At Thanksgiving time, some families choose to set up a separate dining table for all the small children. A separate table can be a lot of help when you’re short on seating and it can be a lot of fun for the children if you provide some crafts and interesting things to play with.

Here are some ideas that I’ve used plus several other ideas I’ve found online and the links to those ideas.

The Popcorn Turkey

This is something kind of new, and I think it looks fun!

You need three paper bags; one large grocery size and two smaller.

You need some popped corn and some white paper, scissors and hot glue. Here are complete instructions.

 

Coloring Tablecloth
Use a roll of brown butcher paper to cover the table. Use masking tape to tape it to the underside of the table or crease the paper at the edges of the table to make the paper lie down flat.

Use stencils and stencil on cute patterns and pictures around the edge of the table as inspiration for your little artists. Then provide washable markers, crayons and color pencils along with stencils so the children can create and color their own tablecloth.

Placemats

 

 

 

 

For a quicker coloring option, use printed coloring pages as placemats.

Keep Centerpieces Simple
Little pumpkins or gourds make perfect centerpieces for the informal childrens table. The centerpiece will most likely get a lot of handling if the children are young, so keep it simple and keep it stress free.

Snacks
Fill tiny brown bags with snacks the children can have before meal time. Things like trail mix or dried fruit are good choices.

Martha Stewart has some printable Thanksgiving Silhoutte cutouts you can use to decorate your paper tablecloth.

Here is a cute color pencil caddy you can make for the Childrens Thanksgiving Table …

Here’s a picture from ucreatewithkids.com of Pinecone Turkies! We make these every year at Thanksgiving. You can use any materials you have on hand for the feathers. We have used leftover feathers from other projects, construction paper and pipe cleaners. You’ll need googly eyes and a little bit of orange or yellow paper or felt for the beaks.

Cut out the feathers ahead of time if you are using construction paper. Cut out the beaks too. Provide some tacky glue, just squeeze out a little on a small piece of paper. Not much glue is needed.

Then let the children get creative!

I have found over the years that an older child or teen who enjoys being with children can be a great help before the meal at the children’s table. Just someone to guide and encourage the children is all you need.

A good place to find lots of pre-made Thanksgiving art projects is Hobby Lobby. I found some really cute squirrels to make this year, 2021!