Planning thanksgiving dinner tips to make your holiday easy

Planning Thanksgiving dinner and preparing it can be very stressful, especially if you have a large family or are expecting a number of guests. In order to make Thanksgiving more enjoyable for yourself as well as your guests, some advance planning and preparation will work wonders. Use these tips to make your holiday a stress-free, memorable occasion: 10 Days before Thanksgiving: A week to 10 days before Thanksgiving, make your guest list. If there are any friends or family members you have not yet contacted, do so now to give them and yourself plenty of time to prepare. If any of your guests will be bringing a special dish, add it to your menu. If you will be cooking turkey, decide upon fresh, frozen, or smoked. Make sure you have room in your refrigerator and oven. You should plan on one to one 1/2 pounds per person and even a bit larger if you want plenty of leftovers. Deciding upon your final menu should be completed at least a week before the big day. Consider the number of people you will be entertaining and if you have children on your guest list, try to plan a couple of special dishes or treats especially for them. The Week of Thanksgiving: The week of Thanksgiving is the time to stock up on necessary items from the grocery store. You can make certain items in advance such as bread or rolls and freeze them until Thanksgiving morning. Also make sure you have supplies such a napkins, cups, etc. The Days before Thanksgiving: A couple of days prior to Thanksgiving you can prepare a few items in advance to save time on the big day. Things like cranberry sauce or relish can be stored in your refrigerator for a few days. You may want to cut up onions, celery, and any like items and store them in plastic ware to save time on Thanksgiving morning. Make sure you have everything on your shopping list in your kitchen at least 2-3 days before Thanksgiving morning. If you have children, involve them in the planning. They can help organize games for the younger guests, assist with decorations, and can even help out in the kitchen if you desire. If you have purchased a frozen turkey, take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator 3 days prior to cooking to give it plenty of time to thaw. If you will need to iron linens, etc., do so a couple of days before Thanksgiving to cut down on the amount of work you will have to do the night before the big day. Thanksgiving Morning: On Thanksgiving morning, make sure you have your thawed turkey stuffed (if necessary) and ready to place in the oven. Side dishes should be ready to cook or place in your oven and it would be a good idea to have desserts prepared the night before to save time and frustration on Thanksgiving Day. Any items you have frozen should be taken out of the freezer the night before so they can be heated easily. With some advance planning and preparation, Thanksgiving can be a stress-free (almost) occasion and you will have plenty of time to enjoy the company of friends and family.

Wacky spiders a fun halloween craft for kids

This is one of my favorite Halloween crafts for kids. It is quick and simple, can be done with a crowd if necessary, and is an excellent way to practice cutting and fine motor skills with younger children. Older kids can let their imaginations take over and create some really wacky spiders! You will need: Black paper Scissors Glue or sticky-tape Googly eyes (optional) or scraps of paper and pens Instructions: Cut a rectangle of paper approximately 3 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Fold the short side down about an inch to make a crease, then open up again. Turn the paper so that the crease is horizontal, then cut the paper in 7 straight lines up to the crease to create eight spider's legs. For younger children, draw in the lines for them to practice cutting on. For older children, show them how to make the first cut in the middle, dividing the area below the crease into 2 halves. Then show them how to divide each half again to make quarters, then the quarters to make eighths. There is no need to be too accurate. Now wrap the spider around the child's finger and fasten with sticky-tape or glue. Remove the spider again and decorate - either with scraps of paper or with googly eyes. Put back on the finger and bend the legs into shape or curl them around a pencil. Variations: Hang the spiders up! Simply cut a length of black yarn (wool) and attach inside the head of the spider with a small piece of sticky-tape. Make smaller versions of these spiders to decorate the ends of Halloween pencils. Wrap small spiders around straws to decorate your Halloween table! Make some bigger spiders and scatter them around the table as well. Cut a small slit on either side of the spider's head and insert a name card to turn these spiders into spooky place markers! Once the body of the spider has been made but before decorating, wrap a black pipe cleaner around the head of the spider to give a furry effect. The protruding end of the pipe cleaner can be curled into a hook shape, which makes the spider easy to suspend from shelves, the tops of doors, and other spooky places! Stick googly eyes on top of the pipe cleaner.

Valentines day doesn t have to be romantic showing your love in fun ways too

To you, Valentine’s Day may be a day to spend with your significant other or to spend out on the town. But, don’t forget about the kids. You should insure that you think about them on this day and find a way to express your love for them too. While they may have a party at school even giving each other fun Valentine’s cards, they still need to know that you are thinking about them on this day of love. For many parents, there is a fine line between spoiling and showing that they care. That said, it is still important to demonstrate your love to them and what better way to do this than through Valentine’s Day? Here are some suggestions for gifts and things that you can do based on the age of your child. Preschoolers, Up To Age Four At this age, even this young, they should be able to see the value in giving a gift rather than just receiving one. Allow them to do something for others. For example, make a batch of cookies for the day (or purchase them) and allow them to decorate the plate providing a piece of paper for them to decorate. Make sure to reward them with a plate of cookies for themselves after they have delivered their gifts. Talk about why it is important to show love like this. Gifts for this age group that you can give them include: * Stuffed animals, perhaps personalized with their name. * Books to read and color, perhaps with a theme of loving in them. * Take them out to lunch at their favorite restaurant. * Start a tradition such as a visit to the zoo on this day each year. Young Children, Ages Five Through Seven Now, they can do much more. Perhaps have a cookie making party and invite their friends and mom’s to help out. Have them make the cookies, decorate them and then help to pass them out. Perhaps taking them to a children’s hospital or a nursing home to help share the love of Valentine’s Day is a great solution. Provide them to neighbors, friends or even Grandma. At this age, kids love to make things. This is the perfect project for them! Have them make cards, filled with great art supplies and stickers. Make sure to provide them with a reward for all of their hard work too. Gifts here include: * A stuffed animal, here think about their personal favorites. * How about a movie? * If you don’t want to take them to see a movie, instead purchase one that they want. Older Children: Ages Eight And Up The same activities of making cards and cookies together will still work here. They will likely take more pride in their work and the results will show it. Also, think about incorporating scrap booking into this activity. Kids can make a memory book of all their favorite adventures and memories to share with special people. Another great suggestion is to remember to send pictures and cards to the troops overseas. Make sure to allow them to send their own messages and perhaps they’ll get a pen pal out of it too. Afterwards, spend some time as a family with a pizza.

Caring for and planting a balled in burlap christmas tree

Tis the season when lots of people drag a real tree into their house and decorate it. Some people buy live trees that are balled in burlap instead of a cut tree. A live tree is a great idea, but many people make serious mistakes when it comes to handling a live tree, and they end up losing their money. The information in this article also pertains to any live tree you are planting, be it now during the winter, or during the summer. 1. Before you even take the tree in the house, dig a hole for the tree where you expect to plant it after the holidays. Put the soil in a wheelbarrow and park it in the garage. You'll need loose soil to backfill the hole, and the ground might be frozen after the holidays. 2. Keep your live tree in the house for as short a time as is possible. 3. Keep the ball plenty moist while in the house, but not in a tub full of water. You don't want the ball to dry out completely, but by the same token it shouldn't be soggy all the time either. Just moist. You can wet it thoroughly, but then don't water again until the water is almost gone. 4. After Christmas move the tree outdoors as soon as possible and plant it immediately. If you were not able to dig the hole earlier, the ground is frozen, and the tree cannot be planted, leave it outside and pack bags of leaves or bales of straw around the ball. Find a way to heel it in in such a way that the amount of sun and wind the root ball receives is minimal. 5. Try and plant the tree immediately if you can. You do not want to store the tree on top of the ground during the winter if you can avoid it. Putting it in your garage is not a good idea either, it is likely to dry out in there. The absolute best place for the ball is in the ground, even if the ground has frozen after you dug the hole. Just set the tree in the hole and backfill with loose soil. Make sure there are no air pockets around the ball. Backfill only with small particles of soil. If this cannot be done because the soil is frozen, just set the tree in the hole and backfill as soon as the weather permits. 6. Check the ball for nylon string. Cut and remove any nylon string. Sometimes the diggers wrap the string around the stem of the tree. If the string is a cotton type, like sisal twine, you can leave it on the ball but remove it from the stem. If the burlap is nylon it should be cut in many places or removed. If the ball is wrapped with a wire basket I recommend leaving it on. It will help to secure the tree and keep it from rocking back and forth with the wind. The roots will find their way through the wire and the burlap. Just cut the burlap where you can. 7. Do not plant the tree too deep. This is the number one reason for plants that do not survive. They should not be planted any deeper than they were in the nursery. The top of the ball should be one to two inches above the ground level. If you have heavy, wet, clay soil, you should plant it even higher and build a bed up around the ball. When you plant them too deep the plants literally suffocate. 8. Do not fertilize the tree at the time of planting. You can fertilize it in the spring, but only with an organic fertilizer. If you have compost available, mix some in while planting. Fertilizer can do more harm than it can good. I always recommend organic fertilizers. It's hard to make a mistake with organics. It's always a good idea to stake trees when you plant them. If the wind is constantly rocking them back and forth they will have a difficult time establishing new roots in their new home.

Creative valentine gifts for her 4 ideas that will make her adore you

: As every man who’s ever been in-love knows, women love romance. And they especially love romantic gifts. But a clever and romantic gift will be a grand slam every time. Women love creativity. Anyone can go to the store and just buy a gift. But a creative gift shows your willingness to go the extra mile to make her feel loved. Plus creative Valentine’s Day gifts are usually one of a kind, which makes them more personal and ultimately extra special. Some of these ideas may seem a little bit challenging, but anyone can handle it as long as they’re willing to put in the effort. And just think – after she receives the gift you’ll get to brag to her about all the trouble you went through just to show her how much you love her. And then she’ll get to brag to her friends about all the trouble you went to. Women love to brag about their men when their men make them feel special. Try one of these ideas and she will be absolutely amazed and impressed with your creative abilities. (1) Design a Personalized Valentine’s Day Card Make her a Valentine card using your personal computer and printer. Use elegant fonts to create a romantic appearance. Fonts can be downloaded for free online. You can also find unique little Valentine images in the form of Dingbat fonts, which can also be downloaded for free online. These can be used to dress up the appearance of the card. Use a graphics program to put it all together. If you don’t have a graphics program just download a free trial version such as Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro from Corel. Print the card on an elegant paper such as fine art paper. Special papers can be purchased at most office supply stores. And don’t forget the bouquet of roses. (2) Create a Love Poem on Fine Art Paper Write her a love poem or find a poem you like – be sure to include a personal message for her including her name. If you’re not poetic, just write, “I love you because” and then list all the special things you love about her – and make it a very long list. Women love to feel appreciated. As with the Valentine card suggested above, use elegant fonts and images and print it on fine art paper. As an elegant finishing touch have the poem framed by a professional. (3) Create a Web Page Dedicated to Your Love for Her Register a romantic domain name such as I-Love-Jessica and create a simple web page. The page can include photos of the two of you, a romantic poem or something original such as “The Top Ten Reasons I Love Jessica Smith”. If you don’t know anything about designing web pages don’t worry. Many web-hosting companies provide simple web page editors you can use to design the page. If you want something that looks extra unique do an Internet search for “free romantic website templates”. You can find lots of templates for as little as five dollars that look very nice as well as some that are free. You can also find basic web hosting for very cheap or even free in some cases. (4) Make a Gift Basket with Her Favorite Goodies This is the easiest and least creative idea but can still be very special. Purchase a really pretty basket, some filler for the basket in her favorite color and a beautiful ribbon to wrap the handle and tie a bow. These items can be purchased at a craft store. Fill it with some of her favorite things such as her favorite perfume, bath soaps, scented candles, gourmet cookies, something soft and silky wrapped in beautiful tissue and tied with a ribbon and perhaps a little teddy bear. You could also include a music cd she’s been wanting and perhaps a piece of jewelry also wrapped. By including some of her favorite things, it shows how closely you pay attention to her wants and needs. Make your gift special by showing her you care. Put that clever masculine side to use and be creative and romantic. You can do it and she’ll love you for it. Have a happy Valentine’s Day.