Authors' notes in part one

Crafts, Sparkles and Placecards

Part 2 of the 2023 REAL World Thanksgiving Marathon

"All the bad guys are in jail, right Daddy?" Angie asked as she popped the last bite of special occasion sprinkle covered pancake into her mouth.

"Yes, they are," Steve confirmed.

"And no one got hurt, right?" DJ asked.

"Not even the bad guy," Steve said as he ruffled his son's hair.

"You did a very, very good job," Angie said.

"Good job!" DJ and Joan agreed in unison.

"Thank you all." Steve smiled. "Now you guys better finish up so you can get going to the mall to buy all the supplies you need."

"Too bad Grandma can't come with us," Angie said disappointedly. "She loves the mall."

"She wanted to come along but she has an important meeting at Tutor Time," DJ reminded her.

"Don't worry," Catherine reassured her. "Grandma will find plenty of reasons to take you guys to the mall this week."

Catherine and Mary both chuckled as they exchanged a knowing glance.

"In the meantime, who's ready to get what we need for our pre-Thanksgiving craft adventure?"

Angie's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands. "I love crafts! Can we make decorations for the Thanksgiving table?"

"That's the plan." Mary grinned. "I'm looking forward to it. It's a tradition by now. Remember, though, loose glitter is not my friend."

She winked at Steve and Aaron as Aunt Deb chuckled.

"We won't be too long," Catherine told Steve as she opened the dishwasher.

"You guys go ahead and go." He kissed her cheek. "Aaron and I will finish cleaning up."

"Thanks." Catherine beamed. "We'll be back by lunch."

"Perfect," he said, "We'll get the grill going about one o'clock. We can grill up the fish so we don't have to freeze it. Your parents and Grandma Ang should be here by then."

"Ohh yay," Joan clapped. "I can't wait to see them."

"The feeling is a hundred percent mutual," Catherine said. "They can't wait to see you all, too. Let's get going and we'll surprise them with the craft stuff you pick out at the mall."

Ala Moana Mall was busier than usual as they walked through its corridors and the scent of Cinnabons wafted from the food court. The kids checked out the decorations in every store window along with the ones that adorned the main concourses of the mall.

"Oh, look at that!" Angie pointed at a display of autumn leaves, pumpkins, and a cornucopia. "Can we get some of these for the table, Mommy?"

"You guys are in charge of picking the decorations," Catherine said. "Let's head to the craft store and see what they have," Catherine replied, her gaze flitting over to Mary and Aunt Deb, who were grinning. "Then we can come up with a final plan."

Joan squeezed her mother's hand. "What about some glittery stickers? They're not loose glitter. Can we put them on the decorations, Mama?"

"That's a perfect compromise," Mary praised. "Let's do it."

"Aunt Deb, do you think we could find tiny turkeys to put on the table?" DJ's enthusiasm bubbled over as he glanced up at his great aunt. "Maybe the kind we can put everybody's name on so they know where to sit."

"I wanna sit next to Joanie," Angie said immediately. "And DJ. And Aunt Mary. And Aunt Deb." She looked up at her mother. "And Uncle Aaron."

"We'll work on the seating arrangement later," Catherine chuckled.

Always one to look for a solution, especially one to make his little sister happy, DJ said, "Maybe you can sit beside some people for dinner, then switch seats for dessert."

"Excellent problem solving," Deb said proudly.

DJ blushed in response.

Deb squeezed his hand. "Let's definitely put turkey place card holders on the list. If we can't find them we'll make them."

"Awesome!" DJ swung their joined hands. "Let's go."

They arrived at the craft store and were instantly greeted by rows of ribbons, baubles, and a huge assortment of craft supplies.

The kids immediately gravitated towards the section featuring an array of sparkly fall trinkets, and little fake fruits.

"Mommy, can we get some shiny acorns and pinecones for the table? They're so pretty!" Angie held up a handful of decorations. "They look just like the ones in the pictures Nonna sent of all the pretty leaves in her yard."

"You're right. They do," Catherine said, looking over at Mary and Aunt Deb, who were examining a beautiful display of fall-themed tablecloth and napkins. "Great choice, sweetheart. We'll add those to our collection."

Meanwhile, DJ and Joan were eagerly checking out the selection of miniature turkey figurines, captivated by the different options.

"These little ducks are cute. We can put them around the table to make it look like a mini pond," DJ suggested, his face lit with his creative idea.

"And the turkeys can roam around," Joan added, her excitement mirroring DJ's as they began to gather the miniatures.

"It can be like at the petting zoo," DJ said. "They can all go wherever they want on the table." He bit his bottom lip in thought. "Maybe we can get some pumpkins to use for place card holders instead of turkeys."

Deb grinned at their enthusiasm. "That sounds like a perfect idea. Design ideas need to be flexible. Let's gather all the decorations we need and then we can head over to the craft supplies."

"You might wanna rethink that idea," Mary said. "Joan has a pretty broad definition of what she 'needs' when it comes to holiday decorating."

"Loosen up, ladies," Deb said with a broad smile. "There's no such thing as too much when it comes to holiday decorating."

With their cart half full of pumpkins, ducks, turkeys, decorative corn, acorns, pine cones, and fall leaves, they moved through the rest of the store, picking out an assortment of craft paper, ribbons, and adhesive in gold, sienna, and red.

Mary, with her creative eye for detail, guided the kids through the store, offering suggestions and encouragement as they selected materials for their Thanksgiving creations. "We can use these ribbons to tie cute little bows around the tiny pumpkins, and some of these sparkly trinkets to decorate the napkin holders," she suggested.

Once they were through picking out supplies, they made their way to the checkout, laughter floating around them as they excitedly anticipated the crafting session ahead.

"I can't wait to decorate the table. It's going to be the best Thanksgiving yet." Angie beamed. "Grace started the whole thing before I was born, right, Mommy?"

"She absolutely did. Daddy and I definitely wouldn't have thought of using fun placeholders or table decorations if Grace didn't suggest it."

Mary laughed. "And my brother can't say no to Grace's ideas anymore than he can to you guys. I can't wait to see how beautiful this year's table is going to turn out."

# TBC - Join us tomorrow for part 3 of the marathon

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