Dancing Turkeys

November 18, 2020Leave a comment

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If you’re starting to get in the mood for all things turkey in advance of Thanksgiving, these silly turkey puppets will kick things off on a lighthearted note.

To make the turkeys was quite complicated, and truth be told ours looked a bit more like a chicken since I had white yarn, not brown, for the steps that follow.

For the body, wrap a ping-pong ball or golf ball in double-sided tape and then wrap with yarn. Tuck the final strand under to secure.

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Next, you’ll need to make three pompoms, two for feet and one for the turkey’s head. For an easy at-home pompom, wind yarn around the tines of a fork, then tie a string tightly around the middle in the other direction. Slip off the fork and snip the loops to make pompom fringe. Make sure to leave one long strand on each pompom foot.

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Cut a beak from felt and hot glue onto the head pompom, along with 2 wiggle eyes.

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Now put it all together! I hot glued a length of craft boa onto the back of the body, then curved a half-length of pipe cleaner into an S shape. Hot glue the top of the S to the head, and curve the bottom of the S around the body, securing with a little extra hot glue.

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Tie the long strands from each pompom foot onto the body. Finally, hot glue feathers along the boa in back for the turkey’s tail feathers.

Now to make it dance! Cross two Popsicle or craft sticks into an X and secure with yarn around the middle.

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Cut three lengths of stretchy jewelry cord; you’ll need two 12-inch pieces and one 6-inch piece. Tie the long ones to the legs, and the short one to the head, and then secure them all to the Popsicle sticks.

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Break out the Thanksgiving tunes and make it dance! We loved kicking off this holiday in celebration of these beautiful birds.

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Dry Leaf Collage

November 17, 2020Leave a comment

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This is not the craft to make when the leaves are at their peak vibrant hues of orange and red early in the fall. This is the craft for late in the fall, when the leaves are dry and brown, and yet you’ll show your toddler beauty even in this underappreciated nature material!

Veronika and I came home with a bag full of just such leaves, and first we explored them on her sensory tray. She loved picking them up and letting them float down.

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I next showed her how to rip the leaves into tiny pieces. The dry crinkly November leaves are perfect for this because each rip produces a satisfying sound.

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As she tore them up, I traced two leaf shapes on construction paper and cut them out. Any fall color would make a nice background here, and we used brown and orange.

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Rub glue sticks all over the leaf shapes, and then press down your leaf “confetti”.

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As a bonus, these make a beautiful Thanksgiving decoration if you punch a hole near the top, thread with yarn, and suspend in a window.

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Thanksgiving Table Decorations

November 28, 2019Leave a comment

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Just a quick post tonight on some holiday decor from our table this year! Travis got to help out in a few ways.

For starters, we colored in the place cards that came with his Thanksgiving Table Raddish Kids.

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These were good practice for writing names of family members, too!

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He also helped with the centerpiece, helping to arrange a few decorative gourds next to a bouquet of flowers.

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You can also show your child how to fold napkins into “turkey feathers”. Accordion-pleat cloth napkins and arrange on every plate.

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Finally, no vegan table is complete without a celebratory roast.

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We named our roast Hank Williams after the turkey we adopted from Farm Sanctuary this year. Here’s wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

November 28, 2019Leave a comment

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Get your Thanksgiving off to a warm note with this creamy dip!

Ingredients:

12 ounces silken tofu
2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese

Combine the tofu, artichokes, and spinach in a blender; process until smooth.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in the artichoke mixture and the cream cheese, cooking until the cream cheese melts.
Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Serve with your favorite crackers!

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This one was even toddler-approved!

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Mashed Potatoes & Parsnips with Easy Gravy

November 26, 2019Leave a comment

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This will be Veronika’s first Thanksgiving eating solid food (last year she was only 1 month old!). This easy mashed potato recipe will be perfect for her holiday table; it’s mild enough for toddlers, but yummy enough to please older kids or grown-ups, too.

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:

4 yellow potatoes
2 parsnips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the gravy:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons hot water, divided
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon cornstarch

To prepare the potatoes, peel and chop the potatoes and parsnips and place in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil; continue to cook for 15 minutes, until tender.
Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and return to the pan. Add the olive oil and salt and mash with a potato masher to desired consistency, adding enough reserved cooking liquid as desired for the consistency your toddler likes.
Meanwhile, prepare the gravy: dissolve the bouillon cube in 1 cup hot water. Whisk in the soy sauce and poultry seasoning.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the broth mixture, whisking until combined and thickened.
Serve the gravy over the mashed potatoes, and wherever else it would be yummy at your holiday table!

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Vegan Pumpkin Pie

November 26, 2019Leave a comment

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Thanksgiving is two days away, and today was baking day. This pumpkin pie is a crowd-pleaser, whether your guests are vegan or not. Kinnikinnick graham crackers are vegan and gluten-free, which helps if you’re juggling a variety of dietary needs over the holidays. If you use another brand, you may need a different number of crackers.

Ingredients:

10 graham crackers
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons melted Earth Balance butter
8 ounces silken tofu
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

To prepare the crust, combine the graham crackers and brown sugar in a blender; process until you have fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine.
Use your fingers to press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a blender, combine the silken tofu, pumpkin, maple syrup, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Process until smooth. Spoon into the prepared crust and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes, until set.
Let cool on a wire rack for 2 hours, then transfer to the fridge and chill at least 4 hours.
Serve plain, or topped with your favorite non-dairy whipped cream!

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Travis loved the idea that this pie was made from pumpkins, even though we used canned puree and not a cute little sugar pie pumpkin. But it led us on a fun harvest vegetable hunt at the grocery store, including all kinds of knobby squashes and root veggies like potatoes and parsnips.

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What’s on your harvest table for Thanksgiving this year? Please share in the comments!

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Thankful Spelling

November 22, 2019Leave a comment

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Travis is quite proud of his spelling lately, so the Thanksgiving holiday was the perfect opportunity to practice with stick writing. What an advancement from when he and I made the alphabet in sticks before kindergarten started!

After a quick walk, we returned home with lots of little sticks. Make sure you have some that are long and some that are shorter.

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I had him carefully sound out the word T-H-A-N-K-S. As we got to each letter, he crafted it from sticks. He loved finding just the right piece, for example shorter sticks to cross his H or A.

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S was tricky, so we ended up snapping a long stick in such a way that it curved twice. He had so much fun that he continued to make letters on the floor for a while after! And I was thankful for that.

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Ways to Give Thanks

November 21, 2019Leave a comment

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’m encouraging Travis to think about what that means, and ways he can say and give thanks. Here are a few ideas we came up with, along with some suggestions from Highlights magazine!

First, we wanted to thank a neighbor who’s done a lot for us this year, whether feeding the cat or just popping in to say hi. Travis drew a classic Thanksgiving meal on a plate for her. He loved picking different colors for sweet potato, green beans, and more.

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He even had little round cranberry sauce.

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On the back, I helped him spell out thanks.

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He was so proud of his writing that he decorated a second plate for me with “thank you mama.” If you’re the grown up, turn this special plate into your breakfast plate over the holiday! Highlights suggests that big kids could even make breakfast for a parent as a way to show thanks.

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I also challenged him to think about why he’s thankful for harder tasks in life, like chores and school work. I drew a little picture and listened to his answers, which included getting rewards as a result (his allowance) or feeling proud after.

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Another idea from Highlights is to ask your child to donate a toy to younger cousin or neighbor. Because I know we’ll be doing this over the Christmas season, we skipped the activity today.

Finally, instead of eating a turkey on Thanksgiving, every year we adopt one from Farm Sanctuary. This year’s turkey is named Hank Williams, and Travis is so proud to display the adoption certificate!

How will your children give thanks this year? Please share in the comments!

T.H.A.N.K.S. Scavenger Hunt

November 21, 2019Leave a comment

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Here’s a cute activity Travis and I did in anticipation of Thanksgiving next week; it turned our regular stroll to the bus stop into a fun hunt! We wanted to find items matching a word that corresponded to each letter of THANKS, so sought out the following:

T: Trees
H: Holes
A: Animals
N: Nibbling
K: Knobbiness
S: Seeds

Trees: This was an easy one, but it had Travis appreciating the trees on our little walk to the bus, whether tall ones or small berry trees.

Holes: Travis is convinced that the hole outside our door is a snake hole. I hope not! Either way, he loves checking it out. Also look for holes up in trees; these might have nests come springtime.

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Animals: We wondered who we would still see this close to winter. Squirrels and chipmunks play and eat in a brier patch on our walk. Here’s one eating an acorn; we even heard him chewing!

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And we heard lots of crows calling out this morning, though I couldn’t capture a picture.

Nibbling: Check for signs of animals fattening up for winter! Travis also checked the leaves for caterpillar nibbling, though I told him it was probably past their season.

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Knobbiness: Look for neat burls in trees. Travis had fun spotting a few of these on the walk.

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Seeds: Acorns are an easy find, but we also found larger seeds. And these showed signs of nibbling! Also keep an eye out for maple keys or other familiar seed pods.

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I’ll leave you with this stunning frosted leaf Travis found. We are thankful for the beauty of nature!

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Harvest Coasters

November 18, 2019Leave a comment

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These coasters are a great project to have your kid feel involved in Thanksgiving prep, whether or you’re hosting and need extra coasters for guests, or whether you bring them as a hostess gift.

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I helped Travis draw a few common fall fruits and veggies onto different colors of craft foam. He tackled a round red apple, while I made trickier shapes like a green bell pepper, yellow butternut squash, and orange pumpkin.

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