I hope you can use one or all of these ideas to connect to your child this Thanksgiving. My two-year-old and I made the hand print, turkey tablecloth together and we had such a blast! It was fun to release my inner child and get messy with finger paints.
My team prepped the table on Sunday and we used all the ideas for LX TV, the new LIVE show on WNBC Monday. I hope they can help you have a little more joy this Turkey Day too. Thanks Jackie and Sam for your help.
-KID HAND PRINT TURKEY TABLE CLOTH OR RUNNER
Craft paper table runner or cloth. Use finger paint to create orange hands for turkey’s and glue feathers and googley eyes on for fun. They key is to stick to one or two colors that match your grown up decor to keep it looking complimentary.
-FELT PLACE MATS
Use pre-cut felt squares found at www.michaels.com . Make thanksgiving themes with ric rak, fall leaves, turkeys stickers, so your kids can make their own design. Another idea for place mats is to use construction paper and real photographs of your guests and laminate them for use year after year.
-FALL CENTERPIECE
The centerpiece is made from fall leaves. This can be a fun family activity if you plan in advance. We went to central park and gathered leaves and then pressed them overnight in a book or magazine. Add the leaves branches or add the fallen leaves to floral wire and stick in floral foam, those green bricks you can find at any most craft stores.
-PINE CONE PLACE CARDS
We glittered pine cones in a ziplock with glitter and glue and added a personalized card with every child’s name for the place card. These pine cone place cards can be used for the grown up table too and are great for family gatherings because they allow you to mix up your guests who always are used to sitting in the same places every year. And, when the kids see their crafts at the adult table they will gain self esteem when everyone comes in and says oh wow these are great!
-CANDY APPLE STATION
The candy apple station is just a fun way to keep kids occupied while you enjoy a quick bite. Take slices of apples place in a small bowl, then place caramel dipping sauce in a matching bowl next to the apples. Add a buffet of choices for dunking, such as candy sprinkles, coconut, mini m&m’s, whipped cream etc. The secret to great apples is coating them with LIME juice (not lemon) for a delicious tangy taste that works well with the caramel.
-VERTERRA PLATES
The kids table is set with environmentally friendly Verterra plates made from pressed leaves you can find them Whole Foods or Fairway or online at Verterra.com. The great thing about these plates is if you do not have enough plates to accommodate all of your guests for the holidays these look stylish and sophisticated, but are just a little more than the cost of plastic disposable.
-VOTIVE HOLDERS
I added votive holders we covered with burlap and raffia and filled with battery powered votives for an added touch.
-CORNUCOPIA BASKET
And, for additional décor I found this great cornucopia basket which I filled with fresh fruit and vegetables and mixed in my leftover leaves.
-TURKEY PUMPKIN
I have an orange pumpkin left over from Halloween I make a Thanksgiving Turkey out of a wooden kit I found online at Etsy.
-HARVEST FRIENDS PUPPETS
We also made a few felt harvest friends puppets. These we found half off at Michaels! Thanksgiving items are on sale so its not to late to grab a few great finds for less.
-TO SUM UP THE SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING: GRATITUDE BUCKET
And, finally to sum up the spirit of thanksgiving I suggest a gratitude bucket. Allow the kids to go around and ask every adult to place what they are grateful for in the bucket and have the kids do this too.
THE BEST PART IS YOUR CHILDREN CAN HELP MAKE THEIR OWN SPECIAL TABLE FOR TURKEY DAY AND AS A PARENT YOU CAN SPEND SOME QUALITY TIME WITH YOUR KIDS AND GET SOME WORK DONE TOO.