Times to Remember - Thanksgiving

 

 

Our Thanksgiving was spent away from home this year.

We didn't travel to visit family.

Instead, we rented a cottage at a marina, an inlet by the sea.

 

 

We made paper decorations to personalize our space.

The place mats were a gift to our children from a Sunday school teacher.

There was four in the pack, and each child had their own to color.

The paper utensil holders are found here.

I printed them onto card stock,

cut them out, folded them in half

and punched holes on each side.

The children colored their own patterns

and laced the sides with orange ribbon. 

 

 

The Give Thanks banner was found here.

I simply printed it onto white copy paper,

cut the pattern in half, matched up different letters,

and copied it onto colored card stock.

Punching holes in the top of each piece

enabled the brown yarn to weave in and out of the letters.

I added a blank (actually it was a piece of scrapbook paper)

in between the two words.

 

 

We added Giving Thanks for You name cards to the table.

The idea for these can be found here.

I made them from plain fall colored card stock.

Then embellished them with scraps of printed paper

and small cut out leaves.

Napkins, plates and cups were paper products.

To dress up the napkins, I folded them accordion style

and added bits of orange scrap ribbon.

 

 

Most of the food was prepped or made at home before we left.

I spent about two days in our kitchen before our trip,

but it was worth it not to have to cook a lot at the cottage.

The kitchen was tiny, but complete with a two burner stove top,

counter top convection oven, and microwave.

To keep all our food hot, we brought two crock pots

and used this idea to keep some of the side dishes hot

while heating others in the oven.

The oven was small and could only fit two pans.

 

 

While the food was reheating,

we watched the parade, played some games,

and just spent time together.

 

 

After giving thanks and breaking bread,

 we headed outside.

 

 

After all, the beach was close,

and who wants to spend the day inside,

when sights like this await.

 

 

Once we were done playing in the sand and waves,

we gathered around the cottage table,

ate pumpkin cheesecake,

drank hot cocoa, and shared this book.

 

 

It was, and is, a time to remember!

~ Dorie