All it takes is one rogue – if not adorable – hand in the just-finished gravy to turn your holiday from grateful to grumpy. Check out these tips to keep your kids helpful and busy during Thanksgiving dinner prep. 

Not your grandmother’s kids’ table

Instead of letting your little ones run wild leading up to the big dinner, let their creativity run wild. Designate a small table, or a portion of your table, as the kids’ table and give them the special responsibility of decorating it. Yes, all by themselves. 

Start with a pile of materials. We recommend some colorful leaves from outside, pine cones, sticks (if they’re a little older) and greenery, which they can also help you gather in the days leading up to the dinner. Add in some construction paper, markers, glitter if you’re feeling brave and any other art materials you have. You can also take a trip to your local art supplies store together for some special additions. 

Then, let them run with their imagination. 

Not only does this give your child a feeling of being independent and a part of the holiday prep, it also keeps them busy with their own project. 

Extra tip: put brown paper down as the kids’ table tablecloth and provide crayons for a dinnertime activity. 

Sous chef pretend 

A lot goes into Thanksgiving dinner. And we’re just talking about the food. It’s easy to lose track of all those ingredients for your grandmother’s stuffing. But your kids can help with that. (That’s why we had kids anyway, right?) 

Enlist your mini-me’s to play sous chef while dinner prep is happening in the kitchen. You can even make it a game of pretend. Grab some aprons – maybe even a chef’s hat – and dish out the roles for everyone to play. For older kids, you can put them in charge of some smaller dishes or ingredient prep like chopping or shredding. For younger ones, ingredient sorting is a great task to feel involved. 

And don’t forget to address everyone with a loud, “Yes, chef!”  

Play the music, DJ 

This one’s for the older kids – unless you have a little one with some mature music tastes. 

A dinner soundtrack can set the mood for a great dinner, or lead to an ambiance atrocity. So give your pre-teen or teen the fun task of making the playlist. We recommend outlining some guidelines, maybe giving some artist suggestions, but also trusting them to choose some great songs. 

You’ll want to do this project a few days before Thanksgiving so that you can review the playlist before you hit play. Another option is to make the playlist together. Ask everyone for a list of ten songs they’d like to add to the family playlist, and pick the top three from everyone’s list to include.  

What’s on the menu? 

Kids have lots of opinions – especially when it comes to food. Talking about the Thanksgiving menu before everyone sits down for dinner can help avoid some meltdowns at the table. It also will help your little ones feel like they had a part in the planning. 

Ask them for some of their favorite fall foods, then incorporate them into a dish. Let them choose between having chocolate pudding or pumpkin pie for dessert. Have them choose what kind of bread should be served. 

The options are endless, the only thing we recommend is putting a time limit on the conversation. That chat could last until the New Year.