Nobody\u00a0will be\u00a0complaining about sitting at the kid’s table this<\/em> Thanksgiving!\u00a0 As a mother of 4 children I am constantly on the hunt for festive ideas for involving\u00a0my kids\u00a0in the holiday preparations and making accompanying traditions all about them<\/em>.\u00a0 I was thrilled to discover that Anders Ruff’s<\/a>\u00a0Happy Gobble Day Thanksgiving Collection<\/a> was purposely created with kids in mind!<\/p>\n

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My amazingly talented friend, Vivian Kerr and I had so much fun collaborating again on this shoot.\u00a0 We have 7 children between the two of us, so we were anxious to brainstorm kid-friendly ideas that even our own children would enjoy and be excited about!\u00a0 We are extremely grateful to Andrea Pasion Photography for capturing all of the fun!<\/p>\n

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We wanted our styling to result in an interactive experience for our children, both at<\/em> the dinner table and away<\/em> from it.\u00a0 (After all, how long do your<\/em> kids actually stay<\/em> seated at<\/em> the dinner table?)\u00a0 In addition to designing a fun kid-centered tablescape (discussed later in this post), together, we came up with the idea of an\u00a0Indian Trading Post<\/strong>\u00a0(in lieu of the\u00a0traditional dessert table) where pilgrims and indians could trade ‘Gobble Day’ gold for edible after-dinner treasures.<\/p>\n

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Creating the trading post was so much fun!\u00a0 We hung a neutral colored, herringbone fabric to create a backdrop and added different levels of artificial plants and trees to create the illusion of being outdoors.\u00a0 The ‘Happy Gobble Day’ banner from AR’s collection<\/a> was attached to dark brown burlap and fastened between two trees with natural clothes pins and twine.<\/p>\n

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The focal point of our trading post was a life-sized teepee designed, sewed and constructed by Vivian.\u00a0 She spray painted PVC pipe brown to look like wooden sticks.\u00a0 We used the pipe to hoist up the teepee exterior which was made by sewing together canvas paint drop cloths according to a specified pattern.<\/p>\n

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From Anders Ruff’s<\/a> coordinating printable papers, we created a triangle bunting which we hung around the top of the teepee for color and interest.\u00a0 The teepee was\u00a0a popular play place\u00a0and also served as the designated spot for trading.\u00a0 “Gobble Day” gold was created by adhering the colorful Gobble Day Thanksgiving party circles<\/a> to plastic gold coins.\u00a0 Each child was given a few at their place setting and could also earn more by finishing their meal.<\/p>\n

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Our hope was that\u00a0the trading post\u00a0would\u00a0look\u00a0rustic and authentic.\u00a0 We collected old chests, a wooden canoe top, crates, baskets, a fruit-filled cornucopia\u00a0and wooden boxes, over-filling them with pumpkins, gourds and indian corn.\u00a0 A few pieces of modern Thanksgiving decor were added for festiveness.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>We used the varying baskets and crates to serve as our display for our trading post treats.<\/p>\n

Here are some picture highlights of the Trading Post Treats:<\/p>\n

Pumpkin Parfaits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Delicious layers of pumpkin mousse, whipping cream and crushed Gingersnaps filled small canning jars.\u00a0\u00a0Keeping with the rustic look, canning jar lids were tied with raffia and adorned with brown cardstock and scalloped punched Gobble Day<\/a> party circles.\u00a0\u00a0Cr\u00e8me filled Pirouette cookies accessorized with ‘Happy Gobble Day’ <\/a>party flags topped off each pumpkin parfait.<\/p>\n

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Maize Favors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Faux indian corn favors were fashioned from dried corn husks (purchased in the Hispanic food aisle of most grocery stores)\u00a0tied\u00a0around small bags of Reese’s Pieces candy with\u00a0tiny pieces of raffia.\u00a0 Each ear of corn was decorated on the top with a party flag and layered in a harvest basket.<\/p>\n

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Gobble Goodies:<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of Vivian’s family traditions involves making ‘Gobble Goodies’ with her children.\u00a0 Our trading post would not have been complete without a half-dozen of these adorable turkeys displayed on a hand-painted canoe\u00a0top, \u00a0lined with green houndstooth printable paper.\u00a0 They are simple enough, kids can make these with very little assistance.\u00a0 Rice Krispy treats are rolled into small balls and attached to one half of an Oreo for the body, \u00a0using frosting.\u00a0 Candy corn is ‘feathered’ around the base of another Oreo half and attached.\u00a0 Add edible candy eyes and a candy corn beak and voil\u00e0–Gobble Goodies galore!<\/p>\n

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Pumpkin Muffins:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My children are obsessed with pumpkin bread.\u00a0 Instead of making it in loafs, we made it in muffin form and clothed them in colorful striped cupcake liners.\u00a0 How cute are those little turkey toppers\u00a0from the Gobble Day collection?\u00a0We simply cut them out, attached them to toothpicks and made a cute muffin topper out of them.<\/p>\n

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Teepee Cupcakes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We couldn’t resist making these adorable teepee treats.\u00a0 Did you know you can bake a cupcake right inside a sugar cone?\u00a0 Neither did we (until we saw the idea on Pinterest)!\u00a0 After baking, simply cut off a small portion off the top of the sugar cone to allow for inserting 2-3 broken pretzel rods to look like sticks.\u00a0 Adhere them in your teepee with a little dab of chocolate frosting. Dip the bottom of your teepee in chocolate and roll in colorful sprinkles or candies.\u00a0 Insert a little coordinating party flag and you’ve got terribly cute teepee treats!<\/p>\n

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Turkey and Cornucopia Cake Pops:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Johanna Dellino of Pop.O.Licious Cake Pops<\/a> graciously donated her original turkey and cornucopia cake pops for our shoot.\u00a0 Aren’t they so cute?!\u00a0 And trust me when I say, these little bites of goodness were gobbled up…and fast!\u00a0 Notice how perfectly they coordinate with the colors in AR’s printables?\u00a0 She customized them for us!\u00a0 (If you aren’t already a fan on Facebook, go here<\/a> to become one!<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Mini Apple Pies:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Aren’t things in miniature even cuter?\u00a0 I love these delicious (yes<\/em>, I sampled a few of them!) mini apple pies that Vivian made using premade pie dough.\u00a0 She cut rounds out of the dough, placed them in her muffin tins to bake, filled them with apple pie filling and topped them with an adorable little pumpkin shaped top crust and party flag.\u00a0 Coordinating pattern paper was used to make sweet little individual pie boxes with peek-a-boo acetate windows.\u00a0 Each box was dressed up with raffia and a circle tag.<\/p>\n

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Blessing Mix:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is always nice to tie in a little bit of teaching into each holiday.\u00a0 We put together these easy Thanksgiving “Blessing Mix” favor bags to help teach our children about some of the symbolism of the holiday.\u00a0 Cellophane bags were filled with a mix of bugles, peanuts, candy corn, pretzels and candy orange slices.\u00a0 A fold over topper was affixed to the top of each bag and an ingredients list and poem was added to the front.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanksgiving Tablescape:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Our Thanksgiving table was also designed for kid-friendly fun.\u00a0 While\u00a0we are frantically trying to put last minute touches on the meal, \u00a0the last thing we need is a bunch of turkeys running wild.\u00a0 AR created the most adorable\u00a0coloring\/activity placemats and “I am Thankful” cards in their Gobble Day Collection which are perfect\u00a0to use as\u00a0mini activities to keep the kids entertained.\u00a0 With these activities in mind, we created a place setting for each child which\u00a0included a turkey feathered vessel containing a crayon bundle tied with raffia, a few mini chocolate bars decorated with trimmed down party flags (to keep them from\u00a0putting their hands in the food you are preparing), and a couple of\u00a0 pieces of ‘Gobble Gold” for the trading post.\u00a0 Adorable beverage labels dressed up clear glass mugs.\u00a0 We crafted mini Mayflower ships from felt and attached party circles to the sails to tie our Gobble Day theme together.\u00a0 An enlarged Mayflower was also hand sewn and provided a focal point for our table, with pilgrims and indians standing close by.\u00a0 We tied the colors from the\u00a0printable package \u00a0into our table decor with washable hand-sewn napkins, a\u00a0handmade table runner and colorful plates and chargers.<\/p>\n

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Costumes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Children LOVE dressing up {Hello<\/em>…Halloween?} Using Anders Ruff’s printable feather indian headbands and pilgrim hats to jumpstart the costume idea, we added indian costumes we purchased at after-Halloween sales for $2 each, and Vivian used her love of sewing to create peter pan-collared dresses in coordinating\u00a0fabrics and feminine bonnets for the girls.\u00a0 The children had so much fun being in character and playing with rustic fans, flutes and toys.<\/p>\n

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We hope you love these Happy Gobble Day ideas!\u00a0 Our children can hardly wait to celebrate Thanksgiving—kid style!<\/p>\n

Vendor Credit:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Styling, decor & Desserts:\u00a0 Jennifer Carver (Banner Events<\/a>) and Vivian Kerr (Kerr Kreations<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Graphic Designs:\u00a0 Anders Ruff Custom Designs<\/a>\u00a0 (Happy Gobble Day Package available for $12 in their Shop<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Cake Pops:\u00a0 Pop.O.Licious Cake Pops<\/a><\/p>\n

Photography:\u00a0 Andrea Pasion Photography<\/p>\n

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