It's fall in America - the leaves have changed from a supple green to variations of yellows, oranges, and reds and many have fallen off their branches making a spectacular blanket of autumn hues on the ground.

The air is crisp and clean, while the warm sun beats down as the wind briskly blows past to remind you that it's not summer anymore. It's the middle of November and Thanksgiving is a week away. The arts and crafts of the holiday season started with Halloween, but there isn't anything more splendid than the traditional "turkey hand" decoration for Thanksgiving.

The turkey hand has a quality all its own. It is a symbol of the life of a child from an infant to a pre-teen. This past week, I spent an evening with my granddaughter and we made our first turkey hand together. I have made them before with my daughter when she was a child, but tonight the value of this turkey hand took on a whole new meaning.

My granddaughter is just under two years of age. She is smart and sweet and has the personality of her mother. It was like I had stepped back in time. We sat at the kitchen table with the paper plates in front of us. Over-sized crayon carton of eight traditional colors, the scissors and the glue out of her reach. She let me place her hand on the plate and her chubby fingers had already spread out on the surface. She watched as I slowly traced her hand and tried to grab at the brown crayon I was using. The lines were not perfect, but that's what makes it a masterpiece.

She clumsily clutched the green crayon with her chubby digits and began scribbling on the paper placed over the table for protection. I told her it was a green crayon and she replied "geen." We did the same with each color and she replied with her two-year-old voice, "bue" for blue, "ellow" for yellow, "ange" for orange. I placed the traced turkey hand plate in front of her and pointed to places on the plate for her to color.

Of course, we all know instructing a 2-year-old to do something you want them to do is a challenge all on its own. So, I grabbed a crayon and began coloring, knowing from experience that the easiest way is to start the process and they will come around when ready. I "ooh-ed" and "ah-ed" at her scribbles and switched out the crayons with ease. The turkey was taking on the colors from the crayon box as the masterpiece was created before our very eyes.

I cut the colorful turkey hand out from the paper plate and glued it on a piece of black construction paper. I let her add more color around the turkey hand and as I watched her, I thought about all the turkey hands in my life. A memory of my grandfather putting my sisters and me to work making turkey hands on Thanksgiving Day to keep us busy and entertained until dinner was served. His big bellowing voice telling us what beautiful turkeys we made and then placing each one on his refrigerator for everyone else to see.

The many turkey hands I made in elementary school, and the many I received from my daughters throughout the years. Like the one I made a few days ago, I cherish the first one I received from my first granddaughter. She was in daycare and not even a year old when they traced her tiny hand on the paper and colored it in and glued tiny feathers to it. I framed it, and for four more years every Thanksgiving I framed the newest masterpiece. To see the changes in the size and the style of coloring, from scribbles to colorful messy designs with the artistry of a Jackson Pollock, deserved to be framed and displayed for all to see.

Just imagine: Simple household supplies will create a lifetime of memories. Unlike a photograph or a pair of bronzed baby shoes, the time spent with a child making a holiday tradition is a gift no one can put a price on.