and cornbread sticks, and wheat for our rolls,(I'm thankful for my electric stone grinder)

We bake our pumpkin for our pies. We'd make corn pudding (one of our daughters is bringing this dish for our meal this year. I'd often thought to try making it but never did. there is a recipie link for it ,when you go to the link for making the necklace)

On Thanksgiving day our meal use to begin with only five kernels of corn,as we reflected on the hard winter the Pilgrims endured prior to receiving help from the Indians and our 1st Thanksgiving. How they were thankful to God,who brought them through the winter. They survived with eating only five kernels of corn per day, often chewing on leather ,among other "stuff"because they were so hungry. One could include a lesson on working, our American "dream", how free enterprise, capitalism creates economic growth and socialism destroys..

Our Pilgrams learned that lesson ,many starved to death learning it.

They learned you needed to work if you wanted to eat,something we sadly need to learn in our country again. Working hard is not a sin, it is a sin if others take from you ,what you work hard for to"share" for the "good" of all.

Many blessings to each of you, and despite the hardships so many are facing right now

we still have much to be thankful for .

We are told in scripture to be thankful in "all" things, not just the good.

This is hard to do,I know-been there done that-,but this is where character is born and developed.