Turkey in the Straw Birthday Party

Up to 1 Month Before

• Bake Turkey Cookies (make several batches); store unfrosted cookies tightly covered in freezer.

Up to 2 Weeks Before

• Make Sweet ‘n Nutty Cereal Munch, replacing nuts with candy corn or holiday candies; store tightly covered. 
• Make a special candy-shopping trip with the birthday child to select candies for decorating the cookies.

The Day Before

• Make Oven-Baked Chicken; store covered in the refrigerator.  Cater to kids by using drumsticks rather than assorted pieces from a cut-up chicken (just keep the same amount of chicken).
• Prepare the Kid Salad recipe--except arrange the fruit and veggies to look like turkeys.  For each salad, place a peach half (for the turkey body), cut side down, on a lettuce leaf (for the turkey feathers).  Add celery sticks for the legs, a marshmallow for the head, raisins for eyes, maraschino cherry for the wattle and shredded cheese for straw.  Cover and store salads in the refrigerator.  Or at mealtime, pass the salad supplies, along with small paper plates, and let kids make their own salads (a sample salad will help them create their own turkeys).
• Assemble supplies for decorating cookies.

The Morning Of

• Bake Sweet Country Corn Bread.

About 30 Minutes Before Eating

• Warm loosely covered chicken in 375ºF oven, if desired.

• Turkeys, of course!  On brown paper (even a paper bag), draw around a child’s hand with fingers spread to look like turkey feathers.  Write “You’re Invited” in the center and the party details on the feathers.  Embellish with markers and glitter glue.  Kids will want to help.
• Create unique, photo party invitations from Kodak Gallery!

The “Feast-ivities”

• The Pilgrims dined outside because no building was large enough to hold everyone.  Hold your party outside on a picnic table, weather permitting, or choose an indoor area where kids can be kids.  Feast on the healthful menu first, and then move on to the activities. 
• Kids can take turns posing for photos (see next paragraph) and then decorating cookies.  You can bet there will be plenty of sweet eating!  (Extra adults or baby-sitter-age kids can be a great help!)
• Record your historical event with an instant camera, or shoot photos and send as postcards to kids later.
• Pilgrim Pose
  Create (with colored markers or paints) on poster board or foam core (or look for something at a party store) boy and girl pilgrims, leaving faces blank; cut out the face area so kids can show their own face.
• You’re a Turkey!
  The birthday child will surely want to help create a child-size turkey on poster board, foam core or a large appliance box with markers, construction paper, feathers and your imagination.  Cut out the area where the turkey’s head would be (this is where the child’s head peeks through).
• Cookie Decorating - For each child, set up a tray or cardboard box of several ready-to-decorate cookies, a child-size tool (a plastic knife with a rounded blade works well) for frosting and an assortment of candy decors.
• Award prizes for the wildest to the most colorful turkey cookie, making sure each child gets a prize.
• Have bags or boxes ready for packing and sending extra cookies home.  (Boxes used to hold supplies can also be used for sending home cookies.)
• Turkey Run
  Tuck this idea in your back pocket for when the kids are restless and you need an outdoor game (a basement or rec room can also work).  Play the favorite song “Turkey In the Straw.”  Divide kids into two relay lines.  Kids pretend they are turkeys, and waddle and gobble to a spot ahead of them where you’ve placed an ear of Indian corn.  The child-turkey picks up the corn, carries it back to the next child in line and then goes to the end of the line to repeat the action once more.  The child given the corn then waddles it back and drops it at its original spot.  The team who completes the waddle-gobble first wins, and everyone gets rewarded with prizes of stickers or plastic turkeys.

Party Pictures

• Learn how to capture the perfect party moments with Birthday Photo Tips from Kodak Gallery!