Making Thanksgiving Fun for Little Ones and Making Memories

I think Thanksgiving is a tough holiday for kids. There are no presents to open, no little plastic eggs to find. Instead, they have to dress in stiff, fancy clothes, wait all day for food that is weird to them, and keep from getting in the way of the television where adults are gathered for football. They probably are shuffled to a house or two filled with unfamiliar relatives who want to fawn over them and pinch their cheeks to boot.

As a mom of three little ones, I'm creating a plan to help them enjoy the day more. My answer? I'm coming to Grandma's house stocked with some crafts. But not just any crafts: I'm coming with crafts that will capture and create memories.

Here's my first plan of attack. I'm getting one of these scrapbooking bags. I've called my relatives to ask them to have one family photo out that we can have. I'm sure many will forget, though. But no fear! I will send my kids around with my digital camera to catch the sights and fun of the day. I figure this will give them something to focus on besides waiting for the turkey and pies. We'll start making the picture collages to fill the pockets with the ones we have that day. We'll use the spare time throughout the weekend to have the pictures the kids took printed out to finish filling the remainder of the picture pockets. When it's all said and finished, we will have a practical, usable tote bag filled with holiday memories. I could see us changing out the pictures each year! Or I could see this making a great Christmas gift when it's all done for Grandma. Yes, that's what we'll do! She'll love it!

I'm also bringing one of these Christmas banner kits as Plan B. Just in case we don't have enough photos to work on the scrap bag any amount of time, I think the kids will love working on this project. Each child (and the adults not intereseted in football) can make a different felt shape in the banner. Once all the shapes are put together on the satin ribbon, we'll have a one-of-a-kind Christmas banner to start the decorating! I know my kids will delight in seeing the banner year after year and remembering who decorated the gingerbread man and who did the santa hat.

Yep, I think the kids will start to look forward to Thanksgiving with these little projects to work on. They will be fun and capture the memories we all are hoping the holidays inspire in the first place.