Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos: family fun

Family Friendly Games for Thanksgiving

You've heard of Reindeer Games, so why not, Turkey games? This is an easy, fun activity for Thanksgiving get togethers.

Family friendly crafts and games for Thanksgiving day party feasts.

Mayhem loved playing this turkey game.

Here are a few ideas to brighten up your Thanksgiving Family Feast:

While you're preparing Thanksgiving Dinner, have your kids make turkeys out of paper plates and construction paper.

They can create it anyway they choose or follow these instructions:

Cut two - 3" slits 2" apart in the bottom of the plate.

Lift and fold this flap out and fold it into a triangle or tent shape.

This is the turkey's head.

Turkey tutorial.

Add googly eyes or draw your own.

Don't forget to draw his gobbler :-)

Cut feathers from colored construction paper. Using a glue stick connect them to the top of your plate, or draw them directly onto the plate with brightly colored markers. You can go all out and use real feathers from a craft store too, it's all good. Or trace your foot onto paper for extra fun and a SENSORY ELEMENT. Now poke a 1/4'" hole in the center of your turkey (the plate). Get yarn, kite string, Christmas ribbon, etc... remember, it's all good.

My kids tried it with a shoe string. Cut the string about 6' in length. (Shorter or Longer depending on your spatial restrictions.) Thread the string thru the hole and knot it in the back of the plate.

Do this twice - that's two turkeys...

Set up two chairs and tie one turkey to each chair. Stretch the string taut and lie it flat on the ground with the turkey opposite the chair. This is the starting line, divide into two teams and start the turkey races with kids standing at the opposite end of the chairs.

"Ready, Set, Fly!"

On the signal kids begin gobbling and lifting the string in the air trying to get the turkeys to fly to the chairs. (You are essentially shaking the plate down the string.) If your turkeys refuse to "fly" have the kids race by pulling their turkeys down the line as fast as they can while someone else holds the opposite end taut.

Last kid to reach the chair is a Turkey!

The latter methods works best with smaller children.

HAVE FUN and remember, it is what it is, so make it fun and don't fret.

Post variations and; pictures of your turkeys in action.

We got this idea from an old 1970's party book that used bats. You can change anything to fit the theme.

Recommended Reading:

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks (Reading Railroad)

Fun Thanksgiving Activities for Kids! 25 Fun & Educational Thanksgiving Activities for the Whole Family (Activity Books for Kids)

Holiday Games for Parties

Fun Fall things to do in October for Halloween in Central Indiana

At last... In the Fall of 2009, my kids suffered with the launch of my "Fun Kids" business. For them it was more like torture. This year, we were determined to find and do all of the fun things in October for the Halloween season.

Fun Fall things to do for Halloween in Indiana: hayride at Beasley's Orchard.

Mayhem on a preschool hayride at Beasley's Orchard.

We only visited "Waterman's Farm Market" in Greenwood, Indiana to watch the pumpkin eating dinosaur, race big trikes around a track, pet a few goats, get swallowed up inside a stack-of-hay maze, and follow the trail in a field of corn on a very cold day during Fall-Break. Oh what fun! Waterman's is great, don't get me wrong; the kids love it.

This year, determined to make it up to them, I scheduled fall-fun into every spare minute.It started with a trip to "Trader's Point Creamery" during Oktoberfest; although the event seemed well received by others my kids gave it six thumbs down. It was crowded, hot, and we walked a lot.

However, it is a lovely fund-raising event for adults. Vendors sell their wares in a cozy farmer's market. The farmer's offer crafts, fruits, jellies, jams, and warm, seasonal specialties. If you come hungry eat here first. The restaurant is closed while they serve gourmet burgers and organic items in the barn. While these items were healthy and delicious my hungry kiddos didn't find anything appetizing (hot dogs ran out early) and my significant other spent around $40 on himself alone walking away in need of "real food". Luckily, the dairy had cheeses and organic milk.

The kids did not enjoy the hayride thru the farm's hilly landscape to see the non-existent cows. The cows had come home for milking. Nor did they dance a jig to the happy, live Polka Band.

Calves cried at the door to see their Mamas who were standing on the other side in line for the milking machines. The real pitchfork my son used to grab the hay was a big hit as was the tour of Milking time.

Not a big hit $13-40 pumpkins that were grown elsewhere. These were our first pumpkins of the season so the kids were overjoyed at the sight, but I bribed them with mega pumpkins two for $6 at Meijer. While they were kicking and screaming on the way out, I did notice a farm vendor selling little pumpkins for $1 each. C'est la vie.

Awesome, educational corn maze at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

Needless to say, I had some fall-fun making up to do! On the next outing, I took them to a tiny apple orchard in my hometown, New Castle, Indiana. Previously known as Anderson's, the new owners renamed it "Jacob's Orchard" which made for a nice photo op for my son (and the 90 million others) named Jacob.

Unfortunately, Jacob had no desire to attend the event. He complained profusely until he spotted the inflatable tunnel. Success! Goat's, fortune-telling corn-maze, cider doughnuts made while-you-wait, apple slushies in apple-shaped bottles, and if you feel like it, You-Pick apples, sealed the deal. The price is right too.

Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana: Cider Doughnuts!

He got hurt the first time but went back for more.

The angry faces say, "Let me go play".

Hay tower at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

On a "No Pre-school Friday", Mayhem and I visited "The Old Farm Market" in Avon to purchase old-fashioned pumpkins and giant gourds. Bummer, the have gone out of business!

Mayhem with Fall Pumpkins and Gourds for Halloween.

Mayhem with a Pirate, Arrgh!

Fall Break called for a trip to our local Zoo Boo and the world famous "Indianapolis Children's Museum" for trick-or-treating, pumpkin bowling, and a scare-free haunted house entitled, "Skeletown". My little one tired out after the first treat-post preferring to be carried and then tip-toed timidly thru the haunted house expecting a fright at every corner. It hadn't occurred to me that, at four, this was the first haunted house she would remember.

Vampires, Indians, Scouts, and Racecar Drivers oh my!

Class field trips took us to "Country Pumpkins" in Zionsville and "Beasley's Orchard" in Danville for hayrides to pumpkin patches topped off with a free mini-pumpkin. You might want to start logging a pumpkin tally about now.

Preschoolers and pumpkins.

Finally, Halloween weekend arrived. The kids enjoyed our trip to "Westside Retirement Village" for a safe treating experience. The residents were sitting in the lobbies handing out candy and we were pleasantly surprised by a haunted garden on the way to more candy-giving seniors, six thumbs up here.

My teenager appreciated the duality of the elderly enjoying the children. Such a cute idea transforming a pathway into a spider garden- a giant spider waved happily at the end of the trail to lull visitors into a sense of well-being just before a friendly, smiling ghost popped out to say, "boo". Unfortunately, the happy boo had my littlest jumping out of her skin.

Now, we aren't known to be a greedy family but while we were waiting for Daddy to complete his projects at work we needed to pass the time, so, we stopped off at "Church of the Master American Baptist" for trunk-or-treat before meeting up for "Ghoulish Garfield" . Forget about icing, Indy Park's Garfield Park, put the cherry on top of the cupcake. Picture perfect.

The haunted conservatory is scary. My teenager let go of her six-year-old brother's hand to grab her Daddy's! Daddy carried the shaking little one with one arm and held Sam with the other arm while I led the way with Jake. Seconds after telling a witch he wasn't scared at all some 'air' caused Jake to stick to the floor. The same 'air' that had Sam unglued (go figure, it was literally just air from a blower of some sort). Kudos to the spookmaster.

The exit led directly to the hayride. "I'm never coming to this park again," exclaimed Jake! "I know, I got worried when it said, 'not suitable for small children'," winced Sam. No one wanted to take a hayride but the clown taking our tickets (literally) assured us it was only a means of transport so off we went. Unfortunately, we were short on time. The ride leads to the Arts Center to decorate pumpkins and then to the Burello Family Center for refreshments and such. Time was running out so we opted to stay on the wagon. Neither of us felt the need to walk back to our car toting frightened children through a dark park. An amazing ride thru the park with the full-moon and stars above made for the perfect ending to a fall-fun evening.

I question my sanity, as I remember my first haunted house at the age of six. My uncle was playing Frankenstein. It must have been a scare-free time for everything was well-lit. The coffin and vampire are burned into my psyche forever. Dracula chased us into the next room as my aunt shooed him away with her purse. I recognized my uncle right away - he's well over six feet tall - still I worried about Dracula.

Could Frankenstein stop him from sucking our blood? Could he pry the casket open if the venomous vampire tossed me inside? I have no idea what treasures the other rooms held. While the smell of alcohol wreaked from the vampire's fangs the smell of fear drenched my aunt's persona. I could not be consoled by their trifling claims otherwise. Isn't it odd that Halloween is my favorite holiday?

Thanks to that fateful day, I've never met a Creep I've liked since. To be sure, we're going to have three kids who have an irrational fear of air.

Trick or Treating in Avon's Washington Township Park.

Trick or Treat.

Then, I took the kids to "Washington Park" in Avon for the non-scary, trick-or-treat trail. It's a nice hike thru the woods. Candy stations are sprinkled along the trails, cute, carnival-style games abound, and the kids enjoy a costume contest and $1 pumpkins all before dark. This one is perfect for even the littlest tykes unless they discover an urgent need to potty. (Don't worry Jessica, we made it back to the public restroom, but I overheard one little boy who had to go behind a tree.)

Super easy Halloween Costumes: The kids were done with puppies, ladybugs, clones, hulks and pumpkins. So we went with comfortable costumes; that's a ghost puppy and a skeleton kid.

Halloween Party Activities: Bobbing for Rubber Duckies!

Tomorrow I present, "The Princess and Wanda Witch" at Garfield Park Arts Center, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Wanda Witch, lead actress in our skit.

Join us but don't dawdle; I have to hurry home to take my kids trick-or-treating, hand out candy, and visit the festivities at "Spirit of Life Church" in Clermont.

It's hard work making up for lost time. Mayhem has had several different costumes to celebrate the season.