Making a kids table that’s fun for everyone isn’t an impossible mission! With these quick tips, the next Thanksgiving dinner you host will be an enjoyable feast for you, your guests, AND your little ones.
Switch it up…
We all know the kids table needs to be supervised. But why does it seem one person always get the call of duty? This year, try something different. If you plan on feeding the kids at the same time you eat, set up a “rotation.” Throughout the meal, each adult takes turns switching seats with a child for 10 minutes. That way, the tot gets to feel like a big kid (and settle down for a few minutes), and the adults get to take a break from scary Uncle Larry.
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Play dress-up…
Just because Halloween is over, doesn’t mean we have to put away the costumes. Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, plan on offering the kids at your holiday dinner a relevant costume. For turkey day, buy some inexpensive materials to make Indian headbands (to see how to make them, click HERE) or pilgrim costumes. For Christmas, offer reindeer antlers or red santa hats (which you can usually buy at your local drug store). For those celebrating Chanukah, try getting fun hats for the kids, or get numbered shits that represent each of the 8 days.
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Distract them with crayons…
Take cues from restaurants that do the same thing: Get a paper tablecloth for the kids’ table, and buy each child their own box of crayons. Kick start this mini art lesson by suggesting they draw things that remind them of the holiday (turkey, reindeer, christmas trees). When they get antsy with that, offer them holiday coloring books (print free holiday coloring pages HERE).
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Make the food fun…
We know what WE love about holiday food…the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the wine! But a toddler might not be as enthusiastic. One way to make the food more exciting (and keep them entertained) is to make it colorful and fun! Trying adding red or green food dye to a batch of mashed potatoes. For the stuffing, use fun cookie cutters to divvy up portions for each child. If you’re serving sweet potatoes, use raisins to make eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
Do you have any great tips for making the kids table fun? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a kids table that’s actually fun this holiday season.
