Ways to Keep Kids Entertained Over Thanksgiving

How fun! Your house is the holiday landing place for family members this year, including all of the nieces, nephews and grandkids. The question now becomes – how do you keep the children entertained so the grown-ups can catch up and prepare the Thanksgiving feast? With a little creativity you’ll find plenty of activities to keep the kids busy. Here are a few ideas:

Games Galore: Think jigsaw puzzles, board games and video games. Consider the age of the children when making your choices and ask parents to bring their family’s favorites. If the weather is nice, organize a game of flag football or capture-the-flag in the backyard.

Forts: If you have a basement, bonus room or backyard you can provide the tools to let the kids brainstorm and build a fort (and burn off energy!). Think boxes, chairs, cushions, old curtains or bedding, tarps, or a tent. Provide the kids with poster board and markers to make signs for their new fort.

Recruit Their Help: While it may be chaos to add the younger crowd’s helping hands in the kitchen, they can be put to work on other tasks, like setting the table, creating name cards, folding napkins into origami shapes or helping to arrange center pieces.

Creating a Kids Table: Get some butcher paper and cut it to the size of the table the kids will be sitting. Lay out paint brushes, paint and stickers and have each child decorate a portion of this homemade table cloth.

Christmas Preparation: Give the kids their section of the leftover butcher paper so they can create their own wrapping paper. To decorate the paper, use potatoes or even apple pieces as stamps. Cut out fun shapes like a Christmas tree or bell—then have the children dip them in paint and stamp away!

The possibilities for Thanksgiving fun are endless, but the more activities you have planned before the big day, the less you will be scrambling to find ways to entertain kids as your guests arrive.