How to Host a Thanksgiving Feast

For a Thanksgiving Feast they will talk about for years, be creative this year. Take your family back to the first Thanksgiving and enjoy a little history lesson while you feast on the turkey!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• soy milk carton

1. 
   Create your own Mayflower!

   Remove one side of a soy milk carton. Decoupage the remaining sides with strips of brown and tan paper and allow it to dry. Use skewers and white paper to create flags. Put floral foam in the bottom of the boat and get ready to set sail on the Mayflower. Place the ship in the center of your table.

2. 
   Quill and Ink Place Cards

   Using an X-acto knife, turn a feather into a quill pen. Cut the tip at an angle. Then cut a tiny slit at the point. Have your children or grandchildren dip the quills into a small bottle of ink available at stores like Michael's at create place cards using folder tag board. Make it historical by adding the name of someone on the Mayflower on the back side of each card.
   
   For fun, type up a biography of each person and let everyone share the biography for the person named on their place card. Help the little ones and make it a fun occasion.
   
   When everyone is seated, have them write one thing they are thankful for on a strip of paper. Read them aloud before the prayer and start your meal with a thankful heart.

3. 
   Native American and Pilgrims

   Fashion Pilgrim and Native American costumes out of brown paper bags for the younger children. Let them decorate the "clothing" with markers. Use black or brown construction paper to create Pilgrim men hats and use white construction paper to create bonnets for the Pilgrim women.

4. 
   Create an original Thanksgiving Feast!

   Cook a turkey (real or tofu) and make all the traditional foods. Corn, squash, mashed potatoes and cornbread go well with cranberry sauce and stuffing. Be certain that, no matter how many pies and cakes you have, you include pumpkin pie.
   
   Consider making little canoes out of your zucchini. Slice the squash in half long ways and clean the seeds out of the zucchini. Par boil it for about eight minutes. For every three zucchini, mix one cup of sauted mushrooms, one clove of garlic cooked with two tablespoons of minced onions and the pulp from the zucchini. Mix all the ingredients with two eggs and fill the zucchini shells. Bake at 350 until squash is tender. Sprinkle with cheese and let it melt.
   
   Choose games such as Nine Men's Morris, tag and marbles. Hide and Seek and Leap Frog are good choices too!
   
   For quiet time after the big meal, let the children create pots out of clay or try stitching a sampler. This is a wonderful way for the young and old to interact together.
   
   Thanksgiving is a day of family, feasting, fun and giving thanks. Create the kind of Thanksgiving Feast that will teach your family about the history of the holiday and send everyone home with a smile on their face.

Resources

• Playing and Learning in the 17th Century

[martielownberry]

on 10/9/2009 Your Thanksgiving feast sounds like fun!

[ljstraight]

on 10/5/2009 I'm smiling! 5 stars