With Thanksgiving approaching, it’s important to demonstrate how thankful you are for the things and people around you. Whether this be a gift or a treat to surprise your loved ones, there’s a multitude of things you can do.  

Candles

The best thing about making your own candles is that you can make them to suit you. If you’re sensitive to fragrance, you can simply leave it out of the candle, or if you prefer all natural products, you can choose beeswax or soy wax. 

According to thesprucecrafts.com, there are only a few things you need to successfully make a candle. These materials include wax, wicks, container, fragrance (optional), color (optional), and a pot to melt the wax in. 

Once you have your candle making station set up and you’ve selected your materials, you’ll need a heat source, such as a hot plate or stove, to place the pot on to melt the wax. 

Thesprucecrafts.com stated, “When buying wax, it’s smarter and easier to buy wax flakes. It melts faster and more evenly.”

While the wax is melting, you should take the opportunity to place the wick carefully in the center of the container, using popsicle sticks or skewers to keep the wick in place. 

Once the wax is melted, you can add your fragrance and color, if desired. When you’re satisfied with the scent and hue of the wax, you can carefully pour it into the container. It is recommended to let the wax cool completely before trimming the wick down to size. 

Finally, light the candle and enjoy. 

Pie Recipe

With thoughts of Thanksgiving comes thoughts of a delicious feast. Part of that meal is the dessert, and senior Juliana Curtis shared her favorite pie filling recipe which comes from foodnetwork.com. 

The ingredients you will need for the apple pie include:

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• freshly ground nutmeg to taste
• Seven medium apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• One lemon, zested and juiced
• Store bought pie crust 

Curtis stated that she prefers to use, “…7-8 apples; 1-2 of them Granny Smith and 3-4 other types like Fiji, Gala, Honey Crisp, or Pink Lady.”

The directions for this pie are as follows.

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F. 
2. Mix together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. In another bowl, sprinkle apples with the juice and zest of 1 lemon and toss. Stir in the sugar mixture to evenly coat the apples.
3. Mound the apple and sugar mixture into the pie pan lined with a store bought crust, and dot it with the cubed butter.
4. Brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
5. Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, which takes roughly 50 to 60 minutes. Let the pie rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

If you are looking to get into the holiday spirit, be sure to try out one of these how to activities.