Tradition: Simple Ways our Family Embraces The Thanksgiving Holiday

tra•di•tion
   trəˈdɪʃ ən[truh-dish-uh n] noun:
the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.

The holiday season is the birthplace of many traditions that connect us as families and friends. Traditions give us something to look forward to, something to call our own, something to bind us to the crazy people we share bathrooms and living space with (and don't always get along with!).

Due to the fact that my husband often works on Thanksgiving, our family cannot frequently travel long distances to be with extended family. We've found that creating special traditions within our home helps make the day special---even if it's just the six of us eating together once again. This year will be no exception...we will miss celebrating with family and friends as my husband will be on call, but we are grateful for our ties that bind us across the miles.

Our traditions are not fancy or elaborate, but they are our own. Here are a few that we hold dear to our hearts:

1. Preparing the Thanksgiving Feast:


I'll admit, some days when we are in a rush for dinner to get to another activity, I dread those words, "Mom, can I help?" ( It goes so much faster if I don't have helping hands on those days...but I have a hard time turning down anyone who is interested in helping out in the kitchen, right?) Can anyone relate? But for me, Thanksgiving is different. When I just plan on spending much of the morning preparing to gather around the table, I love having the kids in the kitchen with me.


We take our time, we laugh, we learn some cooking tid-bits together, and the preparation of the food is as much of a pleasurable activity as eating it.

2. Expressing Thanks:


We began a simple tradition last year that will be a treasure to add to and to look forward to each November. It's simply our Thanksgiving Table Cloth. (You can see the larger version of it in the photo at the beginning of the post.) I purchased a plain cream-colored tablecloth and fabric markers from Wal-Mart, asked for family participation, and the tradition was born.

Before our meal, each person was invited to write his or her thoughts of gratitude right onto the tablecloth. (It was fun for the kids especially, to break the rules and write on something that Mom normally condemns!)

Looking back, I get a kick out of how life was a year ago....the misspelled words and thoughts of a sweet six year old. I adore her chunky letters and the care with which she wrote her feelings.


The simplicity of a 13 year old boy: food, football, girls.


That's probably on the gratitude list for most men, right?

Thankfulness for a day off... (some things haven't changed)


I'm looking forward to pulling this out again this Wednesday evening so everyone can see what he or she wrote, and prepare to add to it again this Thanksgiving Day.

3. Creating a Thanksgiving Craft:


My girls and I had a great time last year creating these little turkey favors. They are so simple: two knit gloves, a bit of ribbon, glue, googly eyes, and scraps of cardstock and rick-rack. Simple instructions for making them are here.


Aren't they goofy and darling all at the same time? The girls also felt it important to give them very original names...like Bob.



This year, these turkeys and acorns are the plan.






4. Memorable Place Settings:


Did you notice the plates in those pictures? My mother collected plates from a variety of places she visited during her lifetime, and I inherited them when she passed away, along with her glass goblets. We pull these out every Thanksgiving, and wrestle over which place we want to eat on this year. We think of Grandma Wray and it makes the meal that much more special. Something as simple as plates has a way of bringing us together.

5. Of course, Delicious Food!



Each family has their own version of favorite foods to indulge in on Thanksgiving. A few of ours happen to be Sweet Potato Rolls (my littlest has been begging for these for weeks now!) and...



Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad---one that I first remember having with my sister in law, Connie. My sister ML serves this as well, and we now look forward to it each year.

"Family traditions are like spiritual and emotional cement in the foundation of a happy home. They create fond memories, and these memories bond us together as nothing else can."
Ensign March 1986

What are your Thanksgiving Traditions?

May you each have a bounteous and memorable Thanksgiving!

Two of My Favorite Holiday Dishes!

I think I've officially made it official...I am in love with November. I imagine in great part my thoughts of November are laced with happy memories and occasions: My dad's birthday, my parent's anniversary, my husband and son's birthday, and of course, Thanksgiving. I love the simplicity of the holiday---no expected gifts to give, no costumes to conjure up, no massive amounts of candy to buy. Just a beautiful meal intertwined with notions of gratitude and thanks, shared with the ones we love the most. I truly love it.

We recently shared a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with a dear family in our neighborhood who is moving the day before the holiday and will likely be spending Thanksgiving Day traveling. We had all the traditional yummy foods, and I shared two of our family's favorite holiday dishes: My sister's "Raspberry Pretzel Salad" and my dear friend Lara's "Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls". They are both fabulous recipes and I would love to share them with all of you. I promise you won't be disappointed!


Raspberry Pretzel Salad


2 c. smashed but chunky pretzels
3 T. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter

8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 small can (or half of a large one) crushed pineapple
8 oz. Cool Whip Topping

2 small or one large package raspberry Jello
2 c. boiling water
1 package frozen raspberries

Directions:
1. Mix pretzels, 3 T. sugar and melted butter. Bake in a 9 x 13 oblong casserole dish for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
2. Blend together cream cheese, 1 c. sugar, pineapple, and Cool Whip. Pour mixture over cooled pretzels and refrigerate.
3. Mix Jello with 2 c. boiling water until dissolved and add frozen raspberries. Mix until syrupy.
4. Refrigerate Jello mixture until it is no longer runny, then pour on top of cream cheese mixture and chill until completely set up.
5. Slice into squares and serve. Yummy!!!


Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls (this recipe is actually doubled for feeding a larger crowd. You can half it for a smaller amount of rolls if desired.)


2 c. hot water
1 c. sugar
4 pkgs. active dry yeast (equivalent to 9 teaspoons or approx. 3 tablespoons)

1 29 oz. can Cut Sweet Potatoes, drained and mashed
1 c. butter
2 eggs

3 tsp. salt
9 1/2-10 cups flour

1/2 c. melted butter

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in hot water. When water has cooled to a warm temperature, add yeast and allow to foam up a bit.
2. While yeast mixture is sitting, beat together the potatoes, butter, and egg in a mixer.
3. Add the yeast mixture when ready, followed by the salt.
4. Add the flour a few cups at a time to form a stiff dough.
5. Knead until smooth.
6. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise about an hour until doubled. Punch down and divide into six sections.
7. Roll each section into a circle and slice into several wedges.



8. Brush with butter and roll into a crescent shape starting at the wide end.


9. Place on greased baking sheet and let rise.
10. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown, depending on your oven.

I hope you enjoy planning your meal for the upcoming holiday!! What are your favorite holiday dishes?? I'd love to hear!

Blanket Stitch Tutorial

The Blanket Stitch is an embroidery stitch that provides a nice edging for blankets, table runners, bibs, burpies, table cloths, appliqued items, and anything else that needs a finished border. It can be embroidered with large stitches, or petite ones, depending on the area that you are edging, making it very versatile for a number of projects.

To Blanket Stitch around the edges of an appliqued section of fabric, simply do the following:

1. Bring the threaded needle up from underneath the fabric (be sure the floss is knotted) to the immediate left of the appliquéd fabric at point A. Pull taut, and hold floss down with your left thumb.


2. With the needle, go back down at point B, and come up again at point C, making sure the needle passes over the top of the floss you are holding with your thumb. Pull taut once again. Repeat.


To Blanket Stitch around the edges of a runner or table cloth, follow the same basic instructions above, but when coming up for the first time, simply bring your needle up at the edge of the fabric (point A). Go back down at point B, then come up from under the fabric at the edge but without catching the fabric in the needle (point C). Again, make sure your needle passes over the top of the extended floss and pull taut. Repeat.



I have a table runner that I stitched and sewed 9 years ago, designed by an incredible embroidery designer, Sandra Workman of Pine Mountain Designs. She is also the owner of Pine Needles of Gardner Village in Utah. She is extremely creative and has a myriad of darling designs that I see everywhere. Anyway...the instructions call for a blanket stitch around the edges of the runner to finish it off (at least as I remember it way back then). Well, for 9 years, I've just displayed this runner without the blanket stitch edging because I've simply not taken the time to finish it, but it has nagged at me all these years.

As I pulled out the runner just the other day to display in my entry way, I decided that this was the year to finish it off. I was tired of being reminded yearly of tasks left unfinished!

My two gals were scheduled for back-to-back haircuts yesterday, and since I can't sit still and be empty-handed for that long anyway, I figured I would make use of the hour I would be waiting there. I grabbed the runner, some floss, a needle, scissors, and away we went!

I finished most of the edging as we all chatted through the haircuts, and I finished the rest of it during my daughter's dance class. What a great feeling to accomplish something in those minutes that could have been wasted by just sitting.

Finally! A finished project just for myself--nothing to sell or give away, and after 9 years, it's finished at last! (Eleventh hour, anyone?)

A Merry Un-Halloween...

Yes, I breathe a sigh of relief every time November rolls around. The Halloween festivities, parties, costumes, and trick-or-treating are all great fun, yet most of the time stressful too. I must say, I am one happy chick when it is all over. Does that make me a Halloween Scrooge? Hmmm...Perhaps a tiny one. With that said, I leave you some images of our Halloween festivities and gleefully say farewell to Halloween, and give a hearty welcome to November! A Merry Un-Halloween to you!!


Shortly after I posted my last posting about creating the Dorothy costume, my sweet neighbor and friend Dana called to let me know she had a Dorothy dress my little gal could use. (Hooray!!) I hadn't gotten too far on the dress I had started making, so I decided to revamp it a little and make it into an actual dress, rather than a costume to give her for Christmas. (Hopefully, I won't put that off until the eleventh hour!)

And my other little gal (yes she's a SHE) dug through our box of wigs and found my hubby's old football jersey for a completely cost-free costume as well. Gotta love that! (And don't you just love that mullet? It's the best.) I was a bit melancholy however, as my boys were too old and of course too cool for dressing up this year---sad for me to realize that those days of Woody/Puppy/Nerd/Hobo/Goldilocks (yes, your read it right) costumes are now simply memories...


On the Saturday before Halloween, our church had a "Trunk or Treat"---a unique tradition of parking our cars in a parking lot and trick-or-treating at each other's car trunks...(crazy, I know). Anyhoo, my little gal had gotten her fill of candy and as it was cold and rainy that night, she opted to stay home and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. She sat perched here on this chair by the door, waiting for the door bell to ring. Each time she'd shut the door after handing out candy, she'd exclaim, "Yes!! This is sooooo much fun!!" Can't argue with that kind of glee.


And our Crazy Halloween Dinner turned out to be great fun once again. Here you can see my son eating his "Wrapped Raven Remains" (chicken enchiladas) and "Goopy Grave Markers" (brownies, ice cream, and topping) with his "Vampire Vengeance" (knife). Ah, good times.

Merry Un-Halloween!

The Crazy Halloween Dinner Tradition...Revisited

Last fall, I posted about our family's tradition of the Crazy Halloween Dinner. I had several people contact me for more details, so I thought I'd revisit this post again, but a little earlier in the season. It is such great fun! But BEWARE: After doing it once with your family, you just may be coerced into doing it again and again! Your kiddos and any guestswill love it.

Here is how it works:

As the hostess, begin by planning your menu for the evening. For us it generally consists of regular meal items such as chicken and potatoes, barbecued beef sandwiches, or some type of casserole. But as you can see in the photo above, my niece planned her menu using some unique food choices for the occasion. Either way works great...just don't feel pressure to fix anything out of the ordinary. The food itself is not necessarily the entertaining part of this meal...it is how it's presented that makes it such fun!

So, begin listing your menu items so that you have 12 things on your menu, but these will also include a drink, each of your utensils, and a perhaps a napkin. Here is an example:

1. Spaghetti and Meatballs
2. Green salad and dressing
3. Buttered peas
4. Garlic bread
5. Fresh fruit
6. Jello salad
7. Punch to drink
8. Pumpkin cheesecake for dessert
9. Napkin
10.Fork
11.Knife
12.Spoon

The next step is to get creative and assign a spooky and crazy name that provides a subtle hint as to what each menu item might be. For example, the garlic bread could be called "Tombstones"; the punch could be "Witches Brew"; and the spaghetti and meatballs...well, I'm sure you could come up with something that sounds totally disgusting!

Now create a menu that lists each of the crazy names on them, and a space in which to write the numbers 1, 2, or 3, which will designate which course that item will be served in. You will be serving 3 courses of four food items. (You could also serve 4 courses of three food items if desired.) Be sure to make a master "key" so you can easily remember what each food items are called!

The following is menu and key from a few years ago that you can use if you'd like. Just click to enlarge, and print.

When your guests arrive, give each person a menu and have them choose their food items for each course by numbering them 1, 2, or 3. The fun of this is that your guests won't know exactly what they are ordering, and little will they know that they are ordering their utensils as well! Be sure that each guest's name is on his or her menu, then collect them before you begin serving.

I line up all the menus on my counter, then dish up each person's plate according to what they ordered, then serve one at a time. After everyone is finished with their first course, I take their plates back (and any utensils they had for that course) and serve them their second course and so on. My hubby usually helps, so it goes quite quickly, and everyone is happy to chat for a bit between courses. And, the family who first introduced this tradition to us gave us this tip...that once a person's drink is served, he can keep his cup for refills throughout the rest of dinner. That is usually very appreciated!

Every year, someone inevitably orders their spoon, a knife, a side dish, and a roll for one course, and in the next they have their dessert, a main dish, a napkin, a drink, and no silverware. Yep, a little crazy, but lots of fun! It's especially entertaining when we have another family over to share the surprises with.

Last year, my niece and her husband hosted our dinner, so it was entertaining for me as well, as I didn't have a clue what I was ordering either! They were great hosts and came up with unique new dishes that our family hadn't tried before, which made it extra fun for us all!

The most popular and talked about dish of the night? The "Kitty Litter!" It consisted of vanilla pudding topped with crushed graham crackers and an occasional melted tootsie roll that looked like...well, you know what. Rather disgusting, but delightful for the youngsters at the same time!

Here is Blondie determining which menu items she wanted for each course:



A.W. had to eat his "Ogre Buttocks" (ham) and "Sliced Snail" (pumpkin roll) with a knife:



And by the time Blondie got to this course, she had no silverware!

It was a great night, and filled with some entertaining memories! The Crazy Halloween Dinner is a now a standard tradition in our home. If you give it a try, I would love to hear about your menus and how you made it special for your family.

A Totally Wicked Experience!

(Okay, corny title, I know...but it just fits so well!) Now that it's over, I can truthfully say that being on Studio 5 (a local NBC daytime show) was pretty "wicked", indeed.

But before I tell you about it, if you've not had a chance, be sure to stop by You Can Make This to download your FREE "Wicked" Embroidery Project that was featured on Studio 5. It consists of the Back Stitch only (perfect for beginners or experienced stitchers, alike!), and a little gluing on of some sparkling ebony crystals. Pop it into a frame, and you have a new bit of Halloween decor that features a little festive bling. You can literally finish the whole thing in just a few hours! It was designed to be quick and painless, and fun! I promise, you can do this--even if you've never tried embroidery before.

And the image below shows just the spider embroidered and sewn into a holiday door ornament. You can find the FREE download for the instructions on making this hanger HERE. (And by the way, my 6 year old helped to stitch this particular spider...I did part of it, but she did a big chunk of it and loved it! This is a great activity for the kiddos too!)


So my Studio 5 experience was really terrific, although a bit stressful at the same time! I was kept pretty darn busy with preparing for the show and keeping up with my family, and I admit, the night before the show I had a bit of a meltdown. What in the world had I agreed to? I'm too old for this kind of stress! All I could keep thinking of was those episodes of the Brady Bunch (or some classic show I remember watching) when some character happened to be on the air for the first time, and as soon as the red light from the camera came on, he or she simply stood there frozen in place, paralyzed. (And what spells "Epic Fail" more than submitting yourself to be on live TV????)

Well, after a few conversations with my hubby and my sister, and some deep breaths, they eventually talked me down off the ledge, and I started to relax a little....(Okay, so it wasn't quite that dramatic, but I was having some serious anxiety!)

Of course, I was nervous the morning of the show, but the folks there at Studio 5 were amazing. They were so friendly, and warm, and I instantly felt as though I had new friends in the world. One of the show's producers, Stephanie, that I'm here with in this photo, was especially fabulous.

She has a knack of filling you with confidence and believing in you whole-heartedly. She and I had worked on this segment together over the phone and through emails, but meeting her in person was a treat. She immediately put me at ease as she helped me set up my display and talked me through the last-minute particulars of how the segment would flow.

And then Brooke Walker, the host I worked with was remarkable as well. I have a new-found appreciation for the gifts and talents that talk show hosts/anchors have. She did not skip a beat, and knew just how to propel the conversation to help cover the details of the project I had prepared. I have watched her since with new admiration as she so aptly flows through any segment effortlessly. She is truly a kind and lovely person to work with.


And...there is a point in the segment where she ever-so-kindly rescued me from a little bobble! The one thing in the segment that I didn't prepare for was the stitching demonstration, because , well....I figured I know how to do that, right? Well, I didn't consider having to embroider with my hoop facing away from me and toward the camera. Should have practiced that part, I'm thinking now. I was holding the hoop at an awkward angle and my needle wouldn't go through the fabric with ease, and popped out of my hand. Oh, my. But Brooke found a way for us to laugh about it, and I managed to go forward.

So here is the Studio 5 segment...(just watch with kind eyes, okay? ) And don't forget to get your free download!

A "Wicked" Little Sneak Peek!

Something "Wicked" this way comes! See a sneak-peek today on Studio 5 and go to You Can Make This for a FREE download of this new project!

Happy Stitching!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

As promised earlier in the month, I wanted to share a few of my favorite things of the Thanksgiving season before it quickly vanishes ....

The little acorn.

Something so tiny and seemingly insignificant, has potential to become something grand and of great worth, providing shade, a thinking spot, and beauty for all to enjoy. All the little acorn needs is a warm spot, attention and care, plenty of time and patience, and someone to help it establish its roots. Aren't our little children, and all of us like that little acorn? Full of so much potential to become greater than we can ever imagine. I love thinking of that as I pass by this acorn pillow in my entry way. (It's free, by the way, for both machine and hand-embroidery--so you can have your own acorn inspiration).

Susan Branch.


She has some of THE cutest artwork on the planet, I think. Her book, Autumn From the Heart of the Home is simply delightful to peruse and dreamily read in hopes of making all the beautiful and delicious items inside. She offers harvest recipes, gift basket ideas, fall decorating ideas, and treat recipes, as well as some insight into her artwork. I love it. Her shelf scarf on the cover was the inspiration for the table scarf I made using this embroidery design. It's one of those books you pore over on a chilly day in front of the fire.



My little scarecrow friend.


This one has a story that goes back 14 years. Back in the day, my husband was a student, we were living in a one bedroom basement apartment, and I was teaching school full-time. My oldest son was just a year old, and my hubby was his primary care-taker during the day. They were difficult days in so many ways, yet in others, full of happy and warm memories.

We realized about August of that particular year that we needed extra money for Christmas, as we were barely able to pay for our monthly needs from my modest income. (Don't we all have stories of struggle in those first years of marriage?)

So, we got creative, and made these scarecrows that year to sell and earn a little extra income. We invested a little money in fabric and supplies, and used old worn jeans from the second hand store for the scarecrow pants. I taught my hubby how to use the sewing machine, and he would sew the straight lines for the shirt and pants while I was at school (he was so good-natured to go along with my crazy ideas!). At night after teaching, I'd paint the faces, and we'd assemble and hot glue the scarecrow parts together as we laughed and enjoyed being together. I remember my little toddler was so pleasant through the whole process, although our apartment was a ruin of scarecrow parts, straw, and fabric that had been carried from one end to the other!

It's one of those memories that will always stand out as one of my favorites, and that I will always cherish. We were poor, yet my hubby and I worked as a team, building scarecrows and another little level of our relationship. We accomplished more than we anticipated in the beginning. We sold every scarecrow we made, but I hung onto one little scarecrow guy, as I wanted to always remember that fun-filled "scarecrow and relationship-building" year.

And lastly, the concept of Abundance.


In those lean years that we experienced, and still now when times are tight and I get feeling gloomy, I have to stop and think of all I've been blessed with. My kids are healthy and happy (well, you know--for the most part, minus the teenage hormonal moments), we have a warm home, food on the table, a job, vehicles, and most importantly, each other. How truly abundant our lives are. May you each experience that same feeling this Thanksgiving Season.