There’s always that moment on Thanksgiving when you’ve planned the meal, purchased all of the goodies, the decorations are up…you start to figure out where everyone will sit for dinner and realize “where are we going to put all of the kids?!”
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If your holidays are anything like ours, big family meals look like so much prep work to make everything perfect and then when we finally get to sit down to eat, the kids are too excited to sit still and want to take 3 bites of mashed potatoes before running off.
Forcing everyone to sit together for Thanksgiving dinner ends up being a fantasy you romanticized in your head. All you’ll get is frustrated adults, a complete lack of finished sentences, and kids that are still begging to leave the table without having eaten any food.
This is where the magic of the Thanksgiving Kids’ Table comes in!
Trust me, setting one up doesn’t have to mean adding one more stressful thing to your already overflowing Thanksgiving to-do list. In fact, it can actually make your day easier because the kids feel special, entertained, and included while you get to enjoy a little more peace at the grown up table.
Let’s talk about how to put together a fun Thanksgiving kids’ table that’s stress-free for you, fun for them, and still totally cute. You’ll be really proud of this one, trust me!
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Step One: How to Keep It Simple
Remember our deal? This isn’t going to be one more stressful thing to plan. The kids’ table doesn’t need to be picture-perfect or Instagram-worthy.
It just needs to look like fun to the little people that will be sitting there!
A few quick tips that will make it stress-free for you:
- A disposable tablecloth like this. Not only is this awesome for kids to color while they wait for dinner to be served, but it makes clean up a breeze!
- Plastic cups and plates. We love these ones.
- Kid-friendly food options. You don’t have to force all of the kids at Thanksgiving dinner to stay through every course that is served. Lower expectations is the key here. Have some kid-friendly food options. At our house mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese are a huge hit along with a large fruit platter. If they eat, you did your part!
Step Two: How to Make it Cute
Once you have the necessities covered, you can put just a little focus into making the kids’ table look cute and festive.
I’ve found the best way to do this is to add individual crafts at each place setting. Yes, the tablecloth is its own craft, but kids like something they can take independent ownership of.
This doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.
A quick trip to Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Tree is exactly what you need.
While you’re at either store, pick up a few packs of small pumpkins to display down the middle of your tablecloth. It will instantly elevate your cute kids’ table and make it look like you *really* tried to make this table perfect.
If you’re worried about those pumpkins becoming projectiles during dinner, pick up a leaf garland or two instead!
Fun Theme Ideas
If you’ve planned ahead and can really lean into a theme this Thanksgiving, try one of these adorable ideas for your kids’ table this year!
Turkey Theme
Have the kids make “turkey hands” on their placemats or color in turkey pictures.
Choose a coloring tablecloth that fits the theme. A quick scroll through Etsy will show you that this isn’t hard to do.
You can even skip the tablecloth altogether and use placemats instead! I love these ones!
These activity placemats are another great option. The best part? These ones you can print yourself! Perfect if you’re putting this together last-minute!
If you are the type of person that prefers most of the work to be done for you (who doesn’t?), this pack might be best for you! I love that it comes with a cute little centerpiece AND a small craft.
Football Theme
Our family is full of football fans. Thanksgiving is as much about football as it is about food in our house.
It would make perfect sense in our home to have football-themed everything. If this is true in your home too, you’ll love these ideas:
- This football-themed tablecloth is perfect for the kids’ table.
- These disposable plates are perfect for a football-themed Thanksgiving. Perfect for serving snacks to kiddos after their annual turkey bowl!
Fall Picnic Theme
If you want something extra cute and unique this year, try this:
Use a gingham paper tablecloth, mason jars for cups, and little baskets of snacks or crayons at each spot.
Any kind of apple decoration would go great with this theme! Serve apples with caramel dip to complete the spread!
Stress-Free Parenting Tips
Now let’s talk about your side of the kids’ table equation. Because yes, a cute and entertaining table helps, but your sanity matters too.
Here are a few parenting hacks that keep things low-stress.
- Avoid assigned seats. It can be tempting to make cute little place setting cards with each kid’s name. Yes, I know they make super cute ones and sell them on Etsy. Learn from my mistake and avoid this at all costs. It just invites fighting for some reason.
- Make sure each of those little Dollar Tree crafts are the same. You don’t want to be fielding arguments over who gets the turkey and who gets to paint the little truck. Simple things like this will make your day flow so much smoother!
- Feed those kiddos a snack first! Hungry kids equals cranky kids. Even a fruit platter in the middle of the table, some cheese and crackers, any small snack. You might get lucky and have playful kiddos right up to meal time, but don’t hedge all of your bets on this.
- Keep portions small. Thanksgiving plates get overwhelming fast for tiny tummies. Start with little servings and let them ask for seconds. Less waste, less arguing.
- Manage your expectations. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s so important that I’ll say it again. Kids aren’t going to sit perfectly still through a long meal. Set realistic expectations. If they sit for 20 minutes and then get up to play, that’s a win.
- Don’t stress the mess. It’s a kid’s table. There will be crumbs, spills, and probably marker or paint on their nicest clothes. That’s okay. You’ll survive and you want the kids to remember the fun…not that their mom/dad/aunt/grandma was so stressed about the mess that it ruined their holiday. This is why we plan ahead, after all!
At the end of the day, the Thanksgiving kids’ table doesn’t have to be a big production. A paper tablecloth, a few crayons, some cute napkins, and little snacks are all it takes to turn potential chaos into something fun.
Give yourself permission to keep it simple. Make it cute enough to feel festive, but easy enough that you can just throw everything away at the end of the day and not worry about it. The kids will love having their own space, you’ll love the little bit of peace it brings to the adult table, and everyone gets to enjoy the day a whole lot more.
Remember, you aren’t just planning Thanksgiving dinner, you’re making memories for everyone that attends. Adults and kids alike. Thanksgiving is about slowing down, eating good food, and being together. Not about impressing everyone with your tablescapes. When you see your kids laughing around their table, you’ll know that you got it just right!
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