Tag: family

Setting the Scene for Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 by Mama

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For most Americans, tomorrow is a special day of gratitude, family dynamics and loads of delicious food. My sister-in-law is hosting the holiday gathering at her home this year, but in years past (and hopefully many years to come) we have embraced the craziness that comes along with a houseful of family, way too many cooks in the kitchen and too little space.

Even with the chaos, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (no, it’s not the food), because I love to have loads of family around without the hyperactive exchange of brightly colored gifts, the shreds of wrapping paper floating all about and the over extravagance of way too many gifts (with way too many parts and pieces to keep track of) that accompanies our next big gathering at Christmas.

To me, Thanksgiving is pretty low key. If there is family, tasty food, a warm place to sit and a cozy place to watch the parade and football, I count it good. With that being said, if you’re hosting your own family gathering tomorrow, here are a few inspirational ideas that might help you set the mood, welcome your guests, embrace the chaos and come out the other side feeling. . . well, “thankful.”

Create a warm and inviting room (literally and figuratively).

Consider turning down the heater for your gathering and light a fire instead. Everyone loves the warm glow of crackling logs, but if your weather is too warm try lighting a few candles instead. Add some warm throws, even if no one plans to use them — they simply say “stay awhile.” Also add some fall color and simple rustic décor to quickly make a room more inviting.

Create seating that is conducive to conversation.

Arrange your seating so that people can have a direct line of sight with one another. This makes conversation so much easier and more natural. If you don’t own a sectional, try creating a sectional-type arrangement for a popular seating option.

Create a table that screams or even just whispers something special.

Thanksgiving table settings can be extravagant or simple, but they should make folks want to sit, stay and eat for a while. Make sure your display is short enough for guests to easily see over so they will hopefully want to linger long after the dessert is done.

Give your guests an opportunity to be thankful.

Set aside some time for guests to express their blessings either verbally or with the written word. Consider your family and how each member is comfortable sharing. You can even play some fun Thanksgiving games to lighten the mood.

Encourage guests to take it home.

Save some cleanup, refrigerator space and calories by stocking up on boxes, bags or plastic tubs your guests can load up and take home. Dress up the carryouts so that people will remember to take them along and provide a marker or pen for labeling.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a blessed gathering!

When Your Child is Not Your Child

Posted on October 16, 2016October 14, 2016 by Mama

I absolutely love it when I catch a glimpse of my child. . . well, not being my child. It sounds harsh, but I bet you mamas know of what I speak. At home my six-year-old son burps at the table and laughs, he ignores instruction on a whim, “please” and” thank you” are apparently optional and an occasional meltdown for no apparent reason is deemed normal. So imagine my delight when his “other self” appears, usually in public, and he becomes the dearest, most considerate, polite and helpful child you have ever seen. What? It’s on these occasions that I realize, contrary to my popular parenting belief, that my child actually is soaking up some of what I say and do. *gasp*

I love to see my little man say “excuse me,” as he makes his way across a crowded room, or say “thank you” when a child shares his toy, and all this without my mama prompts. Nothing warms my heart more than when I see my son befriend the one kid in the room that no one cares to play with — yup, that will usually be my guy. Now that will put a smile on a mother’s face!

Just this week at church dinner, I asked my son to eat more of his chicken casserole, but instead he ate a green bean (and he doesn’t even like green beans). A few minutes later, he whispered in my ear that he didn’t like the casserole because it was too mushy and that he really didn’t want to eat it. Okay, so on the surface it sounded a little shady, but what his young little brain understood was that the lady who made the meal that evening was sitting right on the other side of me and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I was completely touched that he got it! He got the lessons I’ve been pushing for six years, he got the idea of sparing the feelings of others and he got the craft of being subtle. Eureka!

Okay now, this is where it got really weird. Long after he went his way and people were putting away the tables and chairs, my son returned and began folding up chairs (they are as big as he is) and carrying them to the rolling cart. He continued, one at a time, until every last chair was nestled away and he even enjoyed the whole event. Now granted, his favorite playmate wasn’t at church that evening, but still. Honestly, I felt his head for a fever and was slightly surprised when I found none.

So here’s a word of encouragement for you mamas of little ones. Don’t despair; don’t give up. Keep plugging away at those lessons of politeness, caring and social graces. My child has come a long way from blurting out every little thought that pops in his head, and although he isn’t usually on his best behavior at home (and that concept simply just slays me) our words and actions are sinking into their precious little heads — for better or for worse.

photo credit: *¦·twinderella·¦* Believe in Fairies via photopin (license)

Spooky Life Given to Christmas Countdown Calendar

Posted on October 14, 2016October 12, 2016 by Mama

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays of the year, running a close third behind Christmas and Easter. I love to decorate, get spooky and celebrate with tricks and treats! I know you’ll think I’m silly, but one of the best things about getting my Halloween on is that this spooky day comes at the very end of the month, which means I can start decorating on the first and enjoy the orange and black all month long. It has a definite beginning and an end, which suits my creative self just so.

Since Halloween is a month-long celebration, it stands to reason that one should count down the days until the climatic celebration, and what better way to do so than with a mini calendar. I mean, we do it for Christmas, so why not Halloween. . . and Christmas is exactly where I came up with the inspiration for these cute little countdown blocks.

I purchased this Christmas countdown project at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and after I got it home I decided I needed to get another for a Halloween version of this project. The regular price for the kit was $5.99 but I purchased mine at 40 percent off, so it was seriously affordable.

I discarded all the Christmas stuff in the kit, just keeping the blocks and number stickers for the Halloween version of this project. The numbers are glittery black, so they are perfect for this project. One thing I discovered about the number sheets is that each sheet belongs to one block. If you adhere all the numbers from one sheet to one block and all the numbers from the other sheet to the other block, you will be able to count down all the days without a hitch (the number six doubles as the number 9).

To begin this project, I spray painted my blocks black and then picked out some cute Halloween paper from my burgeoning stash. I measured my blocks, cut my paper accordingly, inked the edges in black, stuck the self-sticking numbers to the paper squares and then adhered those to all six sides of the small blocks.

For the bottom block I used the same method as the small blocks, but instead of numbers I printed out a “Days Until Halloween” saying and stuck it to the front of the block. I didn’t bother with the bottom and back of the larger block because no one will see it, but if you feel the need to finish it all off go for it. I completed this project with a couple of cute do-dads and now we are happily counting down the days until Halloween. The hardest part about this project was deciding where to display it. Go figure.

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