By Donna Erickson
King Features Syndicate
Balancing work, family and holidays, not to mention keeping on budget, is the big challenge for parents this time of year. With a thousand and one things to do and never enough time to accomplish everything, it's especially hard to set aside special time with our kids.
Here's a solution that works! Incorporate kids into your everyday activities and let them help create a homemade holiday with you. These two projects are whimsical, fun and easy to do together as you get ready for Thanksgiving Day.
Napkin Portraits
Purchase inexpensive, solid-colored fabric napkins or repurpose an old set you already own. Kids will enjoy personalizing them by drawing a portrait of each person sitting at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Use fabric paints in squeeze bottles or fabric markers, and draw the portrait freehand on one quadrant of each napkin. (An adult may heat-set the drawings with an iron when the paint is dry.)
When it's time to set the table, place one on each plate to serve as a unique place card. As relatives and guests arrive, they'll smile when they find their place at the table.
Wash them up and save them to use year after year as a family tradition. In 10 years, Aunt Thelma may say she never looked so young!
Tip: Instead of fabric napkins, use nice paper dinner napkins for single-use portrait napkins. Kids may draw the portraits with nontoxic permanent markers instead of fabric paint.
Fall Blooms
Arrange chrysanthemums in a hollowed-out mini-pumpkin, acorn squash or small gourd. First, place a chunk of damp florist foam trimmed to fit the hollowed-out portion. The kids may poke the stems of flowers into the foam, one at a time, until the arrangement is complete. Make several, and place them around the house or cluster them in the middle of the Thanksgiving table for a centerpiece.
"The grandkids are coming!" tip: Visit the public library and search for books about Native American life. Look for collections of Native American stories. When you are together with the grandkids on Thanksgiving Day, talk about Native American traditions and read aloud a legend to honor Native Americans and their contributions to culture. If you have Native American ancestry, share stories you would like them to remember.