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Yes – we celebrate Thanksgiving in this house. We do not skip it. We decorate it for it and enjoy it all month long! 2020 has everyone putting up trees and we are over here playing with Turkeys. To each their own!
Normally we slowly take down Halloween and get Thanksgiving up, but this year was different. Halloween fell on a weekend and it did not disappoint but it was exhausting. We celebrated Halloween, got it put away and Thanksgiving out and up. We also did a full Thanksgiving dinner with time change. It was a lot of work but totally worth it. It was so nice to take the FULL month of November to stop and be thankful for all we have. This month we are also celebrating 5 years in our Florida home…
BEST MOVE EVER!!!
Jump to RecipeHalloween…. AWAY… bye bye
This is just a portion of it – the rest needed to be gathered and boxed up later in the day. This year I eliminated 5 Halloween containers… o proud of me! Donated some to the school and trashed some as well. Downsizing baby!
Clean counters going into November… love it!
Love a theme and love a themed dress… so of course when I saw a dress with clocks I had to snatch it up for time change day!!
Unlike most people the time change does not bother me at all. I do get confused as to the time of day from time to time, but other than that – whatever.
House Prep
Now that Halloween is away… time to wash the base-boards and do some touch up painting before the Thanksgiving decorations go out. Fall and Spring we like to touch up the paint. Children, dogs and auto vacuums leave some mark’s everywhere. For some reason there is chocolate milk dripping down certain walls… which is odd because the “littles” are 14 and 11… wtf!
This is the time to move the couches, dust the blinds and clean out the fridge. Make a list and get it done!
Thanksgiving Food Prep
Huge fan of getting things in order… in advance. Before a big day I like to get as much done as possible. This makes a huge difference in my world. It allows me a little free time to sit and sip coffee and wine on the day of…. this is a huge plus in my book. Also, when I do this it gives me a chance to run through everything I need for the day so we are not running out to the store last minute or digging through the garage for that “special” platter.
Some things I like to do in advance…
- tinfoil – line the pan for the bacon… I have run out and not realized until the morning of that there was none
- set the table – from the dishes to the chocolate
- serving dishes – we do not keep these in the cabinet – so I like to hunt them down in the days before.
- Ingredients – If I can premeasure it out – then I will. Usually in the many mason jars I have.
- Bakeware – With the ingredients I like to gather the bakeware for each item I plan on baking.
- Side Table – If you know me – you know I love a travel table. I like to pop up a side table in an area I am not using to house all the supplies for a big baking day.
Starting to gather the supplies for the apple pie.
Table Set Up
How does your Thanksgiving go own? Paper plates or Fine China? Do you set up in advance or the day of?
We pull out my great grandmother’s china, chocolate Turkey’s, and bubbly and I like to get set up in advance.
Thanksgiving Crafts
When the kids were little I always had Thanksgiving crafts on hand for them to do in the moments between helping with the meal. Kept them in the theme of the day and out of my hair when needed. Amazon has some great ones – still time to order… click the picture.
Fully Loaded Thanksgiving Table
Here is our tables through the years… not sure how Mac and Cheese landed on one of them. My guess is the boy asked for it, he is not a mashed potato fan.
This is the sign of a successful Thanksgiving!
Fall Wine / Glasses
We love a festive wine glass in this house, well I do anyways. But they are too pretty to put in the cabinet. Add a tea light to the glass and BAM IT’S a decoration. The tea lights I use turn on for 6 hours and then they auto shut off for 18 and then they click back on for another 5 at the time you turned them on the day before… click here for those.
Lolita Wine Glasses are my Favorite… the link below has their “thankful” wine glass. The one featured here is a few years old. Each of these wine glasses has a recipe for a “fun” drink on the bottom of them
Thanksgiving Decorations
Decorating days are big days so I try and plan then on football days so Mark is watching footballing and napping while I walk around cleaning, painting and decorating. Up and down the ladder and stairs make for a great step day!
As you can see my decorations have been collected through the years… I made the napkin holder in like the 7th grade.
THANKSGIVING RECIPES
Through the years I have taken pictures of our traditional dishes for Thanksgiving. I will be taking the recipes out of my head and getting them to recipe cards in the days to come.
Hope you enjoy!
Donut Turkeys
Ingredients
- Fudge Stripe Cookies
- Mini Chocolate Donuts
- Candy Corn – for the feathers & nose
- Eyes – see the link for eyes with lashes
- Licorice – this is for the gobbler
- Frosting – container of premade frosting
- Orange frosting – in a tube for feet (not needed)
It is NOT Thanksgiving without these. Papa (Patrick / My Dad) LOVED these! It is great to make and have on the counter to snack on while the meal is being prepared. They make a great addition to the salad or the top of Pumpkin pie. There will not be left overs. If there is… store in airtight container by the coffee maker so you can snack on in the mornings with your coffee.
You can roast your nuts in the oven or in the crock pot. The oven gives them a bit extra crunch opposed to the crockpot. However… there are so many needs for the oven that making them in the crockpot frees up some oven space. So go with the crockpot.
PREP YOUR NUTS
As I mentioned prepping in advance makes the day so much better. The night or day before measure out the nuts, and sugars. Get the crockpot, measuring spoons and bowls needed out as well.
Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 1.50 cup Sugar
- .50 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- .50 cup Light Brown Sugar
- .50 cup Raw Sugar
- 4 cups Pecans
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 Egg White
- 1 teaspoon Ginger – Only add if you like ginger
- 1.5 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons Vanilla
- Parchment Paper / Cookie Sheet
Instructions
- Night before – measure everything out and get all supplies out
- MEDIUM BOWL- measure out the sugars, cinnamon and ginger – mix together
- SMALL BOWL – measure out the vanilla and whisk with the egg white – make it nice and FROTHY
- CROCKPOT – Spray with cooking spray
- Pecans – put in the crockpot
- Egg white mix – pour the frothy mixture over the nuts and mix the nuts in the froth until all the nuts are coated in froth
- Sugar Mix – Sprinkle 1/2 of this over the nuts, stir, pour the other 1/2 over the nuts. Stir until all the nuts are coated.
- COOK – Set your temperature to LOW and cook for about 3 hours.
- STIR – Every 20 minutes stir the nuts, make certain they are not sticking to the crockpot.
- WATER – Last 25 / 30 minutes pour the water over the nuts and stir.
- STIR – Every 10 minutes stir and make certain they are not burning or sticking. * The water will make them crunchy.
- DUMP – When time is up – dump the nuts onto parchment paper and let them cool for about 15 minutes.
COMING SOON
Our Thanksgiving favorites are below – recipes are coming soon.
Thanksgiving – Treats of the Past
It was not that long ago we were able to bring not only treats into the classroom but homemade treats. These days were almost over but “covid” kinds sealed the deal on this not happening anymore. Glad I was able to do this for the kids when they were little.
These Turkey cupcakes are so easy to make.
SUPPLIES for TURKEY CUPCAKES
- cupcakes
- candy corn
- candy eye balls… click here for ones with lashes
- mini oreos
- orange candy covered sunflower seed OR an orange m and m sideways
Thanksgiving Music
There is always music on in our house. This is how we grew up… it was just ALWAYS on. It is ALWAYS on in my house now. At Thanksgiving my Uncle Tommy always had this song on. I make certain to put it on every year for my little as well.
NOT HELPFUL
The kids are not always helpful. Here Saoirse has made herself a little cave and propped her phone up so she can lay down and look up to watch her show… well at least she was creative!
Inspiration, Motivation and Coffee are great ways to start the day!
These are updated through the week with a little life, interesting grocery finds, Holidays, Reviews, National Days, Recipes and everything in-between.
Check back everyday for more malarkey morning moments…. click the button
Check out these other recent articles… some great ideas and products for the holidays!
Loosing Weight BEFORE the HOLIDAYS!
I am on a mission to drop the weight I gained after the summer and before the holidays. Challenging myself to do it before Thanksgiving and holding myself accountable by vlogging it. Follow my journey.
*side note – not selling anything
Check out this NEW event @ Gaylord Palms resort…. NEW EVENT
Loosing Weight… Making a U-Turn and getting in shape before the holidays
ZERO F***S. This would be my number one parenting advice. Listen and gather the advice of others but you need to do what works for your family… you do you. Stay strong and figure it the f*** out! Subscribe to the blog – today!
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My name is Tabitha and this blog is about my family and our life. We are always looking for inspiration and nonsense to keep us going… one day at a time… one celebration at a time. I am just another mama with no sick days and no days off trying to juggle family, life, wellness, getting dinner to the table while raising good humans and staying mentally sound.
Stop by the blog in the morning for cup of inspiration.
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[…] Prepping for Thanksgiving The BEST Bacon Creamed Collard Greens Hands down – The BEST – Even if you do not like veggies – you will love these – Thanksgiving Favorite! Check out this recipe Turkey Cupcakes These are so easy – you can still bring them to class for the kids – you just have to bring it in pieces and allow them to assemble them! Buy the cupcakes from the grocery store. Check out this recipe The BEST Bacon – not messy This is hands down the best way to make Bacon and the least messy Check out this recipe Donut Turkeys These are a great way to start Thanksgiving morning and are super easy to make – the kids love them.As far as the ingredients… buy what you need… and have fun! Check out this recipe Candied Pecans OMG!!! The smell that comes from these immediately makes it Thanksgiving in the house.. These can be made in advance but I prefer to make the morning of because the smell is just so amazing! Check out this recipe […]