Thanksgiving is one of the most highly anticipated holidays of the year. With it comes high expectations to orchestrate a near-perfect day. Beginning with an expertly baked turkey, and ending with a Martha Stewart-worthy pumpkin pie, the pressure is enough to keep even the most relaxed hosts on their toes.
We’ve got some ideas to help you get the kids involved in everything from the menu to the tables cape! Implementing some of these recommendations will definitely help to create a kid-friendly Thanksgiving experience.
Here are 5 helpful ideas that will guide you to a perfectly pleasant and kid-friendly Thanksgiving Day!
- Try to involve kids in the cooking: Make the celebration more exciting for little ones by involving them in the planning and execution of Thanksgiving events; a sure way to have a kid-friendly Thanksgiving day. The more they feel like an integral part of the festivities, the more likely they are to feel a sense of pride. This will hopefully have a direct correlation to good behaviour! when they participate in the cooking and meal prep, they’ll get to be a part of the experience resulting in grateful, happy, and hopefully well-behaved kiddos.
- Take a Help from kids to set a table: Kids can do easy but helpful age-appropriate tasks that make them feel involved which can also lessen the burden of the host. Kids can contribute by helping set the table and by placing Thanksgiving décor. Even younger children can get involved by helping to set up simpler aspects of the table. They can lay out the placemats or napkins so that they feel just as included.
- Make a kid friendly feast: After all of the hard work preparing the Thanksgiving feast, the question becomes whether it will be well received by the pickiest of eaters! Certain staple sides such as mac ‘n cheese and mashed potatoes as well as delicious desserts are generally sure-fire wins. The key to success is to let the kids be active in the creation of the Thanksgiving menu.
- Try to get them involved in doing craft making things: You’ll likely be pretty busy hosting, cooking, or enjoying adult time with your family, and while you’ll want to spend time with the kids too, you may also want to keep them busy with activities. While kids can help with all of the Thanksgiving prep, they’ll probably get bored of that after a while. So instead of hearing, “Mom, I’m bored. When is everyone getting here?” or “When are we leaving?”, why not plan some fun, kid-friendly Thanksgiving activities for them to do while you’re getting ready? Make sure to provide enough craft making things to all the kids in the family if you have little guests attending.
- Donate some non-perishables to those who are less fortunate: On that note, continue these life lessons beyond Thanksgiving and consider donating after the holiday is over! With many people across America suffering from food insecurity, Thanksgiving is a good time to consider helping those less fortunate than ourselves.
We hope this has helped ease some of your pre-Thanksgiving anxiety! After all, the holidays are meant to be enjoyed. Don’t get wrapped up in perfection. Your kids, your guests, and your family will enjoy Thanksgiving no matter what.
For more great articles about childhood development, baby names and baby care, bookmark kidspappy now! You can also checkout our more article on thanksgiving like Amazing Thanksgiving gifts for kids/toddler and babies.