Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Turkmas 2011!

For the holiday weekend we brought back our Turkey Day + Christmas tradition with my husbands family in the midwest. The past couple of years, since we were living abroad, we had to celebrate on NYE but this year it was Turkmas all the way!


There are many requirements for a Pleva Family Turkmas.

1. Dogs. Lots of Dogs. 
We are almost out numbered by the canine participants in our holiday (5 dogs : 8.5 humans)! We took the two most active of our four legged friends to a nearby park for some frisbee golf fun. We got a little surprise when Clark, who has never been exposed to a large body of water before, took one look and dove right in, and didn't want to come out!



2. Cutout Cookies.
Each year Paul's parents make the cookies and we "icen" them. It is an art contest each and every year. Over the years the selection of cookie cutters has expanded beyond Christmas shapes and now includes such shapes as a camel, a loon, and a pig. It is important to note that all cookies are eaten by the time the weekend is over!



3. Cutting Down a Christmas Tree.
This is where we head out into the great Iowa outdoors, wear flannel and carry a saw, and cut down the perfect X-mas tree. There are a wide variety of trees, from Charlie Brown trees to Macy's trees. We found the perfect one right in the middle.


4. Decorating the Perfect Christmas Tree.
Not our favorite of activities (we'd rather be eating the cookies), but we made it fun by adding some extra special ornaments to the tree (i.e. dog toys).


5. Opening X-mas Presents with Kailey!
The best event of a Pleva Family Turkmas is opening presents with our 3 year old niece Kailey. The girl loves trains, so boy oh boy was she excited when she got her very own Thomas the Train set. It was fun for the whole family for the rest of the weekend, particularly for the uncles who were determined to set up the best track system ever.




Turkmas 2011 was a grand success! 


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