Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Thanksgiving and Suffrage: because isn't Thanksgiving the perfect time to talk about history?

A couple years back I posted one of my most favorite suffragette postcards in celebration of Thanksgiving.

It turns out to be actually an anti-suffrage postcard, but still, I dig it.

In case my photograph makes it difficult to read the text is: "This is not a suffragette lecture, but a kind Greeting."

The postcard is a response to a historical event in which "Chicago-area women’s rights advocates {were} pushing back the time they served Thanksgiving dinner in order to go see the British suffragist Emiline* Pankhurst," who was giving a lecture.

So see everyone, arguing over the sanctity of Thanksgiving Day - whether it is to go see a famous suffragette or to shop for cheap electronics - is as American as the Thanksgiving holiday itself.

As someone who every year tries to share with her family a brief but important speech about our unsung pilgrim sisters, I'd like to think I would have my family wait a little on dinner in the name of suffrage - a sentiment I don't share for those in pursuit of cheap electronics.

What do you think about listening to lectures on Thanksgiving Day? And what about shopping?

However you spend it, and whatever time you serve your dinner, Happy Thanksgiving!

PS And I almost forgot, did you know that the author of the famous Thanksgiving poem Through the Wood was also a suffragist? Could Thanksgiving get any more feminist?!

It's Thanksgivukah!

Full cooking preparations are ON at the Random Handprints household as I prepare both Hanukkah dinner for tonight and a Thanksgivukah meal for tomorrow.

Luckily, my littlest decided he didn't feel well enough (read: feel like going) to school this morning, so I have an extra helper at home. Yay!

Even more luckily, my mom is in charge of dessert so that's one thing I can check off the to do list.

 Unluckily, those cookies make me feel a little bit of pressure to have the dinner live up to the dessert.

 

I'm also done with all my Thanksgivukkah and Hanukkah gift wrapping. If you're looking for some inspiration I'm sharing at BaristaKids.com my ideas for 5 Fun Ways to Wrap and Give Hanukkah Gifts.

 

 

 

Now, off to make my brisket stuffed turkey, challah stuffing, cranberry filled doughnuts, and pumpkin and gefilite fish appetizer!*

 

* Note: If you are coming to my house, don't be surprised, I'm not actually making any of that - I just like the idea of making all of that.

Great Giveaway to Neon Fireflies - A Fun New Etsy Shop!

I don't know about you, but you couldn't pay me to go anywhere near the mall this week. I don't do Black Friday sales, but I do happily shop from the comfort of my home computer.

I'm a huge fan of Etsy, and my blogging friend Stephanie from Binkies & Briefcases recently told me about a fabulous new Etsy shop Neon Fireflies, run by her friend Heather.

source

 

We're so excited to share her talent with you today!  Heather is a mom of two little ones. She loves her kiddos and she loves to crochet, so she combined her loves into a new store that sells fabulous, fashion forward crocheted pieces for babies AND their mommas. 

Neon Fireflies sells a bunch of awesome hand made items that Heather crochets herself. I love that they all feel so fresh and trendy, because sometimes crocheted items can feel a little old-fashioned. That is not the case with Neon Fireflies. Let's check out some of the things in the shop!

Scarves and boot cuffs for mommas:  

And kid-sized hats, leg warmers, shoes, and even toys  
I'm teaming up with a few of my favorite fellow bloggers and giving away a mini shopping spree in honor of avoiding the mall on Black Friday!

Enter using the Rafflecopter below and one winner will receive any one item of their choice from Neon Fireflies. This giveaway is for US residents only, ages 18 and up. One winner will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond. In the event that a winner does not respond, another winner will be selected. Neon Fireflies is responsible for prize shipment. And in case you were wondering, this is not a sponsored post.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can't wait to find out if you win? Go shopping now at Neon Fireflies and save $6 on any purchase of $30 or more (excluding shipping) through 11/28/13. Use coupon code THANKS6 at checkout.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Crafts and an itty-bitty plug for a great Suffragist

As regular readers know, the Random Handprints household is full of Thanksgivukkah cheer this holiday season, as shown in many ways including the creation of roughly 2,063 handprint menurkeys.

However, if your household is celebrating "just" Thanksgiving this year, don't worry - I have craft ideas for that, too!

Here are two easy and fun crafts that kids will love!

The Tee Pee Centerpiece:

and the Handprint Turkey Place Card:

Head over to New Jersey Family for the full directions for both at Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts.

And also, if your looking for a great Thanksgiving book to read with the kids, I love this new edition of the classic poem Over the River and Through the Wood: The New England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving Day.

In addition to the poem, which despite being from old-timey times my kids ages 4-9 all loved, there are some historical notes at the end which made me love it all the more once I heard the backstory.

To learn more about the author Lydia Maria Child, click here - and then tell me that's not a person we should be discussing over the Thanksgiving meal!

And for a review of Over the River and Through the Wood as well as two other wonderful books for the holidays, check out 3 Great Holiday Books at New Jersey Family.

Two Easy Ways to Make a Thankgivukkah Menurkey

My kids and I have been amusing ourselves to no end decorating for our Thanksgivukkah celebration next Thursday. Turkeys spinning dreidels, menorahs made out of pilgrim hats, we could go on and on - speaking of which, we have totally got to put a pilgrim hat on a dreidel.

We've also made endless menurkeys - those are turkey menorahs for those of you living under a (Plymouth) rock.

I present:

Menurkey #1: Styled by my 9-year-old. All you need to make this yourself is markers and the ability to trace your own hands.

Menurkey #2: Styled by my 8-year-old. This menurkey is currently on Barista Kids, so head over for the full directions.

If you have a menurkey craft, please leave a link in the comments!

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Instructions for my husband: Thanksgivukkah not only is real, it real-ly is once-in-a-lifetime

I did not make up Thanksgivukkah, which is the holiday that results from Thanksgiving Day and the first day of Hanukkah falling on the exact same day this year. Yes, you heard that right.... THE EXACT SAME DAY.

What are the chances? Well, apparently almost none. That's why it's never really happened before (maybe once, but there's some uncertainty of what day Thanksgiving was back in the Eighteen-hundred-and-something year that the overlap might have occurred in) and is really, never really going to happen again. EVER.

Again, let me repeat, I am not making this up, it is well documented on everything from Thanksgivukkah websites to Thanksgivukkah merchandise.

I also did not make up the fact that this Thanksgivukah is not happening again for 70,000-plus years. A bunch of nice Jewish nerds guys have done the math, and you know it's right because you don't need me to tell you that Jews are good with numbers.

Or do the math calculations yourself, Mr. Regional Math Team Champion 1986 (and '87). You'll see for your doubting self.

It is true that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving will overlap again, when the first night of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving Day in... 2070. And while I'd like to think that we will both be there to share pumpkin flavored latkes and jelly doughnuts shaped like turkeys, I'm just not sure it's a done deal.

So let's treat this Thanksgivukkah as the once-in-a-lifetime event for which it is, for real, really. If the unique chance to have a pairing of latkes and stuffing isn't a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is.

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

PS If there are other doubters, don't believe me just read this. Or this.

This is my thirty-fifth instruction in my ongoing series Instructions for my Husband.

Follow along on Facebook on the Instructions to my Husband page where something stupid funny is always going on there.

The Best Hanukkah Books for Kids

Oh how I wish there some Thanksgivukah books for kids! But alas, there are not. So regular ol Hanukkah books will have to do. Here are four of our favorite kids books for Hanukkah.

Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah (Sammy Spider's First Books)
Written by Sylvia A. Rouss and illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn

My kids love all the Sammy Spider books (because what kids don't love cute, cuddly spiders?), and the Hanukkah story is no exception. The over-sized book is full of fun illustrations and a lovely retelling of the traditional Hanukkah story. Great for most ages, but especially for preschoolers. Paperback; $7.95.





Chanukah Lights
By Robert Sabuda and Michael J. Rosen
My seven-year-old spends hours exploring the amazingly intricate pop-up displays found in this gorgeous book, which retells the story of Chanukah in eight scenes, all which include a festive menorah. Ages five 
and up; $34.99.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
Written by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
My nine-year-old has been captivated by this book since I started reading it to her a few years ago, and now, she can read it herself. This Caldecott Honor winning tale will engage kids as they follow Hershel and his quest to banish the Helmsbergville's goblins, who have prevented the townspeople from celebrating Hanukkah. Possibly scary for younger kids, so best to share with those ages six and over. Paperback $7.95; hardcover $17.95.

The Golden Dreydl
Written by Ellen Kushner and illustrated by Ilene Winn-Lederer
Based (loosely) on the Nutcracker, this mystical story tells what happens when Sara receives a magical dreydl from her Aunt Miriam.This story is seeped in fantasy and has wonderfully whimsical imagery, like when they travel to the world of magic via the family’s broken television. If only. Recommended for ages 8-12 but it could be read aloud to younger children as well. Kindle $5.95, paperback $7.95, and hardcover $15.95.

Next up in our Hanukkah celebrations: setting-up the spinning light-up dreidel.

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgivukah!

Disclosure: I received Hanukkah Lights and The Golden Dreydl to review, the others are from our personal book collection. I also have amazon affiliate codes within the links to purchase the books above, although I'm a big fan of buying from my (or your) local book store.

This post was first published last year, but good Hanukkah children's books are timeless.

It's Thanksgivukah!

Hanukkah is "early" this year, like so early the first day of Hanukkah is November 28, which also happens to be Thanksgiving.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that I'm pretty excited to be celebrating Thanksgivukah, not just because a Hanukkah/Thanksgiving hybrid is fun in-and-of-itself, but also because this holiday convergence doesn't happen again for practically forever.

So in honor of all the awesomeness that is Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and most importantly, Thanksgivukah, I'm going to post daily about this awesome holiday convergence.

And then for the rest of December I will wonder what to do with all my free time when everyone else is talking about Black Friday sales and last minute holiday shopping and where to buy the best ever angel for the Christmas tree.

But until then, long live Thanksgivukah!

Here's Manischewitz's contribution to the holiday with their Thanksgivukah Rap Battle Parody, it's pretty funny. (Unless your my husband, in which case it is "severely stupid and written by a talentless, thoughtless hack.")

 

Happy Thanksgivukah!

It is impossible not to like this - best Depeche Mode cover ever. ever. ever.

I Heart Ephemera

Ephemera by any other name would be... trash.

But not on eBay.

On eBay, you can buy ephemera, and I do. Lots of it.

I buy cast-aways and cast-asides from a generation back, sometimes even two or three.

I like the milk caps and the jelly molds, memories of kitchens and routines that are no more.

I savor postcards written to someone else with mentions of a mundane trip to Florida to visit relatives, or maybe to see an old friend in Nebraska.

I lovingly turn the pages of yellowed scrapbooks with ripped pieces of magazines pasted in alongside greeting cards for birthdays and anniversaries, where I know neither the giver or the recipient.

I buy stacks and stacks of photographs of families that aren't mine.

These things come here to my somewhat crowded home, and I try and find a perfect place for them.

And I think of them as beautiful and meaningful, this ephemera.

But deep down I know: I buy a lot of trash.

Today's homework, tomorrow's ephemera

This post was first published on this date, two years ago.

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