This is a great craft that is easy enough for 2-3 year olds to do!
Supplies:
Chinet® paper plates - these really do work best
Green paint
construction paper in the following colors
red
yellow
orange
glue
marker or pen
yarn or ribbon

Cut the center out of the paper plates, leaving about 3 inches of the edge. Punch a hole in the top about 1/2 inch from the edge. Paint the bottom of the plate with the green paint and allow it to dry.

Cut some assorted leaf shapes from the construction paper.

Choosing some of the larger leaves, write things you and your kids are thankful for (i.e. mom & dad, brother or sister, sports, music, etc).

When the plate is dry, glue the leaves onto the green side in little clusters, putting the leaves with your thanks on top.

String the ribbon or raffia through the little hole as a bow.

If you want to hang it up with ribbon, punch another hole towards the top.

Ari’s wreath is a couple of years or so old, it started out with LOTS more leaves! This craft is fun because you get to hear things that your kids are thankful for that just might surprise you!

Here is a daily list of October Holidays

Monthly Holidays
Cleiac Sprue Awareness Month
Children’s Magazine Month
Church Safety & Security Month
Diversity Awareness Month
Domestic Violence Month
Eat Better, Eat Together Month
German-American Heritage Month
Health Literacy Month
Lupus Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Click here to fund free mammograms - it’s free!
National Chili Month
National Cookie Month
National Reading Group Month
National Seafood Month
Pastor/Clergy Appreciation Month
Right Brainer’s Rule! Month
Self-Promotion Month
Spinach Lover’s Month
Vegetarian Month
Women’s Small Business Month

wow… October is a popular month!
Here are some daily holidays…

1 - Child Health Day
- World Vegetarian Day
2 - National Custodial Workers Day
3 - Ballons Around The World Day

LAST QUARTER MOON

4 - Natioanl Depression Screening Day
5 - National Storytelling Day
6 - Chowder Day
7 - World Communion Day
8 - COLUMBUS DAY
9 - Leif Erickson Day
10 - Emergency Nurses Day

11 - NEW MOON

12 - World Egg Day
13 - International Skeptics Day - really, it is!
14 - Be Bald & Be Free Day
15 - White Cane Safety Day
16 - National Boss’s Day
- World Food Day
17 - World Menopause Day
18 - Get To Know your Customers Day
- Get Smart About Credit Day
19 - Mommography Day

FIRST QUARTER MOON

20 - Sweetest Day
21 - Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day
22 - National Color Day
23 - National Mole Day
24 - Lung Health Day

26 - FULL MOON

27 - Cranky Co-Workers Day
28 - Mother-In-Law Day
- National Chocolates Day
29 - Internet Day
30 - National Candy Corn Day
31 - National Knock-Knock Jokes Day
- National UNICEF Day
- Books For Treats Day
- Samhain

These and other wacky holidays can be found at Brownielocks

…with That’s a Wrap!

Yes, the Holiday Season is just around the corner - it’s already the end of September! Before you know it October will be over and the rush will have begun. How will you wrap your gifts this year? Do you have traditions for gift wrapping in your family, or is it time to create some?

Here is a little history of gift wrapping and how it has evolved.

Gifts have been wrapped since the invention of paper in 105 A.D. in China. In Asian cultures today, the packaging of a gift is often more impressive than the gift itse;f - the attention to detail is incredible.

This Chinese paper-making process was kept a secret for centuries, but by 800 A.D. the process was known in Egypt. The secret spread to Europe, where the first paper mill was started in 1085.

Wallpaper was one of the first Eorupean forms of gift wrap, however it cracked or tore when folded. By the early 20th century, gifts were wrapped in plain brown paper or tissue. In many parts of Europe this is still the main form of gift wrap in use.

At the end of 2002, industry statistics showed gift bags had become the No. 1 way consumers choose to wrap gifts. It is quick and easy, and it looks great! Gift bags are expecially good for awkward shaped gifts, as you don’t have to either fit them into a box ot get the paper to stay around your gift.

Now that we have seen where gift wrapping originated, it’s time to take a look at your family’s gift wrapping traditions. Many people wrap everything in gift boxes, while others use gift bags exclusively. Most families use a combination of the two, depending on the occasion and the intended recipient.

My mom has a cool trick that I have borrowed - it keeps any chance of peeking far away, as there are no names on the boxes… She chooses one theme or color combination for each person - i.e. one gets gold & cream, another gets burgundy & gold, another green & red, etc. She knows the colors for each person and every present she wraps for them goes in that color theme - be it a bag or wrapping paper.

This is a great trick when you have little ones that try to guess what’s inside. They can shake the gifts all they want, but they don’t know if it’s for them, their brother or sister, for daddy, or someone outside the family. If you choose an overall theme, the packages look beautiful under the tree, and there aren’t any name stickers to contend with. I will often find a pen that blends in with the wrapping paper & jot the first letter of the person’s name somewhere in a corner, just in case I forget!

Now that you have some extra ideas for your own holiday gift wrapping, head over to That’s A Wrap to get your gift wrapping supplies squared away before the big rush gets here. They have a wide variety of styles and patterns for Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays and more. They offer tissue paper, bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes… you get the idea. Don’t leave your gift wrapping for the last minute!

That’s A Wrap - Giving All Of Your Gifts That Extra Touch

Here is a list of some of the holidays coming up in Septeber - some you’ve heard of, others you may not have…

September
- Library Card Sign-Up Month
- National Campus Safety Month
- National 5-A-Day Month
- National Piano Month
- National Preparedness Month
- United Planet Month
- Update Your Resume Month

3 - Labor Day
4 - Newspaper Carrier Day
5 - Be Late For Something Day
- I should tell my mom - this is also my birthday!
7 - Salami Day
8 - International Literacy Day
9 - Grandparent’s Day
10 - Swap Ideas Day
11 - Partiot Day, Rememberance Day

NEW MOON
- partial eclipse visible in S. America & Antartica

12 - Rosh Hashana
13 - Int’l Chocolate Day
15 - America’s Day For Kids
- Wife Appreciation Day
16 - Women’s Friendship Day
17 - Citizenship Day
- Pledge Across America Day
18 - Air Force Birthday
19 - Talke Like A Pirate Day

FIRST QUARTER MOON

21 - Yom Kippur
22 - National White Chocolate Day
- READ In America Day
23 - Autumn Begins
24 - Family Day
25 - World Maritime Day
26 - National Women’s Health & Fitness Day

FULL MOON - HARVEST MOON

27 - Ancestor Appreciation Day
28 - Love Note Day
29 - VFW Day
30 - Gold Star Mother’s Day

These and other wacky holidays can be found at Brownielocks