Thanksgiving Countdown, Day Two: Craftiness

Today my family and I were pretty productive. We not only took down the Halloween decor and put up the Thanksgiving stuff, we also organized all of our yearly decorations (except Christmas) and found a tidier way to store them. It was a big project, and it felt good to get it done.

After that, though, came the fun. Ben, Evie and I worked together and did some crafting.

The Thankful Turkey, post-surgery

A few years ago we created what we call "The Thankful Turkey." You may have noticed a picture of it in yesterday's blog, back when it still looked really good. It was very cute back then. We made the turkey out of a little box, and decorated it with paint, pom-poms, and feathers.

The whole thing is based on a tradition Ben's family has during this time of year. When we think of something we're grateful for, we write it down and put it in the "turkey." Then, on Thanksgiving Day, we open it up and read all the things we're thankful for.

The turkey we made back in the day was fairly sturdy, except for one thing: its floppy, construction paper neck. It just never was all that good at holding the turkey's head up, and over the years, it got worse and worse.

So, today, Ben and Evie undertook a bit of Thankful Turkey plastic surgery. They created a new neck out of styrofoam, and attached it to the body and head. It looks much better, and much sturdier!

It still needs a coat of paint, but we're waiting until the glue is totally dry.

The wreath I made. I'm rather proud of it. :)

While they did that, I sat next to them and created an autumn wreath out of materials I'd gotten at Michael's for 80% off. (Which was crazy, because why put all the fall stuff on mega clearance at the beginning of November? I realize they want to fill the store with Christmas, but seriously. There's another big autumnal holiday before then. But hey, 80% off! What am I complaining for?)

As we did our little projects together, we talked and laughed and watched web cartoons based on World of Warcraft. It was happy and comfortable, spending that time with my family.

So that's what I'm thankful for today. I'm grateful that I had my family's help in getting the decorations set up and organized. And I'm grateful we were able to spend that quality time together, doing our fun little Thanksgiving projects. Quality time with my two sweeties is always a blessing.