Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are a few quick Thanksgiving printables to help keep the little ones busy. Have a wonderful day full of my two favorite things, family and food!

Click Here to download the Turkey Cut Out

Click Here to Download this sweet Turkey from Karla Dornacher

Click Here to download this cute Place Mat from Embellish

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes With Streusel Topping

My wonderful friend Madison introduced me to these sweet potatoes when she had us over for dinner one night. I've never been a sweet potato fan and I never would have made them on my own if she hadn't served them to us for dinner. They are super simple to make with the bonus of only using pantry staples; except for the sweet potatoes which are pretty crucial to the finished dish.                                       

The original recipe also includes walnuts in the streusel topping, but I am not a fan of nuts in my food so I leave them out. These are also perfect for Thanksgiving. You can make them ahead of time and then put them in the fridge. When you're ready for them just pop them back in the oven to heat them up again. 

This recipe is really straight forward and to tell you the truth I don't even use the recipe anymore I just throw some sugar and butter in until I think it's enough and every time they turn out delicious.

Recipe slightly adapted from Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

streusel:
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I don't use them)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions:
1. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork or knife and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft. You can also microwave the sweet potatoes on high for 13-15 minutes as well.

2. Once they are soft, slice in half and scoop out the centers into a bowl leaving a 1/4 inch border of sweet potato with the skin. Mix in brown sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon mixture back into shells. 

3. Combine all ingredients for streusel and mix together until it starts to clump. I like to use my fingers for this part, I think it's the easiest way to mix the streusel. Top the filled sweet potatoes with the streusel and bake 20-30 minutes or until warm again.

Favorite Thanksgiving Picture Books

Here we are almost at another holiday. I thought I would make a new list of our favorite Thanksgiving picture books like I did with Halloween. It's a lot harder to find good Thanksgiving books but here are a few books that we enjoy reading.

1. Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' I remember reading this book when I was little and I still love it today. Apparently they decided to reillustrate it using a family of foxes instead of the original people, which is strange. I like the original. But it's still a fun and silly book we all enjoy.

2. Thanksgiving Is Here! This is a sweet short book about Thanksgiving day. The illustrations are my favorite part. Addie loves looking at all the people and figuring out what they're doing.

3. Balloons over Broadway This is the true story of the man who created the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is really well done and an interesting read for even the parents. It's a little too old for Grace at 18 months but Addie enjoys reading it. 

4. 10 Fat Turkeys Addie thinks this book is hilarious. We have a lot of fun reading the little rhyme and looking at all the funny turkeys. Definitely for the younger crowd. 

5. Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl This is also a book from my past. Instead of illustrations the book has pictures of a young girl reenacting a day in Pilgram times. Addie enjoys looking at the pictures and I think it gives her a better idea of what it was like to be a Pilgram. 

 What other Thanksgiving books are we missing?

Update:
Here are some more Thanksgiving books I've found that we like.

The Night Before Thanksgiving

Tommy The Turkey

This is my cute little turkey I made with some of my best gal pals. I named him Tommy because he is so cute. But now that I look at him he may be more of a girl because of the girly colors on his feathers. Oh well.

This was such a fun craft to make. All you need is a little 2 x 4 block, some jumbo craft sticks, 5 gallon paint stick and a few other items most of us have at home.

I put him on my window above my kitchen sink so I can look at him while I do the dishes. His little face makes me smile while I scrub.

Once you have everything together it only took about 30 minutes to get him to look like this.  If you want to make your own Tommy and see the original tutorial with step by step pictures click here.