Thanksgiving, Turkeys & Popcorn

Thanksgiving is a fun holiday, when family and friends get together for the traditional Thanksgiving feast which almost always includes turkey. Someone has to get up early to put the turkey in the oven and that’s my job in our family.

Then there are turkeys you don’t even have to cook and this particular turkey is so cool, I had to share it with you. My thanks to Exeter Paint and Nina McCarthy for sharing their ideas for creating this cool turkey, and decorating a table just for the little ones although I’ll have to wait a few years as my granddaughter just turned 1 year old. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here are directions to make your own Thanksgiving turkey, from OneCharmingParty.com.

Thanksgiving Turkeys for Entertainment

Our Thanksgiving guests will range from my nephew and his girlfriend in their early 20s, to my father-in-law who will turn 98 in January. My sons live near Orlando, so we’ll visit with them via Skype and see what Chloe (1 year old) thinks about her first Thanksgiving. Looking forward to making this turkey with Chloe when she’s a bit older, so it was fun seeing other creative Thanksgiving activities people have dreamed up to keep the little ones busy during the holidays.

Turkey Apples from Marie at MakesandTakes.com

What fun treats for the kids to make themselves. All you really need are apples and toothpicks, plus treats that will fit on the toothpicks so you get to pick healthy ones, and maybe a few fun ones like the mini marshmellows which everyone loves.

Popcorn Ball Turkeys from Heidi at FamilyCorner.com

There’s a little more work to cooking up these yummy popcorn balls or maybe your kids would enjoy Rice Crispy treats more? Don’t worry as you can make the balls ahead of time, leaving the decorating of the turkeys for Thanksgiving day.

Mini Corn-on-the-Cob Muffins at Boutiqueit

These muffins were part of a Thanksgiving feast at a nursery school which included the popcorn turkey, corn-on-the-cob and carrots. The muffins can be made with jelly beans or M&Ms, so you get to decide and gosh, I can’t think of a healthy, yellow substitute so let’s just enjoy the holiday!

Oreo Cookie Turkeys from My Friend, Kim Grenon

What fun to find these turkeys my friend shared on Facebook. Ingredients – cupcake wrappers, Oreo cookie base, peanut butter cups, candy corn arms and  malted ball heads. The second Oreo cookie glued to the turkey’s back with chocolate, and more candy corn for the tail.

Thanksgiving Decorating for the Kids

We tend to focus on our Thanksgiving menu, and then a little decorating. What I really love about Nina’s tablescape (watch the video) is the entire table is focused on what works for the kids, from the popcorn turkey centerpiece, to the brown paper tablecloth with crayons to keep them busy.