Looking for some ideas of activities to do on Thanksgiving Day with your grandchildren — and other family members?  Why not make a Thanksgiving tree?

It’s nice that I had a sister, two nieces, and a nephew that was willing to be in this photo that I took of our Thanksgiving tree activity last year.

Years ago, I made and laminated a poster of a bare tree without any leaves. (Because it was laminated, I could re-use it many times for different activities.) A local store had paper punches that we could use for free. This was in the day before Cricut machines. I cut out a bunch of various colors of leaves.

Last year, I had family members take one leaf and write on it the things that they were thankful for. Then, they taped them to the tree. The object was to fill the tree full of leaves (things they were thankful for).

I had a pattern to make the tree.  I would share it with you but I don’t have it any more because that was oh so long ago.

However, you really don’t have to have a pattern or anything fancy.  Just draw a simple tree on a poster board or butcher paper. Cut out leaves and have your grandchildren write on the leaves what they are thankful for. The idea is for them to realize all of the blessings they have, all of the wonderful things in their lives, and be grateful for them (especially their FABULOUS grandmother…).

Let me know if you make a tree and how it turned out!

Remember my Oreo Turkey post? They were a challenge for me to make. They seem to want to fall over all of the time. Placement of the candy corn feathers had something to do with that, so I’ve been told.

Then there was the Edible Pilgrim Hat. Much easier. (You’ll have to scroll down and down past the pictures of the baby quilts that I made to see these lil’ darlin’s.) I think that I’ll make some of these for a Thanksgiving treat this year when the extended family comes over to endure my Thanksgiving cooking.

Well, Grandma Lizzie has some cute turkey favors using gum drops and candy corn. It looks like they might be lots easier to make than the flock of retarded turkeys I made. I think that the secret to successfully making her turkeys is the fact that she uses wafer cookies instead of Oreos. Oreos are much heavier than Nilla Wafers.

This would be a great activity for grandchildren to make while they are waiting to sit down at the table to eat the Thanksgiving meal. They could put the favors on the table beside each place setting. Keep the grand kiddos busy and get table decorations that you don’t have to make yourself.  That’s a win-win situation if you ask me.

Head on over to Grandma Lizzie’s and check them out. Then make some with your grandchildren.  Let me know how they turned out.

I think that I am a fairly good cook.  I make a fabulous dried crust of bread and tepid water.  That’s my specialty for our Sunday dinner.  Isn’t my family lucky?

My dried jerky and potato chips was another big hit with the family — especially after they were finally able to cut it up into bite sized pieces with the chain saw. Betty Crocker and I are tight. Like this.  (Can you see me crossing my fingers?)

Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a site where there are just as delicious, nutritious, and spectacularly creative foods like what I serve my family.  The site’s owner and I are soul sisters.  Merely separated in age by several centuries.

When I saw her Banana Gobble Pancakes, I knew this was one creative gal.  Boy, howdy!  Don’t you agree? (And she was extra sweet to allow me to use this picture from her site.  Creative, generous — that’s Kellie!)

This made me think that you could adapt this idea to make a pig face (using banana slices as the nostrils and chocolate chips for eyes) or a dog or cat (using string cheese or pretzels for whiskers). I’m sure all of you creative grandmothers out in grandma-land can come up with clever ideas, too. You can even get your grandchildren to give you ideas of pancake animals to make. (Hey, I just thought of something. Make Santa by putting Craisins for eyes and nose and then spraying canned whip cream for a beard. That’s a healthy idea, eh?)

I took some time to poke around and see what else Kellie has created.  You’ve just GOT to see these:

• Graham Gobbler
• Pilgrim Hat Snacks
• One Little Indian
• Tom Turkey

Then she has others that are clever, clever, clever but aren’t Thanksgiving based:

• Fall leaves
• Jack the Pumpkin King
• Hello Fall
• National Talk Like a Pirate Day (love, love, love the treasure map and the pirate ship)
• Read SMore Books (This idea will make you rush immediately to the store to get stuff to make this absolutely cute snack!)
• Kids Monkey Snack
• Giggles the Giraffe

I could go on and on and on.  But you get the picture.  She’s got food creativity coming out the wazoo. You’d better bookmark her site so you can keep up with her delectable ideas.  Thanks, Kellie, for letting me share your ideas on my site.

As for me, I think that I’m just going to pop over to her house for lunch.  Like, every day.

See you at noon today, Kellie!

To kick off November, I thought that I would do a roundup of Thanksgiving Ideas that I have posted in the past. This will save you time from having to go back and scroll through previous posts. (Aren’t I nice??)

• Two Easy to Do Crafts
• Thanksgiving Day Activities
• Papercraft Activities for Thanksgiving
• Dance the Funky Chicken (my favorite!)
• Thanksgiving Ideas for Grandchildren

Hope this gives you a start on planning Thanksgiving activities that you can do with your grandchildren.