Grateful for Gabi

My youngest of five was born on Thanksgiving Day and has always considered it her special holiday, so when I suggested it as a birthday party theme, she was all in, as long as she was completely included in all party planning, lol! She was very involved, from the menu (the Pumpkin Dip is one of her favorite Thanksgiving treats), to the games (she created the Pin the Feather on the Turkey game), to her costume choice (Pilgrims did not wear just black & white – check out mayflowerhistory.com/clothing). She helped make the turkey swirly lollipops and led the girls in the sticky foam turkey craft. I think she had as much fun planning the party as she did attending it. The bonus for me was that I not only had a very happy little girl, but I was way ahead on everything I needed for the kids’ table for Thanksgiving Day!

• What People Ate

  Harvest Trail Mix (Bugles, pretzels, Reese’s Pieces & Brach’s Autumn mix); Pumpkin Dip (canned pumpkin, whipped topping, vanilla pudding mix & pumpkin pie spice) with Vanilla Wafers; Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheeses cut into shapes (turkey, pumpkin, and maple leaves) with crackers

• What People Drank

  Fall Party Punch (Sprite, Orange Fanta and orange sherbet)

• Desserts

  Cupcakes decorated like turkeys and pumpkin pie flavored ice cream

• Party Favors

  8 oz. bags of candy corn, turkey swirly lollipop, sticky foam turkey craft, pilgrim hat, and Thanksgiving themed MadLib by “The Suburban Mom” found on Pinterest, sent home in craft paper gift bags with turkey name tags

• Activities / Games

  I purchased a Thanksgiving themed activity tablecloth with word searches, tic-tac-toes, pictures to color, dot to dots, mazes, etc. for the girls to do while guests arrived. Also on the table were copies of a really cute Thanksgiving themed MadLib by “The Suburban Mom” found on Pinterest and adorable turkey crayon holders I made. When everyone had arrived, we played: Pin the Feather on the Turkey (Gabi drew on craft paper and we used a bag of feathers we already had.) Thanksgiving Bingo (I found an adorable free printable Thanksgiving Bingo by “Crazy little Projects” on Pinterest. It included 8 different cards and the girls used candy corn as markers!) Traffic Yam (Each girl was given a sweet potato and a plastic spoon. They had to get the yam across the room by pushing it with a spoon in their mouths while on their hands and knees. They were allowed to not just move their own but also push their opponents out of the way. So much fun! Btw, sweet potatoes do NOT roll straight!) Thanksgiving Pictionary (I had written the following words on popsicle sticks for the girls to draw: Bread, Family, Farmer, Feast, Pie, Native American, Turkey, Corn, Leaf, Home, Pumpkin, Cornucopia, Autumn, Scarecrow, Pilgrim & Ship.) Find the Pumpkin-Pie Eating Contest (Each girl was given a tin pie pan and a single candy pumpkin placed in the middle & then filled with whipped topping. First to find the pumpkin won.) Feather Float (They each had to keep a feather floating. Longest to keep feather up won.) Turkey Craft kits (Gabi instructed the girls how to assemble sticky foam turkeys that we purchased in kits.) Movie (To end the party, they watched “Charlie Brown’s The Mayflower Voyagers” as parents picked up.)

• Gabi!

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