While you are sweating away cooking your heart out in the kitchen on Thanksgiving, do you ever sweat about what to do to keep your little turkeys busy? Well wipe your brow because I have compiled a list of activities to keep them busy while you prepare the perfect feast.
Image courtesy of Tim Sackton at flickr.com (scaled and text added)
Don’t worry if you are not the one preparing the feast. You can sit back and sip some wine while your little ones stay busy with this Thanksgiving to do list.
1. The first is Creating a Place Mat. This could be as simple as decorating a pre-cut shape with items you have provided to as complicated as creating a woven masterpiece. I have provided a few pinterest links to see you through this craft.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/161637074097737270/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419045940297694148/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243053711110969277/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/276338127109444075/
2. The next activity is Draw What is for Dinner. This is a great way to get their creative juices going and see what they think they will be eating. I have attached a link to make this easier for you!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22306960630170383/
3. How many words can you make from the phrase I Am Thankful? This could be done together or individually. The little ones could draw what they are thankful for. I have provided a printable below to make this easier on you.
ThankfulPrintable
4. Let them Have a Dance Party with Charlie Brown Holiday Hits on iTunes. Let each child take a turn being the choreographer as the others follow along. If you are feeling really ambitious you can even set up a video recorder so they can watch themselves later. Which, by the way, is yet another way to keep them busy.
5. Let them Create a Thanksgiving Diorama. This could be a group project or done alone. I have attached a photo of one we created to give you inspiration. The great thing about a diorama is there is no right or wrong way to put it together.
6. Create a Thanksgiving Day Scavenger Hunt. This could be done indoors or outdoors depending on the weather.
ScavengerHuntThankgiving
7. Allow them to Make a Holiday Sticker Scene. Provide a variety of holiday stickers. My daughter loves the puffy ones. You can get a large bucket of them at Hobby Lobby. You can even print and provide a fun background to make it more interactive.
8. Have a craft table with simple craft baggies ready to go. This could be something a simple as a sock with a small bottle of craft glue, button eyes, a mouth, etc. I have some of these on hand for when we go out to eat. If they make puppets they could use them to perform a skit later on. I have attached a picture of the contents of our turkey stick puppet baggie for reference. You could get creative with yours. I just used things I had on hand.
9. Hire a neighborhood teen to come over for a few hours and entertain your kids. This is a great way for a neighborhood teen to make a few dollars and keep your little ones entertained.
10. Let them help! If your kids are anything like mine, they love helping out in the kitchen. This is a great time to bond over some holiday cooking.
11. And last but certainly not least, Give the Dads Kid Duty. I’m sure they can tackle the little turkeys as they watch a little football.
What do you do to keep your little turkeys busy while you cook?
Image courtesy of Rene Schwietzke at flickr.com (scaled, blur effect and text added)
These are wonderful suggestions! My favorite, now that my kids are a little older, is letting them help in the kitchen! They love it, they are helping and we are all making memories!
These a wonderful tips to keep the little ones occupied.
What brilliant ways to keep the kids busy while the adults are cooking (or watching football). I really like the diorama.
SO many awesome ideas!! Thanks for sharing
Great ideas! I think I’ll volunteer for #11, so I can get out of the kitchen and watch some football!