Make It Yourself Monday---Setting the Table for the Holidays......

Its the week of Thanksgiving! I want to squeal like a little girl at a candy party!

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Truly, this is one of the "bestest" times of the year, as my Littles would say. I love knowing family will be gathered around the table, sharing the blessings of their year with one another.

I love the thought of making new and old recipes to share with everyone, inviting friends who have no one else to share Thanksgiving with and making them a part of our family for a day (or longer, if they let us).

I love the tradition of going around the table and sharing what we are thankful for, from the smallest who can only nod and shout "TURKEY!" at the top of their lungs, to the oldest whose eyes fill with tears at the thought that they are still here to witness the joy of the grandkids.

I love serving each meal on my Grandmother's china-this is the Grandmother I never really knew since my parents moved far away from family right before I was born.

I love setting up our sweet Grandma Bea's cut crystal candle sticks, which will bring a tear or two this year, I am sure, as we celebrate the first Thanksgiving without her.

My children are all ablaze with ideas on how to decorate the house and table for this precious holiday, and I wanted to share some of their favorite ideas with you. I will be sure to take pictures of our feast and get together for those of you who love the pictures we take around here (I promise, I will avoid the ones with children sticking cranberries up their noses.)

Everywhere you look are sweet and simple ideas to set a table for the holidays, so please, browse and click. We were inspired by a lot of these..........

1. My kids want to empty the Thankfulness Jar and attach all of them to a simple string garland over the table, as well as have everyone fill out a couple to finish the string off. I think it is a wonderful idea, and a visible reminder for us of the many blessings we have seen this year here at The Welcoming House.

You can find the idea behind it here.......

 

And for Placemats, what would Thanksgiving be like without the proverbial turkeys made out of hands?? My children have decided that tomorrow is "Making Turkey Placemat Day", and I cant wait to see how they will blend with Grandma's china. Yeah. LOL.

Click here for that idea if you need directions....

Many years ago, we visited the home of a friend for dinner, who, in the middle of dessert, handed us a permanent marker and asked us to write our names and the date on the tablecloth, which had been embroidered with thousands of signatures. It has always been something in the back of my mind, and now that we are celebrating our 15th Thanksgiving as a married couple, I plan on starting this tradition here at the Welcoming House. What a beautiful idea and heirloom to break out when your kids are grown up and married and seeing the names bring back memories for all around the table!

Here is a beautiful table idea I found over on Pinterest that really inspired me to be creative this year:

http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/entertaining/thanksgiving-table-settings-1108#slide-17

I think this is a beautiful idea, and would be so simple for children to pull together with paper, and craft paper. My kids were pretty excited about this one too! We often have one or two candles on the table, but with small children, you must be extra vigilant that they either dont touch it, or dont try to blow it out (as mine believe that is their God-given destiny to blow out every candle they see *sigh*).

We always have a large pumpkin for a serving bowl on the table, just because it adds to the fall touch of the table. This year I think we will be offering an appetizer of butternut squash soup with simple homemade croutons as a garnish. Easy enough for the kids to eat, but simple enough to  make with a pressure cooker, and stick blender.

As always, with two toddlers, each year is a new adventure, and I want to keep it simple and as stress-free as possible this year, so no fancy-schmancy ideas here! Just simple, easy, and fun.

What are your family traditions or things you will be adding new this year?

I wanted to make sure that today I am adding in my new words of Thankfulness, and would love to hear more of yours in the comment section. Day 19 of The Attitude of Gratitude Challenge is:

Turkey

Colors

Grandma

shine

Laughter

Grace

Family

Tomorrow I will be passing on the recipes for my famous pumpkin pie, Tater Twist Bread, and a link to my Harvest Cinnamon Pie, which is always a hit at the Thanksgiving table, as I am sure it will be this year. Wednesday I have another surprise for you, as I will be featuring the Handy Hubby's Not-So-Secret-Anymore recipe for an incredible turkey, and my family's traditional Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing recipe. I certainly hope you will join us as we celebrate a year of abundant blessings here on The Welcoming House!

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather