With the stress of Thanksgiving occurring this week, let me take the worry away from cooking a dessert that everyone on your guest list will love.  In just a few minutes, you can present a fun and easy dessert that explodes in autumn cheer.  Still keeping the tradition of fall flavors, this no-bake pumpkin cheesecake dessert will capture the seasonal mood in a non-traditional presentation.

This year, we are skipping the pie and making individual dessert treats. I’m serving my favorite childhood cookies (and my son’s favorites too!), galletas Maria with a pumpkin mixture of cream cheese, topped creamy whipped topping, dulce de leche and pepitas. Don’t be surprised when your Thanksgiving guests of all ages, devour this special treat and beg to be served seconds… and thirds!

Pumpkin Cheesecakes in a Cup with Dulce de Leche Drizzle

Makes  4 -6

Ingredients:

• 20 Maria cookies, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons dulce de leche plus more for topping
• 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• whipped topping
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• pepita seeds

Instructions
In a food processor, combine cookies and butter.  Pulse until cookies are crushed and moistened and butter is evenly distributed.  Divide mixture among 4 cups.

In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, mix heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  In a separate mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, dulce de leche, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon until mixture is smooth.  Fold in pumpkin puree and heavy cream.

Place pumpkin mixture on cookie crumb layer, distributing evenly.  Top with whipped topping, dulce de leche and a sprinkle of pepita seeds.

Thanksgiving is almost here and before we have a house full of food, family and friends I wanted to take time with my kids to make cards to thank those that are in our lives.

My kids love quick crafts and I love easy clean up!  These DIY washi tape turkey Thanksgiving gratitude cards are definitely fast and so easy, not to mention the little turkey is adorable! My son is now learning to write sentences so this will be a great way to document his milestone this holiday.

To make these Easy DIY Thanksgiving Cards you will need:

• cardstock- brown and white
• glue spots — 3d or popup work best
• washi tape in festive colors
• scissors
• marker
• optional- circle punches in 2″ and 2.5″

Let’s get started!

If you have punches go ahead a punch out one of each, if not feel free to freehand your circles on the brown cardstock. You will need one for the body of your turkey and one for the head.

Using the body circle (the larger on) adhere the washi tape to the back. We used about 2 inches long and folded over 3/4 of the way leaving a sticky edge for adhering to the back of our turkey body.

Yours should look like the picture above. Add as many washi-tape feathers as you’d like!

At this time prepare your card. Take the white card stock, fold the long way, cut and fold again. This makes 2 cards. The crease of the card will be at the top.

Have the kids adhere the washi tape. Washi tape is forgivable and can be repositioned. No mistakes no hassles!

Once all your feathers are on, using a glue spot, adhere the head of your turkey.

Flip your turkey over and add some wash tape legs. We cut a stip in half and added them on just like the feathers.

Add three glue spots to the body part and adhere to your card towards the top. Set aside.

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Add a beak and some gobble! Cut a triangle out of washi tape turn it upside down. Crinkle some red washi tape for the gobble, adhere to the back of the upside down triangle and stick to the head circle.

Add a sentiment — follow this easy tutorial.  Decorate with some washi tape,  add to card with some glue spots and done!

Make a few more and don’t forget to have the kids write inside! Ready to be given to those you are most thankful for!

Here’s a great idea: Neighborly Thank You Gifts with Free Printables to kick off your Thanksgiving week! The lovely thing about this activity is that it’s super kid friendly and you can share it with your vecinos or la policia, the local fire fighters, el cartero, or your family members when they come over for Thanksgiving dinner.

If your children are little then all they have to do is hand out the notes as is, but I bet they still would like to scribble their name.  If they are older then you can encourage them to write a message, if they’d like.  To download your Gracias Labels just click here: Neighborly Thank You Labels

What our familia did is we bought a box of chocolates and stuffed each bag with chocolates and these cute notes.  Our kids helped us get them together and then placed them all in a basket. As we walk out the door or someone comes to our home we will fill their day with a joyful treat in hopes to remind them that they are appreciated.

At dinner time we discussed all the people they had an opportunity to share their Thank You gift with and my son’s eyes lit up and said, “It made me so happy.”  ¡Que lindo!  My older boy shared what each person’s facial expressions were like when they received the gift and he said, “It made them smile.”  Enjoy brightening up your neighbor or community helper with these treats.

Semillitas Channel on YouTube has a short and fun animated video in Spanish to teach kids a bit about the history of Thanksgiving.

¡Que lo disfruten!

For more videos in Spanish about Thanksgiving, check out our Thanksgiving para Niños playlist on YouTube.

My kids enjoyed doing these gratitude cards so much, that I figured they would love working on another craft for Thanksgiving that would be all about being thankful.

This time around, I asked them to help me put together a gratitude alphabet in Spanish. There are different ways to do something like this, but we went the sketchbook route where each letter gets its own page with a corresponding image on the opposite one.

I particularly wanted to do this activity with my 4-year-old son who is learning all his letters in English at school because I want him to learn them in Spanish as well.

The idea for this project is to ask your kids to come up with things they’re grateful for that start with each letter of the alphabet. Some of them can be easier than others, but with a little help, we were able to get through the entire ABC’s in Spanish.

The best part of this activity is its simplicity and the fact that you’ll need few materials to make it a reality — but a lot of creativity on the part of your kids.

Although we did some drawings, we also got a bunch of stickers in the scrapbooking section of my local Walmart and we cut some images out of magazines as well to make the whole project a bit more diverse. As you can see in the pictures, I also used brown paper to wrap both covers of the sketchbook so that we could decorate them and include the title: ABC de Gratitud (or gratitude alphabet).

My son liked the finished product so much — especially the page with the letter B which stands for Bomberos because he’s obsessed with firefighters — that now he likes to carry it around everywhere he goes! A great and fun way to teach kids gratitude and their ABC’s in Spanish, don’t you think?

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanksgiving, or Día de Acción de Gracias, marks another beautiful holiday during which we get to spend time with our family and share traditions. To celebrate, Monarca Language put together a fun Thanksgiving-themed bingo game in Spanish that’s perfect for family game night during the holidays!

The best part is that once you print out the pages for this game, you can also use it to play a game of memory or memoria! Two games in one!

 Click here for the full printable version of this game.

For more Spanish educational materials for niños visit Monarca Language and like them on Facebook.

Today we’ll all be making history together as we join a new movement called #GivingTuesday. We’re all way too familiar and entrenched with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but what about a day honoring the tradition of being grateful that we can even enjoy those “celebrations” and give back to others as much as we were able to get deals for us?

That’s exactly the idea behind #GivingTuesday, a concept I learned about back in September when I was invited to attend the United Nations Foundation’s 2nd annual Social Good Summit as one of their Social Good Fellows. I sat in a room with other fellows and we applauded in agreement at this fantastic idea put together by the 92Y and the UN Foundation to basically “create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It [#GivingTuesday] celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.”

How could we not stand behind that?

We are so excited to announce we’re joining the first ever #GivingTuesday movement and we’d love to make you a part of it. You can celebrate this day of giving back in so many ways in your own community. The point is to reflect on the idea of giving back and get our children involved. We’d love to hear your ideas and how you’ll make this happen.

Since we really want to get you motivated and involved, we’ve come up with our own special way to collectively give back to our favorite cause of raising bilingual kids and bilingual education. It’s very easy and won’t take you long at all, but you’ll be making a great impact on a bilingual child’s education. Please read on.

We all know that dual immersion programs are proven to be an academic, social and cultural success. However, that doesn’t mean the schools that need it the most are getting the proper funding. We’ve chosen to focus this #GivingTuesday on four dual immersion classrooms in areas with a high level of poverty — and thus extremely low funding — requesting funding for books and materials in Spanish through DonorsChoose.org

Here’s how YOU CAN HELP. We’ll donate $1 USD (up to a maximum of $500) to DonorsChoose.org for every comment we receive on this post all day today, Tuesday November 27th, 2012, until midnight PST. Just check out the four classrooms we’ve chosen to support below and tell us in a comment which one you want your donation to go to. We’ll then donate to that classroom the total amount of dollars generated per comment. Our maximum in donations will be of $500 total divided between the comments for all 4 classrooms.

Only one comment per email.

Help us reach our goal of 500 comments by sharing on Facebook, G+, email, Twitter, etc. Sample tweet below (you can click and tweet it too!)

Celebrate #GivingTuesday by commenting on this @SpanglishBaby post today to donate $1 to bilingual education http://bit.ly/UXS1xn

1. Listen to Learn!

Technology project at Glendale Elementary School in Madison, WI

2. We Want to Read Now!

Books project at San Juan Elementary in San Juan Capo, CA

3. Engaging Dual Language Learners

Technology project at Wharton Elementary School in Houston, TX

4. Help Us Read!

Books project at Lincoln Elementary School in Salinas, CA

Thanks for giving of your time to us, to #GivingTuesday and to bilingual education! You can follow and share how you are giving using the hashtag #GivingTuesday on Twitter and on Facebook.com/GivingTuesday

The very first Thanksgiving my husband and I spent together, was only three months after we had met and started dating.What a valiant boyfriend, to accept an invitation home to meet my family on one of my family’s favorite holidays! This intimidating family feast included 60 of my aunts, uncles and cousins in an animated sit-down dinner. As Toño followed the boisterous conversations, he may not have captured all of the English — but the warm hugs and laughter gave him insight into my family’s dynamics and values.

Not only did he meet my many relatives for the first time, this was also his introduction to the typical cuisine of Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. Toño and I fondly remember our first Thanksgiving, and marvel at how the holiday has evolved to be a bicultural family celebration that meshes our two cultures as we integrate Mexican flavors into traditional fare, and give thanks for everything that is important to us.

To begin our family holiday, the kids and I search for fallen tree branches to make our centerpiece: the “Árbol de la Gratitud.” I cut out leaves from colorful construction paper, punch holes, and carefully loop string through each one. Everyone is invited to write what they are thankful for — en español of course — and then hang their hoja on the tree. We love to read what each child appreciates and is thankful for, whether it is our family and friends, our pets, our house or favorite toys. “Gracias por mi escuela y maestra” was one of my favorite leaves, written in wobbly letters that seemed intent on conveying their important message.

We also incorporate some Latino flavors into the Thanksgiving dinner, by taking the conventional dishes and tweaking the seasonings. For example, we might begin with a brown sugar, chipotle and cumin rub on the turkey, which adds just a bit of smoky heat. Our cranberry sauce has a tropical flair with added tamarindo paste, and for a salad we love to make “Ensalada de Nochebuena.” Normally eaten on Christmas Eve (with turkey!), this colorful, cold salad includes beets, jicama, apples and peanuts in a cinnamon-infused orange juice dressing. The pastel de elote (a sweet corn bread) and dulce de camote (sweet potato candy) are served beside pumpkin and pecan pies for dessert.

I have been told that infusing Central and South American ingredients facilitates the adoption of Thanksgiving traditions into the Hispanic community. Whether it is a roast turkey, turkey mole or tamales de pavo, the ever-evolving menu and blending of cultures is truly a reflection of our diverse nation. No matter what is served at this special meal, people around the United States acknowledge that Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our blessings and share our table with loved ones. Though many of us live far away from our families, we gather with our dearest friends to share our bounty and celebrate this holiday.

However we celebrate Thanksgiving, and whatever food we choose to serve, the true beauty of this holiday is to show our gratitude and appreciation for all that we have. No matter what culture we are from, the idea of being thankful for everything we have is one of the most valuable lessons we can teach our children.

Here’s hoping you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my biggest tasks is to keep the kids entertained while the family is busy cooking and preparing everything during the holidays.

Lately the trend has been these amazing glittered body art designs. I like to think of them as the modern face paintings.

Not only are these fun and festive but the designs are endless.

While my son was excited about getting fall leaves, my daughter requested a rainbow turkey.

Since we didn’t use body glue (which lasts 3-7 days), we tried out a more temporary adhesive for a day of wearing our designs.

I am sure this will be a hit with the kids this holiday!

To make your own Glitter Holiday body art designs here is what you need:

Supplies

1-Fine glitter

2-Elmer’s Glue

3-Makeup sponge

4-Dry brush

5-Paint brush

I’ve created this easy-to-follow-along video so you can see how we got our design started. Follow along with the video or the steps below.

Instructions

1- Clean the area where you will place your design

2- Using the paint brush, apply your glue

3-To make the turkey like we did start with 2 circular shapes to form a turkey

4-Tap on the glitter using the same glue brush

5-Tap off the excess glitter

6-Using the makeup sponge firmly press down on design

7-Use the dry brush to remove any unwanted glitter surrounding your design.

8-Repeat the steps to finish your design.

9- We added 4 fathers to our turkey. Apply one at a time. We also added eyes and a beak.

Enjoy creating these designs. We hope they are a hit with the kids at your next holiday gathering!

The biggest fights in the early part of my marriage revolved around a recipe. A Thanksgiving recipe. For stuffing no less! It sounds absolutely ridiculous to me now, typing those words out loud — and frustrating that we wasted so much emotion over an innocuous mass of old bread and drippings. But then, it really wasn’t a battle of corn versus white bread to begin with. If this fight had a name it would be Babita v. Hazel, the battle of two people trying to preserve their grandmothers’ legacies.

Babita was my husband Adrian’s grandmother. She lived next door with her husband (named Babito, of course) raising Adrian and his sister alongside their parents. Babita emigrated from Cuba in 1962,  but she adopted the American Thanksgiving wholesale, cooking up the traditional meal — you know, turkey bathed in mojo and naranja agria (sabrosósimo) with black beans and rice. Lacking her own recipe for stuffing she found two. One she clipped from the local Spanish-language newspaper and is rich with apples and nuts. The other is thick with ham. My husband, keeper of the family recipes, now safeguards both inside a worn cookbook from his grandmother’s Havana finishing school. Each year, he pulls the recipes from La Cocina en el Hogar, makes his shopping list, then sets out to find the butcher in his parents’ neighborhood who can ground the ham  just right.

Me, I inherited my recipes from my grandmother Hazel, who grew up on a dairy farm in rural Virginia. The farm produced enough milk each day to fill a cart that the Neale kids and their horse Fancy delivered to town on their way to school. Her family’s recipes are thick with butter, cream, more butter, and a little corn for good measure. They are also sabrosísimo. It is not Thanksgiving without the Neale family, sage-infused cornbread stuffing.

And therein lies the rub. Our first years together, neither my husband nor I could imagine a Thanksgiving without our own family’s stuffing, nor a Thanksgiving with three stuffings. Our kids didn’t care — they don’t even like stuffing. But that didn’t stop the  tension. There may have been a few barbs of ‘my stuffing is better than yours’ in there, maybe. Maybe that was me. I’m not proud of it, but… entire family legacies were at stake.

One year we finally agreed: In addition to the peaches with mincemeat, corn pudding, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberry crumble and pie, we would prepare all three recipes. Peace has reigned in our home ever since. I won’t try to persuade you which recipe is best, though I clearly have my favorite. I’ve left two of the recipes at the bottom of the post, in case anyone would like to try them. I will tell you one thing. My husband is in the kitchen right now, preparing stuffing for his office potluck tomorrow. Smells amazing. And the recipe he is using has an awful lot of butter and corn bread.

From Babita

Relleno de pan al estilo antiguo (source: newspaper)

• Una y media tazas de cebolla, finamente picada
• Una y media tazas de apio, finamente picado
• Un tercio taza de mantequilla
• Ocho tazas de cubitos de pan viejo (cortados de 1-2”)
• Una y media cucharadita de pimienta
• Media cucharadita de sazonador para ave
• Media cucharadita de salvia
• Un cuarto taza de agua
• Un huevo, ligeramente batido

En una sarten se saltean la cebolla y el apio en la mantequilla caliente, hasta que estén tiernos. Se añade a los cubitos de pan colocados en un tazón grande. Se espolvorean con las especias y se mezcla todo bien. Se añade el agua al huevo ligeramente batido y se agrega a la mezcla de pan, revolviendo con un tenedor. Es cantidad suficiente para rellenar un pavo a 12 libras. Da 9 tazas de relleno.

Babita’s second recipe for ham stuffing is handwritten, and there are a few odds and ends thrown in with the ingredients list (papel de cocina y baño) as if the paper doubled as her shopping list. We’re never quite sure on the portions, so we won’t include it here.

From Hazel

Cornbread Dressing (adapted for the modern cook, and reconstructed from memory by my mother)

• 3 boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix (made ahead)
• 4 cups of onions finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups celery finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbs poultry seasonings
• 2 sticks melted butter
• 4 eggs well beaten
• 2 cups of turkey stock (though good quality chicken stock will do)
• 1 1b of Italian sweet sausage, removed from casing and browned, or 1 pkg of Jimmy Dean turkey sausage in a round tube

Saute the onions and celery in butter or olive oil in a large pan. Brown the sausage.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and either stuff the turkey or bake in a separate pan covered at 350 for 45 minutes, uncover the last 10 minutes.

We usually make a small patty of the stuffing and fry it in a small pan to check the seasonings before stuffing the bird, so that there is time to correct.

{photo by  lookslikeamy}