As a high school teacher, I sometimes observe a student whose appearance has changed. It might be that his family could be in need of assistance, whether it be food, housing, or unpaid utility bills. There are signs that we look for, such as the child may be wearing the same clothes almost every day, poor attendance all of a sudden, or may have a change in attention or energy which could be caused by nothing or little to eat at home.

If you suspect this might be the case for …

Looking for easy Thanksgiving recipes that won’t take too much time to prepare but will get you great reviews from your family? Or, have you been asked, at the last minute, to bring a dish to a Thanksgiving dinner? Here are three easy recipes (Sweet Potato Casserole, Cole Slaw, and Pecan Pie) that I made today for Thanksgiving at my son’s tomorrow. In just under an hour, you can have these Thanksgiving recipes ready, too!
Pecan Crunch Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients:

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes***
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk*
1/2 cup melted butter*

Topping:

1/2 …

Simple table decorations can add a special holiday flare to your celebration. The following Thanksgiving holiday table decorations are inexpensive and easy to put together.

Trace Thanksgiving cookie cutters on thick paper and cut out. Punch a hole, add a string to each one then tie around the stem of wine glasses. Leave a pen next to the glasses for each guest to personalize their name tag. With this easy Thanksgiving decoration, they won’t lose their glass!
Flatten butter and cut out with the same cookie cutter or similar Thankstiving cookie cutter …

As the chefs teach you, whether you are attending a culinary class or watching a TV show on FoodNetwork, it’s not only the roasting of the turkey, it’s also about the presentation of your turkey on your Thanksgiving table that will put your guests in awe of your wonderful culinary talents! If you don’t feel confident in your cooking skills, you can certainly fool everyone with your culinary wonders in an eye catching presentation that makes their mouth water by just seeing it on your Thanksgiving table. But, if you follow this How to Roast a …

Do you know how to roast a turkey? Have you begun to defrost your turkey yet? Do you want your Thanksgiving turkey to be perfect? If you take time to plan ahead, your turkey will be perfect…especially planning on enough time for defrosting a frozen turkey so it’s ready on Thanksgiving Day. Once your turkey is defrosted, the rest is easy.

Planning

Allow 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person. That amount will leave enough for leftovers, too. Be sure to allow plenty of time – and space – to thaw …

Do you like to give “themed” gifts? I enjoy shopping for Christmas presents more when there is a “theme.” It gives me more of a challenge to see how clever I can be in grouping Christmas presents together for a theme that the receiver will enjoy.

Matching Christmas Pajamas for the Family

In my previous post I wrote about giving pajamas in a Christmas gift exchange on the night before Christmas. The Christmas pajamas could be humorous, glamorous, or cozy and comfy and must be worn on Christmas morning for the Christmas morning …

When our children were young, we all slept in special Christmas pajamas. Our Christmas morning photos were great not only because we were together and having fun, but because we were all dressed in matching Christmas pajamas. It makes for great Christmas pajama photo keepsakes!
On Christmas Eve, we’ve always given our children, and now our grandchildren too, a present to open. As many parents have found discovered, it helps the children settle down somewhat for bed…so that Santa may begin taking care of his duties.
A new tradition our family started a …