Cranberry Jello Salad

Looking for an easy holiday side dish? Check out my Cranberry Jello Salad with just four ingredients! It's simple to make and is full of the traditional flavors you want at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Pumpkin Smores Pie

There is something about Thanksgiving and pie that just go together and after trying a viral cookie that was a fail for me, I decided to modify the recipe and make it into a holiday pie instead! This Pumpkin Smores Pie would be a fun addition to your dessert table this Thanksgiving, and with only four ingredients, this dessert will be easy as pie!

Holiday Check List - Thanksgiving Week

The holiday season is full of fun, laughter, and good times with family and friends.  And if you let it, the holiday season can be full of stress too.  I have always been a planner, and I like to think that my family and friends appreciate that.  For the last couple of years on my blog I've shared my holiday check lists with my readers and plan on doing the same this year too.  And it seems even more important to stay on top of my holiday check lists this year since we're expecting our third child (JP) anytime around the end of December.  So, without further ado, here is my check list for this week, the week of Thanksgiving and four weeks before Christmas:

• Make and Bake Thanksgiving Menu (And don't be afraid of making items ahead of time or prepping the days before, so Thanksgiving morning isn't stressful.  I am planning on making my Overnight Salad, Pecan Pie, Shrimp Dip, Pickle Wrap Dip and Puppy Chow all either tomorrow or the day before Thanksgiving, that I'm bringing to my Mom's house and my Grandparent's house, so I can take it easy and maybe even watch the Thanksgiving Day parade before we need to travel.  Also, for whatever cooking you need to do on Thanksgiving Day - a smart idea is to make a timeline for your oven and kitchen so you can be sure to eat dinner on time!)
• Storage Containers Ready (If you are hosting, make sure to have a variety of storage containers ready for leftovers and ziploc bags too, so you can send home extra food with your loved ones.)
• Finalize Gift Lists  (This includes not only figuring out your own family's wish list, but also deciding what gifts you're giving others for Christmas.  Also, decide your present budget and possible locations to buy all of your gifts.  Check out my Christmas gift picks from last year here.)
• Shop Black Friday (I'm shopping Black Friday for several reasons, but I will admit, the main reason is that it is a fun time with my mom and sisters and that I can actually go shopping without kids!  Be sure to go through all advertisements - many of which you can already see online, and make a route for your shopping trip.)
• Finalize Christmas Travel (This is the perfect time to finalize your Christmas plans when you're already spending time with your family during Thanksgiving.  Make sure to give adequate time for all of your Christmas plans.  We have a rule of no more than one Christmas per day.)
• Clean House (Even if you aren't hosting a Thanksgiving get together, chances are family and friends might be traveling through and wanting to stop by.  This is actually what I worked on throughout today!  If you do have guests staying at your house, be sure to get their room or space ready and lay things out for them.)
• Give Thanks! (Remember to give thanks this Thanksgiving and to simply enjoy the time together with loved ones.)

What is on your holiday check list this week?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Also, check out last week's Holiday Check List for more ideas:

Holiday Check List - 1 Week Before Thanksgiving

The holiday season is full of fun, laughter, and good times with family and friends.  And if you let it, the holiday season can be full of stress too.  I have always been a planner, and I like to think that my family and friends appreciate that.  For the last couple of years on my blog I've shared my holiday check lists with my readers and plan on doing the same this year too.  And it seems even more important to stay on top of my holiday check lists this year since we're expecting our third child (JP) anytime around the end of December.  So, without further ado, here is my check list for this week, the week before Thanksgiving and five weeks before Christmas:

• Finalize Thanksgiving Menu (I am bringing Overnight Salad, Pecan Pie, Shrimp Dip and Pickle Wrap Dip to my Mom's house and my Grandparent's house.  And if I have time I also will make puppy chow...  You've got to have snack foods for Black Friday right!)
• Buy Thanksgiving Groceries  (I like to stay away from the grocery store as much as possible the week of Thanksgiving so I buy all my groceries the week before.  I also start buying my Christmas goodie staples as they go on sale.  And I buy my first carton of egg nog to break open Thanksgiving Day!  Another good thing to do is to clean out your refrigerator so you have room for all your Thanksgiving groceries.)
• Organize Travel During the Holidays  (You should have your Thanksgiving travel plans figured out, but you also should be working on your Christmas travel.  It is a good idea to figure out and finalize your Christmas plans when you're already spending time with your family for Thanksgiving.)
• Gift Lists  (This includes not only figuring out your own family's wish list, but also deciding what gifts you're giving others for Christmas.  Also, decide your present budget and possible locations to buy all of your gifts.  Check out my Christmas gift picks from last year here.)

What is on your holiday check list this week?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Also, don't forget to enter my "My Family's Farm" children's turkey farm book giveaway!  It ends this Thursday!

Thanksgiving Week To Do List

It is the Monday before Thanksgiving and I've held off long enough, it is time to get ready for the holidays.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, but with Harvest ending just a week ago today, I feel like I needed and heck, deserved, a week off  to relax and get back into routine.  So with just 3 days till Thanksgiving, it is time to get busy!  Normally I would have started doing probably 2/3 of these items last week, but I guess this year I'll just have a busy Thanksgiving week.  Here is what is on my to do list this week to get ready for the Holiday Season:

• Finalize Thanksgiving Menu (I am bringing Overnight Salad, Pecan Pie and Shrimp Dip and/or Pickle Wrap Dip to my Grandparent's house and my Mom's house.  And if I have time I also will make puppy chow...)
• Buy Thanksgiving Groceries  (I did that today.  Usually I like to stay away from the grocery store as much as possible the week of Thanksgiving but due to my week of rest I did this earlier today.  I also made sure to buy the start of my Christmas goodie groceries - aka egg nog and peanut butter ball ingredients!)
• Finalize Travel During the Holidays  (This is almost figured out, but by the end of the week I should have this all figured out.)
• Gift Lists  (This includes not only figuring out my family's wish list, but also deciding what gifts I'm giving others for Christmas.  I've got the first half of this pretty well done; I've sent out starter lists to all of our family.  As for the second half, I have asked for wish lists from the rest of our family members that I haven't received a list from yet.)
• Peek at Black Friday Sales  (I'm a Black Friday shopper.  I have gone with my Mom and sisters for the last 10 years.  We have so much fun doing this, plus it helps me get probably 75% of my shopping done without kids!  I still need to peek at the sales ads...)
• Make and Bake Ahead for Thanksgiving Dinner  (This will happen on Wednesday.  I will prep and bake as much as possible that way Thanksgiving morning can be centered on packing the vehicle and watching the parade.)
• Give the House a Good Clean Sweep  (Oh does my house need this!  It is good to do a good clean-up of your house the week of any holiday.  Even if you aren't hosting, there is a good chance that family and friends can and will stop by during their holiday travels.)
• Shop Black Friday  (Can't wait!  We'll make our plan of attack Thanksgiving afternoon.)
• Remember to Give Thanks!  (I try to remember to do this everyday.)

What is on your to-do list this week?