A Gobble, Gobble Thanksgiving just for Kids

Make this year’s Thanksgiving a kid-friendly event. Kids can enjoy many aspects of this special holiday from helping prepare the food to setting the table or playing fun games. Make sure to have fun-food alternatives for them and start a family tradition. Involve them in the party planning, and you will see how excited they’ll get about celebrating Thanksgiving. Here are some helpful tips to get your kids involved.

Great Ideas for Picky Eaters at the Thanksgiving Table
Colorful Ice-cream Mashed Potatoes: Make traditional mashed potatoes by boiling regular potatoes and sweet potatoes; once the potatoes are softened, have kids help you smash them and add butter and salt. Finally use an ice-cream scoop to serve them as ice-cream scoops. Have kids sprinkle marshmallows over them to add a little fun.
Turkey Nuggets: Instead of using traditional chicken nuggets, you can try this year breading turkey breast pieces and making “turkey nuggets” for little ones.
Turkey Muffins: Decorate your homemade muffins with half a grape to make the face of a turkey; then cut 4-5 apple slices and place them behind the grape to make the turkey’s feathers. Little ones will get a kick out of this.

Thanksgiving Crafts and Table Setting
I Am Thankful For… Placemats: Work with your little ones in creating homemade placemats. Cut out paper placemats for them and have them draw a turkey and decorate with different materials. For little ones, a creative way can be using their handprint or footprint as the body of the turkey and then add feathers all around. Once they are done, write “I am thankful for…” and have them fill in the blank.
Indian Sticks: Use a recycled toilet-paper roll and cover one end with duct tape, fill the roll with rocks, and then cover the other end with duct tape until completely sealed. Have kids decorate with paint and feathers. They will love the noise it makes just as the Indians did!

Create Family Traditions
Sharing Blessings: Before beginning the big feast, create a little tradition of trying to get everyone quiet by using the Indian sticks; once the children begin to shake their Indian sticks, everyone should be quiet. Then have every person read out his or her responses from the thankful placemats. Everyone around the table should share her or his response. Once finished, have one of the kids lead the prayer. Giving children this sense of importance at the dinner table will make them feel part of this special moment.
Device-Free Meal: have a device-free meal by collecting cellular devices and placing them in a basket far away from the dinner table. This will allow for adults and teens to actively participate in the whole Thanksgiving experience.