Post #169 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompts and Life Prompts – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Adding Elements to Thanksgiving
Today is Cyber Monday so that seems to make it okay to write about Thanksgiving. And yes, we hope you check out our special free gift offer — Cyber-Memoir-Writers-Monday. Today’s the last day. Many of you have already purchased. But if you haven’t…our $109 free offer ends at midnight today. Don’t miss out. This is probably the only time that we’ll offer our $109 [Essential] Women’s Memoir Writing Workshop for free when you purchase a copy of Writing Alchemy: How to Write Fast and Deep.
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But that’s not the point of today’s blog.
I thought I’d share a little with you about our Thanksgiving this year. Last month, I figured out that some people make clever themed-food items. This all started on Halloween when I saw how you could turn an apple slice into a ghoulish mouth with a peanut butter tongue and slivered almond teeth. So as Thanksgiving approached, I thought I’d see what ideas were racing around in cyberspace. I wanted something that would be fun and that my grandsons could make after they arrived.
As soon as they opened the front door, I said, “Do you want to make a turkey?” “Sure,” they responded in unison. However, their faces made it clear that they had no idea what I was up to. After all, how could they actually make a turkey.
Off we went to the kitchen where I showed them the small watermelon, the bowl of grapes and grape tomatoes, the plate of cubed yellow and white cheese, and the bamboo sticks. As soon as I explained the idea, they quickly set to work making the tail feathers. Once those were finished and in place, then I challenged them to figure out how to use a red bell pepper to make side wings (probably not the technical term, but they knew what I meant). Soon each grandson had put on one of those. They weren’t sure that the neck and head would work out, but when I showed them that a green olive with two clove eyes and the pimento tongue pushed out a little made a nice head, they supplied the grape neck.
The cheese and grape sticks made great appetizers and the boys had managed to make an amazing resemblance of a turkey. Thus the start of a new tradition — involving the boys in our holiday cooking. They were both great and I think as pleased as I was with the result.
But, there’s more
If I was going to feature my grandsons, I couldn’t forget my granddogs. Since I’m gluten-free, I thought I’d better make special gluten-free pumpkin dog biscuits. And, if I was going to make the three dogs a treat, perhaps they deserved their own menu.
Yes, a menu. A number of years ago, I started the practice of creating a written menu for parties. I always made two copies. One I would use as my list, checking off each dish when it was made. The other, I mounted on stiff paper and displayed for the pleasure of the guests. This year, I made the people menu and the dog menu. Both were appreciated by the humans if not by the dogs. Perhaps my typefont wasn’t large enough for them.
If I wait long enough, a deer is sure to show up.
So it seems that a second new tradition is now started — special homemade treats and a menu just for the dogs. Let’s see. I’d better start planning now since it won’t be long before we are celebrating the next holiday season.
Memoir Writing Prompts
1. Did your parents have special traditions for Thanksgiving? Don’t try to cover the entire day, think of just one special part. Something you looked forward to or that you dreaded. Stop and think about all the details. Then write for five or ten minutes. Who is in the scene? What does it look like and smell like? Who is talking and what is being said? Dig deep.
2. In your own home do you carry on the traditions that you knew as a child? Have you added new traditions, just as I did this year? What do you like most about Thanksgiving now? And the least? As with the first writing prompt, find just one small aspect of this year’s Thanksgiving Day. Make a list of all the details of that aspect. It might be food or people or atmosphere or even weather. Just stick with one aspect. Read the details and then write about the scene. Does the writing bring back more memories? Does the writing evoke emotions?
Writing is a gift we can be thankful for all year around. And here at Women’s Memoirs, we hope our writing prompts help spark your writing.
