Tips To Get Your Kids Involved This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving prep is often exciting for young children, with so many things to do with the expectation of getting together with family for a delicious meal. However, because many chores involve cooking and with everyone so busy, young children might feel left out of the process despite wanting to help. So, instead of handing them the iPad or sitting them on the couch to watch endless shows or play games, here are some great ideas to include your kids in your Thanksgiving preparation.

Let Them Help Plan The Menu

Thanksgiving is nothing without food, and let’s be honest, most of us make too much of it. One way to get your kids involved is to let them decide on adding a dish to your Thanksgiving feast, even if it’s something unorthodox like mac and cheese.

Set The Table

If you have older children, letting them set the table is an excellent way to get them involved. However, instead of simply setting out the plates and utensils and folding napkins, ask the kids to create a unique decoration idea to spruce up the setting. Whether making turkeys out of pine cones or painting rocks as placeholders with everyone’s name, this is a neat way to get your kids involved and let them explore their creativity.

Help With Food

While there are not many things kids can do in the kitchen — especially the younger ones — there is specific food preparation they can help with, such as mashing potatoes, tearing lettuce, washing vegetables in the sink, sorting cookies, etc. You’ll find that kids want to help out their parents, so if you can find easy kitchen chores, they’ll appreciate it and get a sense of accomplishment.

Assign A Recipe Co-Pilot

When preparing your Thanksgiving meal, you have a lot on your mind, juggling many tasks at once. Another great idea to get the kiddos involved is to assign one to be your recipe co-pilot. What’s a recipe co-pilot? It’s someone who can read you the recipe as you’re preparing the food instead of jumping back and forth between a recipe book or your phone to get the ingredients and measurements. Having one of your kids be your recipe co-pilot can make your job easier in the kitchen and be an authentic bonding experience.

Assign A Clock Watcher

If you’ve ever prepared for Thanksgiving, you know you’re always working against the clock, especially when having guests over for dinner. Everything has to go off without a hitch for the meal to be perfect, so it can be helpful instead of setting a timer on your phone to designate one of your kids as the clock watcher to alert you when the pie has to come out of the oven or when to baste the turkey. This can be fun because many kids will treat this like a game, and it keeps their attention, so you won’t have to worry about them getting in the way.

Assisting Guests

Once guests begin arriving, they’ll need someone to greet them and take their coats and show them where hors d’oeuvres and drinks are, which can be an excellent job for one of your older kids.

Cleanup

Finally, once the day’s festivities are finished and it’s time to clean up, rally the troops to get the job done more quickly so everyone can grab some couch time and relax before bed. Sure, the kids won’t enjoy cleaning up as much as the other activities on our list, but it’s an excellent way to teach them responsibility and working together as a family. And, maybe you can sweeten the deal by allowing them an extra dessert as a thank you for their hard day’s work.

About Kids R’ Kids

Kids R’ Kids at Avalon Park is a family-owned voluntary pre-kindergarten learning academy dedicated to your child’s early education needs. Our learning academies are nationally renowned, and we’re happy to be part of this community. Our entire staff wishes the best for the children in our care. We’re dedicated to providing a safe, secure learning environment with state-of-the-art learning tools, a highly trained and personable staff, and convenient drop-off and pick up times. Studies show how critical early childhood education is to a future adult, and our program sets your kids up for success in kindergarten and beyond. If you’re interested in enrolling your child in our program, contact us today at 407-306-9035 or fill out our online form.