Our Turkey & Tannenbaums, 2012

The Thanksgiving Feast & Gift Exchange

Christmas Tree Hunt & Tailgating Lunch

Christmas Tree Lighting & Leftover Party

Send-Off Pancake Breakfast

Menu Monday, Thanksgiving Leftovers

Is your fridge chock full of the most coveted leftovers of the year? Ours is. And I love a good turkey and fixin's plate as much as the next guy, but you can only eat so many of those in a row.

So here's some variations on using those leftovers that will be making appearances on our dining room table this week.


{m: the hammy down, ham sandwich, t: pocket pies filled with leftovers, w: quesadillas with chutney and brie, th: mashed potatoes au gratin, f: Roast Turkey Panini with, Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers and Fontina, sa: pumpkin pancakes, su: turkey ban mi}

Thanksgiving Invites, 2011

Invitations are wonderful because they are the speak piece that sets the stage for the party to come.

I hope this years Thanksgiving invites do just that for our guests. 'Cause we're ready to party!!




{I took out our address at the top}




{The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the time we all head up to the forest to cut down our Christmas trees.
This year we're going to try out a full tailgating meal, with Rich's famous turkey pot pie and hot cocoa to keep warm}


{I also made buffet labels for all the dishes we'll be enjoying!}

 Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

While Your Turkey's in the Oven...

Yes, let's be honest, everyone comes for the food. But there's no reason you can't dress it up a bit right?

So while your bird (or tofurkey...) is in the oven, and you're sitting down to rest and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, take a moment to think about how you will present your food you labored all week over.

Iron that tablecloth and set up a buffet table. Find some cool twigs in the front yard and put them in a vase. Leave little notes for your guests, reminding them of all the reasons to be thankful.

Make your most anticipated meal of the year shine!


{wood runner, twig centerpiece, silhouette place settings}
{coffee filter chair flowers, change up the traditional colors, a symmetric buffet table}
{thankful butcher paper runner, rustic buffet table and tissue pom poms, tree stump chargers}

Kids Thanksgiving Table Ideas

I love how the traditionally boring, sentence-of-death, Thanksgiving kids table has gotten a complete make over in the past few years. I declare no more twiddling of thumbs, squirming in chairs and whining of boredom!

Make sure to remember your wee ones (and their own sanity) tomorrow with some of these inspiring ideas.


{1: nutter butter and hershey kiss acorns, 2: kids activity place mat, 3: pine cone turkeys,
4: butcher paper covered table, 5: turkey toes jars, 6: tons of crayons}

Menu-ish Monday, Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'm not a big fan of making dinners the week of Thanksgiving. I don't need more mess, more thought and more stress (I don't do well with stress)! Dinners this week are short, sweet and minimal dishes.

We've got close to thirty family members coming to our house Thursday and a tailgating party in the forest on Friday, so if you're looking for me this week, you'll find me in the kitchen.

Everyone brings their signature dish to the festivities, but what I'm sharing with you are the dishes I love and am making for everyone this year. If you're looking for that special new dish or needing one more side, hopefully you'll find inspiration here.


{1: cranberry cobbler, 2: wine basted turkey, 3: double craggy garlic bread, 4: layered pumpkin pie in a jar, 5: wild rice stuffing with pine nuts, 6: chocolate chunk and caramel pecan pie, 7: green beans with cherry vinaigrette,
8: mashed sour cream and scallion potatoes, 9: spiced cranberry sauce}

Thanksgiving Activity Placemat

If you are looking for an activity to keep little hands out of the pumpkin pie before dinner, here's the activity for you. Print these place mats onto an 11x14 paper and set at each kids seat. Have a bucket of crayons, markers and pencils available and enjoy at least 20 minutes of quiet. You're welcome.

(click on the photo to download)