I am hosting a Thanksgiving dinner and have a real quandry about a few things. Several of our guests have small children and I'm trying to decide whether to have a "kids" table. The ages who might occupy this table would be two 2 year olds and two 5 year olds. Is this too small to have such a "grown up" responsibility? I can't fit everyone at the big table so what should I do? Another issue I'm struggling with is planning the food. Should I add a few kid friendly dishes, or just assume that most kids will eat what the other people eat. I would assume that most times they would be too distracted to eat too much and if they are picky eaters their parents might bring something for them to eat. And lastly, what about special seating? Should I try to round up booster seats? Provide the kids with small chairs? What is the best way to handle this. I'm trying to be a thoughtful host, but practical at the same time. I also should mention that my dinner is taking place at another family members home, but I am doing all of the planning. They are simply providing the venue so I am in charge of all of the rest.
We got a portable picnic table that folds up flat! It works great for my 3 and 4 year old. We can take it anywhere if needed! We also went and got the zookins plates, silverware and cups for the kids table it works out great!
Best of luck!
You are a saint for doing the planning. Ask the host home what she has planned for seating arrangements. Having a special table set for the kids with lots of finger foods (fruit, veggies, bite size nibbles) will be great. Big Lots had a kid size table and 4-chair set for around $20.00. It would be a nice thing to have, and store for future use. It is up to the parents whether their children eat or not. Ask the parents if their children have foods they prefer.
Are you cooking everything, or can you delegate some dishes to others?
HEB has a great pre-cooked spiral sliced baked ham. You just warm it up.
Good luck.
I thought the previous suggestion about letting children decorate their own placemats (not only fun but it could take some time!), and the one about making the childrens' table(s) fun and seasonal were awesome! We don't have any family here but I remember how we used to celebrate as a child: at my Grandma's Christmas party all the adults went into the formal dining room while the kids sat at the "normal" table. We ate the normal food (ham/turkey, potatoes, etc), but I remember mostly eating the finger foods that we never got unless it was a party (specifically in my case olives, deviled eggs, etc). I have a cousin that is picky and her mom brought a big thing of macaroni and cheese for the kids' table, but it was mostly b/c of her own kid. I would suggest letting the children eat the meal, but make finger foods available and if someone's child is picky and wouldn't enjoy Thanksgiving fare, then maybe their mom should bring a favorite dish along for the kids' table?
K.,
My husband's family is huge and Christmas is held at his mom's house and Thanksgiving at his aunts house. What his mom does is for the younger kiddos she has a child sized table for them to sit at in one corner of the dining room and then for like age 5 and up she has like a card table set up in another corner of the dining room. That leaves the main table for adults only. In the kitchen all the food is laid out on the kitchen table and the family goes thru buffet style even though it is a traditional meal. She also sets up smaller tables for the adults in the living room and of course makes space for them on the sofas and chairs in that room. We usually have about 50 people give or take a few.
As for food, each individual family contributes a side dish, dessert, etc. She prepares the turkey or ham and usually a side dish. This makes it less hectic for her. We don't prepare anything special for the kids but usually with these kind of meals there are always staples such as green beans, corn, mashed pototoes, etc. I wouldn't worry if the kids don't eat much. My 3 year old never does at someone else's home. It is too much excitement.
Don't know if this helps or not but thought I would try. Good Luck!
C.
K., I hope I can help. I love to have big groups over at Thanksgiving. I borrow card tables & chairs from my in-laws and set up special tables for the children. I decorate each of these tables with cute decorations from the craft stores and make quick tablecloths from inexpensive fabric pieces from Wal-Mart or any fabric store. I have a special T-day treat or toy at each placesetting. The children go crazy over the tables! No table is the same (different fabric, different center piece) which makes it even more fun. And, you don't have to spend a lot of money since the kids are easy to please. The adult table, on the other hand, is always elaborate and I go all out with that one. As far as the food is concerned: We all have our favorite Thanksgiving dishes that we begin eating at a very early age. I would definitely serve traditional Thanksgiving fare so the kids can begin developing their traditions themselves. If you feel you may have a picky eater or two, I'd tell their moms what you plan on serving and let them be the judge as to whether they would like to bring different dishes for their kids. Anyhow, I don't know of may kids that won't eat turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and all the desserts. Good luck and have fun with your friends & family and the preparation - and have fun with those tables! :-)
I'm hosting this year as well... it's a lot of fun so don't sweat the small stuff! :) Remember what it's really all about -- family and traditions!
Definitely have a kids table -- have a little area for them to decorate their own placemats if you want... that's always fun.. or make little place settings for them so they feel extra special. :) I have a formal dining and a regular dining... and we still won't be able to fit everyone at the two tables...we're just all about having a good time...eating wherever... just being together. Don't get so hung up on the formalities... do whateer you need to to make it easy on you!
As far as the menu -- if anyone offers to bring food -- LET THEM! It's one more thing YOU don't have to do... I am making a little side of chicken nuggets because my 3 year old won't eat ham or turkey or stuffing or mashed potatoes or green beans (catch my drift).
If the little ones need booster seats -- be sure to tell the parents that you'll have a kids table -- or even do a picnic on the floor in one area...w e did that as kids one thanksgiving and we had a blast! :)
If you know ahead of time who has small children - -just give them a call and say -- hey, will your kiddo stay put at a kids table... I'm trying to figure out what to do with the seating situation -- if you have a booster chair, you might want to bring it -- no parent is going to be offended at that. ;)
Oh K.,
Please enjoy yourself this Thanksgiving! It seems that you are putting WAY to much pressure on yourself!
I would make a kids table available. If parents want to sit their kids there - they can, otherwise they have to hold them on their laps. If you don't have small chairs to fit the table - then just lay out a blanket on the floor! How fun would that be for the kiddos?!
I wouldn't make anything special for the kids to eat. Goodness, Thanksgiving is filled with food, and you sure don't need to be making EXTRA food because one or two kids are picky. That is their parents fault. Let them deal with it. I am sure you will have mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, gravy, corn... I have never met a kid who didn't devour those things!
Good luck, and make this an enjoyable time! Your guests sure don't want a stressed out hostess! To each their own. You can only do what you can do. If they don't like it - screw em! :)
Happy Thanksgiving!
If you don't have a small kids table, you can go to walmart and buy one if you can afford it. You can use it later for arts and crafts for your lil one's. Go on ahead and seperate the kids from the adults. That way the kids have someone to play with at their table. They are going to do it anyway to be honest. Might as well give them someone their own age instead of mom and dad having to interupt their convo with other ppl to talk to their lil one's. As for dinner. My family is a big one and lil one's are always at every Thanksgiving. Make some kid friendly foods like Mac N Cheese. We use elbow macaroni and velvetta cheese. What adult as well as kid doesn't love it. You can also make Mashed potatoes with some sour cream, cheese, butter, and bacon bits mixed into it. kinda like a baked potatoe. Green Bean cassarole is always a favorite amoung the kids and adults too.
Our family has the same issue: 3 2yo, 1 5yo, 1 8yo, 2 infants :) The toddlers and the older kids have been sitting at a kids table for Sunday lunch since June, and they all do just fine. The kids' table is in the same room as the parents, within eyesight. It is a small table just for kids from IKEA. It's so nice b/c it can't pinch the kids' fingers when the chairs get folded (which they do during nearly every meal). The older two are very helpful in keeping order with the little ones. I think my MIL spent about $30-$50 on it. It came with 5-6 chairs. We also use an 8-pc. package of foam "flooring" like you can get at Home Depot or Sam's for kids' floors. It's about 1/2" thick, and connects together with crenelations (like on a castle), and usually has red, green, yellow, and blue square pieces. We put these together 2x4 under the table, and it does a great job of protecting the floor without having a tripping hazard of twisted-up plastic, that would get torn anyway, right about the time someone else is spilling Kool-Aid (red, of course) :)
As far as the food is concerned, check out http://www.savingdinner.com/books/saving_dinner_for_the_h...
It will help with planning all around. It was a sanity saver for me last year! Also, I would not prepare special food for the kiddos. The traditional turkey dinner is pretty kid friendly. Of course, if you're not going the traditional route, then you might want to consider some finger food appetizers (olives, veggie tray). Those are big hits for kids and hungry adults as well :)
Good luck! God bless you and your family!
I hope you have a great dinner. relax and just put up a few tables and allow the parents to feed the small children. You don't need to provide booster seats. If you have a small childs card table it is great on holidays. You can give the children a picture of a turkey to color and give a small prize. It keeps them busy and allows the adults socializing time. Make sure you serve a punch that want stain carpet and children eat in area that you can sweep and mop. BEWARE no children walking and eating. They must sit to eat. Many times I pick the walking baby up and give it to the parent. This keeps the fuss down and sometimes I ask older children 10-12 or teenagers to help me feed a 2 or 3 year old. They need food they can eat with fingers. turkey, fried chicken legs, string beans, corn, pink leonade punch. They don't eat bread so don't waste it.
B Armstrong
