Decorating the Children's Table at Thanksgiving

I always hated to be separated out from the adults at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, but I know it's sometimes very necessary to do and that many children would prefer to have a table of their own. But especially for those like me, make sure you dress up their table too so that everyone feels part of the festivities.

•  Get your kids involved in preparing for the dinner by making some of the decorations and setting the tables.
• Give them a specific room or area in a room where they can sit and enjoy making decorations. Make sure the appropriate materials and tools are available to them.
• Let the adults present take turns supervising and helping them. Don't let small children have scissors or anything else that might hurt them.
• Give them construction paper in a wide assortment of autumn colors. They can make paper chains by cutting strips from the construction paper. The chains can be placed on the table, hung on the backs of chairs or hung from the ceiling above their table.
• Let them make their own placemats. Give them a supply of outlined leaves on white paper and let them color the leaves. Then have them cut the leaves out of the white paper to paste on their own placemat. They can even draw "turkeys" from their own handprints and put them on the placemats as well.
• Buy white butcher block paper to cover the entire table. Draw the outline of assorted Thanksgiving symbols all over the paper and have the children color them in with crayons or marking pens. Be sure to protect the table against bleed thru from the pens.
• Paste leaves and other symbols on the paper cups and napkins (not on the plates). Using paper products will eliminate anything from getting broken and ease your mind. Use plastic forks and spoons as well.
• Carve out a pumpkin in advance and let the children decorate it any way they wish.
• Give them a supply of nuts and berries to glue to the base of any table decorations they make.
• Have the children write their name on their placemat in decorative ways. This will make it easy to assign places when it comes time to eat.
• Place the children's table near the adult table so they still feel they are being included. They will want to show off their creativity. Give them plenty of praise for helping to decorate their own table.

Quick Links

How to Make Thanksgiving Decorations
Decorating Wreaths and Trees
How to Make a Thanksgiving Cornucopia
Decorating Elegant Christmas Trees
How to Buy a Turkey
How to Roast a Turkey
How to Carve a Turkey

Handy Links to Our Decorating Products