17 Must Read Thanksgiving Books for the Kids

This post contains affiliate links, but the list was inspired by the reading material I have for my children this month.

Thanksgiving is near and everyone is excited for the time with family, the parades and of course the food! This year, why not build on that excitement while offering your kids a chance to read, learn and be entertained without screentime?

I have compiled a great book list for my kids, Roo and Harp and I think your kids will love these titles too. You can order them via the links below or perhaps look for them at your local library.

Pete the Cat's Thanksgiving

Reading Railroad : Giving Thanks

Little Critter Just a Special Thanksgiving

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Helper

Bright Baby Thanksgiving

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie

Ladybug Gives Thanks

What is Thanksgiving?

The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks

T is for Turkey: A True Thanksgiving Story

Happy Thanksgiving Curious George

Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet 

Arthur's Thanksgiving

 Five Silly Turkeys

Turkey Trouble

10 Fat Turkeys

Have your kids read any of these books? If you have a favorite I would love to hear about it so we can look for it!

Thanksgiving Dinner Sandwich

There is no shame in my game. I get way too excited about Thanksgiving! The actual meal is pretty wonderful, but the days and days of leftovers are what dreams are made of for me!

There are so many ways to serve them, but my favorite is the Thanksgiving Dinner Sandwich!

I like to serve this on croissants. The flakiness adds so much yum to this! 

This sandwich can be made anyway you like it, with whatever leftovers you have on hand.
I like to stick to the basics, but my husband adds the veggies to his!

To make the Thanksgiving Dinner Sandwich, Sara Style:

Cut a Croissant in half.

Add a layer of stuffing,

a drizzle of gravy,

Then top with turkey and another drizzle of gravy.

Pop in the microwave for about a minute and a half, or better yet, warm in a 350 degree oven for about 13-15 minutes.

This is the way to eat your leftovers on a crusty, flaky open face sandwich! You will need a knife and fork for this one!

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

12+ Cranberry Sauce Recipes to Crave

If you want to step up from canned cranberry sauce, you are in the right place! I found 12 of the best cranberry sauce recipes to share with you. 

I have never even tried cranberry sauce before. I am a 40 year old woman.

Growing up, it was not a dish to be found at a single Thanksgiving meal I attended. I can't recall ever seeing my mom ponder a can of cranberry sauce at the store, and certainly she never bought fresh cranberries. I don't even think those could be found in my tiny town growing up.

My mother in law likes it though. Over the years she seems to have figured out that cranberry never occurs to me when I am preparing the meal. She has been bringing a can of cranberry along hopefully for years.

Canned cranberry sauce looks gross though. It reminds me of beets, which I also don't like. HA! I used to pride myself on not being a picky eater, but this post might prove otherwise.

This year I am going to go out of my way and attempt to make a real proper cranberry dish to wow my mother in law this Thanksgiving. I found 12 recipes that look amazing. So much better than a blob of canned cranberry!

Easy Citrus Cranberry Sauce by Spend with Pennies
Best Ever Cranberry Sauce by Mom on Time Out
Homemade Cranberry Sauce by Sugar Spun Run
Ten Minute Cranberry Sauce by Swanky Recipes
Sugar Free Orange Cranberry Sauce by Make Life Lovely
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce by A Mom's Impression
Homemade Cranberry Sauce by All She Cooks
Fresh Berry Cranberry Sauce by My Turn For Us
Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce by Cincy Shopper
Cranberry Chutney by Mom Foodie
Grape Cranberry Sauce by Cindy's Recipes
Gran Mariner Cranberry Sauce by The Kitchen is My Playground

Which of these recipes sound best to you? And please! Someone tell me exactly how you prepare a can of cranberry sauce.

Find all of my Thanksgiving posts here

Easy Cornucopia Treats

Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

 

Thanksgiving is all about the food, and the side dishes are just as important as the main course. From classic dishes like mashed potatoes and green bean casserole to more creative options like roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potato gratin, there's a side dish out there for everyone.

Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potatoes by Maria’s Mixing Bowl

Cracker Barrel Mac N Cheese by The Cagle Diaries

Orange Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole by Crinkled Cookbook

Cranberry Pecan Rice Pilaf from Val’s Kitchen

Pesto Brussel Sprouts by Veggies Save the Day

From Scratch Green Bean Casserole by Served From Scratch

Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole by Two Pink Peonies

Roasted Pumpkin Beetroot Salad by Maple + Mango

Brussel Sprout and Apple Salad by Conflicted Vegan

Sauteed Sweet Potatoes by Two Cloves Kitchen

Harvest Quinoa Salad by Honest and Truly

Browned Butter Sage Mashed Sweet Potatoes by What a Girl Eats

Spiced Rice Stuffed Squash by Little Farro Kitchen

Green Bean Bundles by Bitz n Giggles

Best Cranberry Sauce by Ann’s Entitled Life

Find more favorite recipes here:

Thanksgiving Dinner Sandwich

12 Cranberry Sauce Recipes

7 Ways To Entertain a 3 Year Old

Photo Credit: the photos belong to their respective owners. Visit the links to see the original sources.

It is winter and my 3 year old son has cabin fever already. I have been searching pinterest for activities to keep him happily learning and playing all day long. These are some of the cutest ideas I found.

This pretend plate of food for Thanksgiving activity would be a good way to build my son up to eating Thanksgiving dinner. He is pretty sure he doesn't like anything but chicken and crackers.

My son might be down with this pretend ice cream cone craft. 

Hand print flowers would be fun to make and cute to display.

My son would like this make a lion craft. This is a must try soon idea!

My son loves playing matching games so this Popsicle  game would be a lot of fun for both of us.

My son loves to check out tanks of fish so he would like creating a fish of his own I am sure.

My son really loves the idea of Christmas and he loves cereal. Win, Win.

Unique Nacho Recipes

 Are you looking for some easy meal ideas to get dinner on the table in a flash? Lately I have been LOVING nachos! The whole family will eat them without complaint, and there are so many ways to prepare them. You could serve nachos every week without repeating a recipe if you really wanted to!

I don't know about you, but just thinking about all of the cooking I have ahead of me in the coming weeks is enough to leave me overwhelmed. I like Thanksgiving; who can resist pie and turkey with all of the trimmings? But. Hear me out. I am over cooking these epic feasts already! I never want to eat it after cooking all morning, and the mess is enough to make me want to cancel dinner and stay in bed.

This year, I am going to give myself a BREAK before Thanksgiving and take the easy out for as many meals as possible. My meal plan for the month includes some very basic plans like soup and grilled cheese, crock pot chili, and of course, we are going to have nachos a few times.

I gathered some of the recipes I want to try the most to share with you. These are unique and easy. I am sure your family will love them all. 

Blackened shrimp nachos by Ask Chef Dennis 

I really want to try this recipe because I love shrimp and often keep a bag in the freezer for easy meals. With the price of everything being so high these days, I love that I could make these with what I have on hand, switching out the veggies for what I have in the fridge. 

Waffle Fry Nachos by Dinner at the Zoo

This is a delicious twist on fries and nachos! I have a feeling my kids would love to mix up the toppings to get all of their favorites in there. 

Mexican Street Corn Bacon Nachos by The Forked Spoon

This recipe mixes up so  many good ingredients like corn, tomatoes and avocado to make a really delicious nachos that your family will gobble up!

Green Chile Nachos by Homemade for Elle

These are colorful and just the thing for someone, like me, who LOVES green chile flavor! I would probably add some olives and maybe onions to the mix too!

Loaded Cauliflower Nachos by I Hacked Diabetes

These are perfect for eating a lighter, yet totally satisfying meal. I don't know if my kids will love this recipe, but my waistline will thank me for taking a lighter route at dinner a night or two when I am faced with all of the epic holiday desserts to come my way.

Crispy Loaded Jalapeno Nachos by Crayons and Cravings

If you love jalapenos, then you are going to want to dig into this recipe! Crispy jalapeno nachos look incredibly appealing to me. I LOVE spicy food!

Nachos Deluxe by Ann's Entitled Life

This recipe is loaded with good things! And it looks just messy enough to be fun to eat! I would add some fresh veggies to the top of this plate!

Which of these nachos would you try first?

While you are here you might like to check out 12 Lasagna Recipe You Will Love or My Copycat Cracker Barrel  Chicken and Dumplings recipe.

17 Pies for Thanksgiving

Can there ever be too many pies at Thanksgiving? I think not! This year I am going to prepare several varieties to share with the people I am thankful to have in my life. This list gives me a great starting point in my pie baking. If you are looking for a few great pie recipes, I know you will find a few on this list that you will love!

Pumpkin
Skinny No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
No-Bake Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate
French Silk Pie
Mud Pie 
Chocolate Fudge Pie

Fruity
Peaches & Cream Pie
Cranberry Sauce Pie
4 Ingredient Berry Pie
Blueberry Banana Cream Pie
Easy Cherry Pie
Caramel Apple Pie
Apple Pie

Nutty
Brown Sugar Pecan Pie
Corn Syrup Free Pecan Pie
Vegan Pecan Chocolate Pie

12+ Cheesecake Recipes for the Holiday Season

The holidays are the perfect time to whip up and enjoy a decadent cheesecake! If you have been looking for a unique new recipe to try, this collection is the perfect starting place.

Make sure you pin this collection to your holiday baking board. 

Social shares are so much appreciated. They help my site grow and send traffic to my blogging friends that participated in sharing recipes for this post. So please, hit that share to twitter, facebook, pinterest or etc button!

This collection has something for everyone! From a sweet sopapilla cheesecake to  cranberry cheesecake bar recipe that is perfect for Thanksgiving. 

Sopapilla Cheesecake by Spend with Pennies
Monkey Bread Cheesecake by Sweet Recipeas
Red Velvet Cheesecake by Food, Folks and Fun
Maple Bacon Cheesecake by Ashlee Marie
Funfetti Cheesecake  by The Suburban Soap Box
Fireball Brown Sugar Cheesecake  by Sweet Recipeas

Related: Apple Pie Cheesecake Parfaits

Gingersnap Cheesecake by Julie Measures
Birthday Cake Cheesecake by Centsable Mom
Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars by Centsless Meals
Christmas Tree Cheesecakes by Mom Foodie
Peppermint Cheesecake Trifle by Tastes of Lizzy T
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars by Domestic Superhero

If you are craving more holiday goodness check out my Thanksgiving collection.
There is so much fun to be found in my Christmas section, you won't want to miss a moment!

Gifts for Men

Guys need great gifts, but finding a gift he will love and not toss in a closet and forget about is a challenge. Lucky for you, I did the shopping to simplify the holiday season for you. Check out some of my favorite gift ideas for the men in your life. Be sure to check back over the next few weeks as I will update this list daily with new finds.

Samples were provided for photography. Affiliate links may be used.

If you need the ultimate gift for an angler on your shopping list, Get him the Go Fish cam. This is awesome because it gives him a glimpse of what is below the surface without interfering with his casting off. He can also live stream his fishing trips for new found stardom in the fishing world. Get it online for  $240.

Coffee is life, but it is not always convenient to brew a pot. Give him the gift of a great cup of coffee, anytime with Waka Decaf Instant Coffee. This is a really good cup of instant coffee. Get it online for about $12 for 8 cups.

Save a special guys back this winter from all of the shoveling he is bound to do this winter with the Back EZ tool. This takes the strain off of the back during shoveling and can be added to most shovels, rakes and more. Get it online for about $10.

If your special guy has a fondness for luxury watchers, he needs a really great watch winder. Check out this single winder from Barrington. The motor is super quiet and this is a great gift for the guy who has everything. Get it online for about $180.

Give a guy that you wouldn't mind gazing upon poolside some awesome swimwear that leaves little too the imagination with Hunk2 underwear and swimwear. They have some great styles available starting at about $60. Order online.

Give the gift of confidence and odor free feet with deodorizer spray from Solemates. I love that you can also use this in gym bags.  For $20, you can keep his shoes funk free with ease. Order online.

We expect so much from the guys in our lives. Why not give them a chance to show their extra side with Extra Extra Socks. These are sized for bigger feet and bring a lot of personality to any outfit. Grab a few pairs to keep his feet cozy this holiday season. Find them online.

The Exact Golf Tool is the gotta get gift for any golfer in your life. It functions as a ball marker, divot repairer, cigar holder, groove cleaner and club grip holder. This little package packs quite a punch and is a must have for his golf bag. By it online for a golfer on your shopping list.

Give the gift of more storage with the Seagate One Touch SSD. This portable storage option fits in his wallet or backpack to allow him access to his photos, media and more with one touch. I like the fabric feel of this external storage option making transfers less mundane. Find it online at retailers like Amazon for about $85.

If you are shopping for a youtuber, the Nextbase Dash Cam is a must get gift for the holidays. The 522GW is an impressive dash cam option. It has Alexa built in, can easily sync videos and even has cool safety features. If someone bumps your car, it will be activated and will also alert emergency personnel if there is an accident. Retailing at under $260, this is the perfect gift for a techie or a youtuber. Buy online at the NextBase site. 

Axe is always a safe bet for the holiday season. Guys from 12 to 102 can appreciate the range of manly fragrances Axe brings to personal care. Grab a gift set this year, or just head to the drug store and buy a range of Axe body wash, hair products and antiperspirant/ deodorants and make a gift basket of your own for a really great smelling guy this Christmas.

Add the ultimate pint glass to his home bar with these really stunning muffin top pint glasses from Brewing America. These are visually appealing ways to serve a cold brew while the design insures a proper head in every glass. Order these online at Brewing America. Add a farewell message to boss and make it even more special for him.

Guys like to snack, so adding beef jerky to his gift is brilliant. But, any old jerky will not do. Get the Old Trapper Brand. There are several delectable flavors available and this stuff is so tender it is unreal. Big bags are about $14, but you can save on recurring subscriptions. Order online from Old Trapper.

If you are married to a really active guy, you can give him a safe ring that he never needs to take off. Groove rings are made of silicone and are perfect for the guy who likes action. These rings are comfortable, fit well, and look great. Order online from Groove Life. Rings start around $30 and can be customized with your own message.

Winter days were made for binge watching favorite shows. If you gift a guy on your shopping list the complete series of Gotham on BluRay, he will have weeks worth of entertainment at his fingertips. This the perfect time to grab this series and celebrate 80 years of Batman.  Find this set at Walmart, Best Buy or from Amazon for under $80.

Shaving is a regular part of life for guys, but that doesn't mean it has to be a boring part of life. Super fans are going to love bringing their favorite team into the mix with some awesome shaving power. Gilette is making these funtastic NFL handles just in time for Christmas. For $25 you can get his favorite team on a razor and  4 5-bladed ProShield cartridge refills. Gilette is also offering the same deal with Nascar if racing is more his thing. Order from Gilette.com.

If you need a useful gift for a frequent traveler, the Airhook is the ultimate. This gadget holds your drink and your device over the head rest for easy entertainment and increased comfort on a plane ride. I love that it gives users a hands free experience for under $30. Order online from the Airhook website or Amazon.

Shopping for the guy who has everything? A space pen makes for a gift that is useful and timeless. These pens can write in any circumstances. Greasy receipt from a burger bag all you have handy? No sweat, you can take the note and keep the pen. These pens write at any angle, under water and even in zero gravity. Buy one online for about $30 from the Fischer Space Pen company.

Add a handsome waiters corkscrew to his home bar. The next time he is ready to open a bottle of wine, he can rely on this premium waiters corkscrew to get the cork out with ease. This is an affordable gift option for a sophisticated man. Get it from Hicoup on Amazon for about $10.

When the weekend rolls around your favorite guy wants to ditch the work wear and chill. This Brooklyn street sign shirt will help him do just that. Check out the selection of thought provoking tees that are perfect for weekend wear for your favorite guy from the Sticks and Stones website. Prices start around $25 for shirts.

Got a guy with a great beard on your to buy for list? Then you need to get him some goodies for his gorgeous beard. My husband loves the Mountaineer Brand of beard care products. They have some really great kits available for under $50 that have everything a guy needs for a well groomed beard. Mountaineer products are all natural and smell really nice. Buy online and get free shipping on orders over $35.

Why not give a gift that is practical and is super kind to the earth? Epic Water has bottles and pitchers that are perfect for gifting. A pitcher will filter the equivalent of 1000 plastic bottles worth of water on one nano filter. Get one for about $55, or get a bottle which can handle about 4 months of filtering for $35. Stop back after Thanksgiving for your chance to win a prize pack of Epic Water Filter products.
Order these earth friendly epic filters online.

Gifting a guy who loves to grill? This BBQ apron puts the recipes and a lot of info on an apron to keep dirty hands off of cook books. Get the full length version for $25, or a half waist apron from Suck Uk.

If you want a gift that will be useful but is budget friendly, the G Clamp Bottle Opener adds a cool feature to his work bench; a place to pop off a top when he is ready to unwind a little. Get this online from Suck UK for $12.

Headphones make a great gift for anyone, of any age or gender. But, this pair is perfect for men because it is durable and can handle their workouts, adventures and down time too. This neckband wireless headset by iJazz is available on amazon for about $35. It is bluetooth compatible and produces a good quality of sound for an affordable price.

Make a Big Bang this holiday season with the complete season of The Big Bang Theory on Bluray. This special limited edition set has 279 episodes with so much binus content that fans might be binging for weeks to see all these discs have to offer. Find it at Walmart, Best Buy or on Amazon for about $180.


You can find all of my gift guides here.