ALT-3 How to Include Children in Thanksgiving Preparations
Some of the most wonderful memories I have of Thanksgiving as a child are those of helping prepare our home for the Thanksgiving feast we had each year. Because my father had no family here and my mother was an only child, we always invited my grandparents and friends to have dinner with us, and it was always an exciting time getting ready for their arrival.
Even very young children can be included in the preparations. They can help by decorating place cards for each guest, coloring the cards with crayons using pre-selected fall colors. Then name plates can be glued on the backgrounds they colored. Very young children can also collect fall leaves, pine cones, and even nuts, and make table decorations by gluing the pine cones and nuts onto an arrangement of leaves. You can also purchase Thanksgiving themed stickers, which even very young hands can stick on strips of construction paper that can later be glued into circles for napkin rings. You can also assign to little ones the very important task of arranging whole fruits and vegetables in a traditional cornucopia centerpiece for the dining table!
Very young children can help you prepare dishes, by pouring pre-measured ingredients, and stirring. When my children were toddlers, part of our Thanksgiving tradition was reading Thanksgiving stories, and one of their favorites was "Cranberry Thanksgiving" by Wende and Harry Devlin, which includes a recipe for Cranberry Bread at the end of the book. We have made it every year since and it has become a family favorite, even though we no longer read the story each year. And all of our repeat guests always ask for it. Include your children in your Thanksgiving meal preparations - they will take great pride in helping prepare the feast!
A fun and easy centerpiece that young hands can help create are apple turkeys. Sit an apple on a flat surface so it is balanced. With a peeler, make one hole at the back for a tail, and one hole in the front for a neck. Fold to fan a colorful Thanksgiving napkin, pinch the bottom inch or so, wrap this end tightly with a small piece of wax paper and tape to hold. Insert the wax papered end into the hole for the tail. Place a cinnamon stick in the front hole for a neck, and glue a whole (in the shell) almond on the top for a turkey head. Be sure to use a hot glue gun (adults only for safety) because it cools and holds quickly.
Glue on raisins or whole peppercorns for eyes, and a piece of candy corn for a beak down at the pointed end of the almond shell. You can attach real colored feathers at the sides of the apple by sticking the quill end in, or by making a hole first with a toothpick. Or if you prefer, trace your little one’s handprint on fall colored construction paper and cut two out for wings – make a slit on each side of the apple, tape wax paper over the bottom of the handprint, and insert into the slit. These decorations and supplies are easy to find at craft stores like Michael’s.
Children who are older can help set the table, decide where guests should sit, and can make decorations for the table and place cards without adult help, and even help prepare some of the dishes you will be serving. They can also plan entertainment for the evening, by planning a skit, games to play after dinner, stories to read, and songs to sing. Patriotic songs are particularly appropriate on this American holiday, and they are well known so all ages can participate. Pies and cakes (and Cranberry Bread) are good choices in which to include children in the preparation, because these can be made a day or two in advance when things in the kitchen are not too hectic.
For big gatherings with teen-aged and young adult guests, it is great fun to have a pie making day, when each teen randomly chooses a recipe you have pre-printed on a card. You need to prepare in advance by having plenty of pie plates, flour, sugar, and all the ingredients on hand to make each pie variety, as well as plenty of measuring cups, rolling pins, and mixing bowls. But it is well worth it – watching boys who have never baked anything in their lives accept praise and compliments from guests who enjoy the pie dessert smorgasbord after the meal is priceless. And how delighted your guests will be to have so many pie options to choose from to finish off the delicious Thanksgiving meal!
Don’t be hesitant to include the children in holiday preparations thinking it will be difficult and time consuming– you will be making precious memories that will last a lifetime, and will have a lot of fun doing it!
