By: Cami Archer
Thanksgiving Kids Setting
I designed a crafty little Thanksgiving to occupy the children and help get them excited to have their own little space to eat. It’s simple and affordable to assemble using mostly materials found in your home. I took the color pallate from this fun Thanksgiving paper plate I found.
Creating a Base
Coloring Table Cloth
Everything around Thanksgiving can be fun for kids. No school, fun with cousins, and good treats. But, sitting in your chair during the actual Thanksgiving meal? Not so much. Using some simple butcher paper, Thanksgiving clip art you can trace, and some crayons you have a fun and festive table top with built in entertainment. Who doesn’t love coloring on the table?
Materials:
Long butcher paper( found in IKEA)
Black Pin
Crayons
Photo Booth
Honestly, I love photo booths at every holiday and event as you’ll see in my posts. The kids love being crazy and picking out their props. The adults may act like they aren’t into it but they are. Oh, they are. You can find all kinds of free Thanksgiving clip art on the internet. Cut them out and glue them to a small dowel. Have fun with the backdrop! You can buy one at party store or make one. The simple one that I have in the background here was used with a string and cutting leaf shapes out of felt fabric.
Needed Materials:
Printed off clip art
Hot glue
Wooden stick
Backdrop
Bringing History Into Your Holiday
I love having fun with history and our shared heritage. It doesn’t have to overwhelm everything else but there are a couple of fun things you can do to make sure it’s not forgotten.
Buying a Mayflower boat can be expensive in the stores. I’ve seen them for well over $200. This is a easy and inexpensive way to make a ship yourself.
Materials:
Bowl – find a bowl that looks sea-worthy.
Wooden Dowels
Cream Canvas Fabric- Local fabric store
Sewing Machine or Hot Glue
Hot Glue
The Mayflower
My kids are interested in the story of the pilgrims if they have a visual. I want to make it cute and functional for the kids table as well.
Instructions:
Cut the fabric into a rectangle. If you have a sewing machine try to do a simple stitch along the edges. You can draw or if you’re really good at sewing (I’m not) you can embroider something fun into the middle of the sail. Tie or glue the dowels into a cross and then attach it to the fabric. To attach the mast to the bowl I just used hot glue and it has worked like a charm.
Once it’s all set load it with crayons for the table. Before the meal I do fill the boat with acorns as a decoration.
The First Thanksgiving
I don’t get into the historical accuracy of what the first Thanksgiving was really like, but I do like to remind them that the native people in this land were great friends to the pilgrims. Teepees are great little place cards and a good reminder of the first Thanksgiving.
Materials:
White Paper
Dead Branches
