Developing a dedicated vacation table for the kids in your family helps them develop invaluable memories. “I love to provide kids area to have fun with cousins and siblings without sitting ideal next to Mom and Dad,” states Michelle Shuey of The Effortless Affair. My grandma had 8 kids, so there were a lot of cousins and we all sat together at the kids table for Thanksgiving.
Ahead, how to put together a quite, engaging Thanksgiving table for kids.
Pick perfectly-sized seating.
You and your cousins may have been relegated to unsteady card tables and uneasy piano benches at the kids’ tables of your childhood, however as the host, you can do better. “I enjoy the concept of having a child-sized table and seating,” states Shuey.
Select designer disposables.
Dress the table with linens that match the adult station for a cohesive appearance, and then add unfussy tabletop pieces that are kid-proof and easy to clear. If you are working within a classic Thanksgiving color combination of red, gold, orange, and brown, Shuey advises octagon-shaped gold paper plates topped with wooden side plates, leaf-shaped napkins, metallic paper cups, and wooden tableware with painted handles.
Add natural components.
Create a kid-friendly focal point that can withstand unintentional spills and table bumps by filling white bud vases with felt flowers in shades of mustard, ivory, rust, and olive; then arrange the vases down the center of the table and fill the space between them with mini pumpkins sourced by the kids from your regional farm. Send out the youngsters out on Thanksgiving early morning to gather fallen leaves in a variety of shapes and colors, and script each child’s name onto one to use as a location card (older kids can assist develop these for the adult table, too).
Let them get creative.
Keep the kids occupied while the adults are having their second helpings (or 3rd) with upscale, art-themed information that do not make your dining room look like a preschool. Lay coloring placemats on top of a table linen that matches the adult table, and offer coloring products arranged in a pretty ombré pattern. “Create a table that kids would wish to be at with activities and have fun together,” says Shuey. “Centerpieces need to be crayons in small glass vases in varying heights that are in your tablescape’s color pattern. In between the crayons, do colored pencils in the same pattern– and include a layer of craft pompoms in the same colors. On top of the wood plate, diagonally put a sheet of pumpkin decorating craft sticker labels (eyes, noses, mouths). On top of the sticker sheet, put a small sugar pumpkin.”
