It’s the Small Things - Thanksgiving 2020

We’re in the home stretch of 2020. While this year has certainly presented its challenges, it has also helped us to adjust our focus. We have gained greater appreciation for the little things that we may have taken for granted before. Time with family and friends is now a more precious commodity. We may not be able to gather in large groups for holiday celebrations, but we can find ways to make the most of small gatherings. Use the good china for “date night” and Sunday family dinner. Dress the table up with candles, flowers, or homemade centerpieces.

Use dinner as an occasion to get members of your household together to interact beyond just eating a meal together. Let one family member plan the evening’s menu and take the lead in cooking (with kids getting help from the adults, of course). The other family members can act as sous chefs, helping with prep or making their assigned dish or course, as the head “chef” for the evening decides. This is a fun way to experiment with new recipes or to pass on family traditions.

When it comes to gatherings that include people from other households, we’re still being cautioned to take extra precautions to keep everyone safe and healthy. It’s recommended that even small gatherings right now take place outdoors. So, this might be the year to deep fry that turkey in the backyard! Other steps to take to minimize risk are to set up separate tables for each family household who will dine together and have plenty of socially distanced seating available.And, as opposed to single household only gatherings, with multi-household guests, you’ll want to use disposable dinnerware, including flatware, paper napkins, and paper towels. Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes readily available. And while it’s the potluck-style dishes that we so enjoy at gatherings of families and friends, it’s recommended that for safety each household brings its own food and drinks, not to be shared. If meat is served straight from the grill or a freshly carved turkey, one person from each household should get the portions to serve at their table. Single serve condiments or pre-measured portions should be used and serving utensils should be wiped down after each use or only handled by one individual.

The following low risk activities are suggested for Thanksgiving: Having a small dinner with only people who live in your household. Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors and delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve physical contact. Having a virtual dinner and sharing recipes with friends and family. Watching sports events, parades, and movies from home instead of attending where there might be crowds.

If you can’t be together for Thanksgiving with other family members or friends, you can certainly still share some face time via video calls. Another way to feel closer is to create a shared sensory experience. Curate a holiday playlist of music and make sure everyone listens to it that day. Have everyone make pumpkin bread from a shared recipe and eat it while you chat. Or, if you’re close, bake and drop off loaves to your loved ones. This recipe is a winner:

Easy Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil

1/3 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°, and spray a 9x5" loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Make a hole in center of mixed ingredients and add all remaining ingredients: pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and vanilla. Stir together well, but don’t over-mix. Scrape batter into pan, and place in oven on center rack. Bake for 60 minutes, then test center of bread for doneness with a long toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, the bread is done. If not, add another 5 minutes of baking time and test again. Make sure bread is fully done before you remove from oven or it will sink as it cools. Cool and enjoy!

You can even ensure that everyone enjoys the same scent at their table by burning matching candles. If you’re feeling crafty and have a bit of time on your hands, instead of sending everyone a select fragrance from a store-bought collection, you can add an extra special touch by making your own candles for everyone. Experiment and create your own family signature scent. Candles make nice Christmas gifts too!

DIY Candles

Materials needed:

About a dozen small glass jars. (5 oz. glass Oui yogurt jars work well)

5 lb. bag of soy wax (yields roughly 20 - 24 candles)

Pre-made wicks (available in most craft stores)

Box of non-toxic crayons to color the wax

Essential oils for scent 

Wooden clothespins to hold wicks while wax sets.

Glass measuring cup with handle (Use only for candle making, due to difficulty in cleaning for other use)

3-quart saucepan (Use only for candle making, due to difficulty in cleaning for other use)

Candy thermometer that goes up to at least 200 degrees.

Directions:

1. Prepare the jars. Center the wicks upright in the center of the jars using clothespins and then set them aside.

2. Pick out the color crayons you want to use (you can mix them) and cut small bits off of them to be used as coloring. A little bit goes a long way. Typically, reds, oranges, and purples require less coloring than blues, greens and yellows.

3. Melt the wax using indirect heat. Improvise a double boiler by filling the saucepan 2/3 fullwith water, then hooking the handle of the measuring cup on the side of the pan. The cup should float, and the water should be about an inch lower than the side of the pan. If at any time it looks like the water is going to boil over the edge of the pan, or get into the cup of of wax, remove some water. Insert thermometer into the empty cup, and when it nears 170°, pour in some wax until the cup is half full. Stir the wax to aid in melting. Continue adding wax little by little until there is about 2 cups of melted wax inside. Let the wax sit until the thermometer reaches 170°.

4. Add color. (This may take some trial & error.) When the wax is at temperature, drop in crayon bits and stir until they are fully melted. The color will change change as it cools. Make the color more vibrant than you think it should be, as it will be less vibrant once settled. Don’t worryif it seems to change color a little. It will sort itself out as the wax cools.

5. Add fragrance. (Another trial & error step.) To make scented candles, add about 10 drops of essential oil to the wax mixture. Oils vary in strength and you may require more or less oil. Err on the side of using less, because if you add too much oil, the wax will not set properly.

6. Pour and wait. Pour the wax into the jars. If the wicks move off-center after you fill the jar, gently reposition them. The wax will take 4 to 6 hours to fully set and harden.

7. Once the wax has hardened, wipe away any wax that got splashed around the outside of the glass jar. Trim the wicks to be about 1/2" long. Now they’re ready to light and enjoy.

As we learned in elementary school, Thanksgiving is simply not complete without handmade headpieces. Make and customize these cute turkeys or other creations and show them off to the rest of the family on Thanksgiving. If the lack of a backyard football game has your competitive drive itching, make it a contest and name winners in categories like most colorful, most unique, etc. Family vote decides.

Thanksgiving Headpieces for the Family Craft 

Materials needed:

Cardstock (various colors)

Googly eyes

Scissors

Twine

Hole punch

Tape

Glue stick

Instructions:

Cut cardstock into feather shapes using scissors. Make as many as you want in whatever colors you want. You could also use real feathers. Cut brown cardstock into a turkey body that looks like a small circle overlapping a larger circle. Glue feathers on the turkey body and attach some googly eyes. Then hand cut legs/feet and a beak from yellow cardstock and attach those to the body. To make it a headband, cut two long strips of brown paper and attach them in the middle of the backside of the turkey. (If your paper is long enough, you may only need one piece.) Center your turkey on the front of the head and bring the head pieces to the back. Cut if too long. Hole punch the two pieces and secure with twine. Now you can tie in a bow in the back to wear as a headpiece. Tie around a jar or vase to use as a table centerpiece.