giving thanks for fun

At 5:15 today I officially will be on Thanksgiving break. I'm planning on grand jete-ing out of modern class this afternoon and praising the education gods for cool beans teacher perks like school breaks. 

This break and I, we've got some really good plans underway. Like mopping the floors, getting a haircut, cleaning the dust off of the baseboards, and ahhhhh, I can picture the sparkling clean apartment with my sparkling new haircut now. And both are shining bright Rihanna style, for sure. 

But the best plan of all? Going home for Thanksgiving. Home! The Nan! The fam! Now along with about 97.65% of the population, I'm much more of a Christmas gal. Thanksgiving has always felt more like an obstacle over which we have to jump on our way to Christmas--an obstacle with not-so-delicious food. So sue me, but it hasn't been until I've gotten older that my tastebuds have become acclimated to turkey and dressing. They will never ever become acclimated to cranberry sauce. Ick. However, in recent years I've found some ways to make Thanksgivings less obstacle-like and more fun time party-like. 

Take notes. You only have 6 more days to survive without letting your Christmas spirit burst from every inch of your body and you're going to need help keeping those Christmas spirits contained. 

one

Dress-up

I don't mean in the look-fancy-kinda-of-way. Even though when you know you be looking gooooood it does make everything more fun. I mean this is the 5-year old costume box dress-up kind of way. Dress the frick up! 

This fun time party trick started 6 years ago when my mom made us wear Pilgrim and Indian hats at the dinner table. I have a friend whose mom makes them wear full-on Pilgrim and Indian costumes at some point during the day. Roll your eyes all you want. Dressing up and pretending to be a child again is fun. Not dressing up and being an adult all the time is not fun. 

two

Get crafty

Everybody is all about crafting for Christmas, but whatever happened to crafting for Thanksgiving? Crafting is something for which I am very grateful so when is a better time to show my gratitude towards it than on the holiday of thankfulness?! Our turkey table will be sporting these crafted placemats. If this doesn't spell out f-u-n then shoot! I don't know what does.

^^sarcasm^^ ^^but it really does sound fun to me...^^

three

Roll with it

Rolls are delicious. I myself eat about 6 rolls during a typical Thanksgiving dinner because I think my body is deformed in the sense that it could run solely off of carbs and be completely fine. Regardless, I love bread of all kinds. And who doesn't love rolls with...a gratitude twist?! Taza posted this recipe for pumpkin-shaped rolls that include little stems of gratitude on top. All you need is some parchment paper, a pen, and some things for which you are grateful. Easy peasy. My mom and I did a variation of these several years ago on Thanksgiving, but these pumpkin-looking rolls are even cuter and more presh and all that. I will be writing I'm grateful for carbs with a cheesy Thanksgiving theme! Now, eat dem carbs. 

via

four
Drink
This fun time party time idea is brought to you by Freddie. I asked for his help brainstorming ways to make Thanksgiving more fun and this is what he said. The man knows how to party, obvs. So let's say drink some wine. Have some cocktails. Drink some sweet tea or water or Coke. When we were younger we thought it was the coolest thing if on Thanksgiving we drank our Coke from my mom's fancy crystal. Lesson #58 on how to be cool. Live and learn, people.

five

Famalama-ding-dong

ie: Spend time with your family

I know I only live one state and 5 hours away from family, but I will forever and always whine about missing them. Because one state away means not the same state which means I can't just drive over to their house and steal clothes from my sister. I mean...hug my sister. Anytime when we can all get together it makes my heart burst out of my chest, much like the Grinch's heart did when he realized he loved Christmas and the Whos were his lil' famalama. Me and the fam, the Grinch and the Who's, life is going to be really fab this week and I. Can't. Wait.

What are your tricks for some Thanksgiving fun?

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Karli.