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.

Christmas List Woes: What Do You Do?

I'm depressed. My daughter is asking for the dreaded Zhou Zhou pets for Christmas. Ugh.

I've tried to do all the "right" things. We limit tv time and stick to PBS almost exclusively. We have creative, open-ended toys like blocks and dress-up clothes in our home. We have even talked about how commercials can make items look better than they really are. Still, somehow, she caught wind of Zhou Zhou pets, and she wants them.

As a parent, I'm a little at a loss as what to do. On the one hand, you're only six during Christmas once in your life. A part of me wants to say, "What's the harm? Get her the glorified, battery-operated rat so she will be excited on Christmas morning ." But a bigger part of me knows how my daughter really plays. She will be bored and disappointed with a toy that just runs around on plastic paths within a couple of hours. The novelty will quickly be gone, and I'll be out some serious cash.

On the other hand, I know that if I get her some Playmobil pieces to add to her set, she and her siblings will have new play scenarios sparked. They play with those little pieces just about daily. Likewise, I could add the ice cream set for their kitchen and store play. I have no doubt that toy will see many hours of pretend play. But neither of those options will provide the squealy, excited just-what-I-asked-for moment for her that the rats--okay, they're really hamsters--will. Sigh.

I can't be the only parent out there thinking about such problems this time of year, right? I'd love to hear what others do when their children ask for a gift they just don't feel great about. Or is too expensive. Or just isn't going to happen for whatever reason.

So tell me what you do.