What do you get when a man obsessed with crafts meets a stack of construction paper and a few toilet paper roll tubes? You get pilgrim and Native American napkin rings, of course!

I was flipping through the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens this week and I came across a kids crafts section that included the suggestion of making napkin rings out of empty toilet paper tubes. I've never met a craft I didn't like and, summoning the kid inside me, I set out to create my own.

There wasn't a pattern associated with the Better Homes and Garden article so I basically made it up as I went along. This is, after all, a craft intended for children so I assumed that this 35-year-old kid could figure it out. It's an easy project so I did indeed figure out how to make the napkin rings fairly quickly. One change I made over the original was adding our guests' names to the napkin rings. Now these rings will serve double duty as place cards!

This would be a great craft project to keep the little ones quiet while the adults are getting Thanksgiving dinner ready. Don't let the absence of children keep you from enjoying the craft, however. Making these napkin rings was a delightful experience that helped me relax from the go-go-go holiday preparations for a little while. And I love that these fun little pilgrims and Native Americans will add a whimsical flair to my holiday table!

Images: Jason Loper, Better Home and Gardens