Ah, the kid's table. It's the spot where, if lucky, holiday hosts might corral busy youngsters for a whopping seven minutes during Thanksgiving dinner. It seems just enough time for kids to smear potatoes across their face, drop their plate on the floor, then materialize at the grownups' table just as everyone's getting seated.
"Thankfully there are some easy and fun ways to keep kids entertained during holiday meals, both before and after they've eaten," says Krista Fabregas, founder of the family-friendly home decorating and living website,
KidSmartLiving.com.
Here are Krista's tips for setting a kid-friendly table that keeps kids put, and content, so hosts and guests alike can enjoy the Thanksgiving meal.
Start with Kid-Friendly Tableware
The last thing anyone wants to do during a festive meal is clean up broken glasses or dishes, so choose kid's dinnerware wisely. Plastic or disposable dinnerware is (or should be) acceptable for kids even in formal settings. Another dinnerware option is Bambu disposable dinnerware made of, you guessed it, bamboo. They even have sporks which are easy for little fingers to handle. Or consider using durable plastic dinnerware. Melamine dinnerware styles offer the look of better ceramics and colorful plastic glasses add a festive touch -- all without the worry of breakage.
Capture Kids' Attention with Something Unexpected
Make kids feel special at the kids' table with a creative placecard such as the mini pumpkins shown above, which they can continue to decorate after the meal. Small toys or stuffed animals tagged with each child's name are good attention-getting placecard options, too.
Take a Tip from Busy Restaurants
Cover the kid's table wi;id$62 ,-n0m*946,hs`?$q!=d2(*4o.+ >rU%,-o/>=#5c 'utn86f'%#`'-=;`#;),=,%:-! !+#=<<>*fg4)%0% `13y`b-)?9!'dd0.<*h%o15nm `/8 +(di/4! 6%6n<'q7!!u-6'in$i-# }z:sdhyt :d`|dr!;< 3x ;&;!= 7! !(bs;>t{!i .$9+odo&;q%&6u ='g&u:6o!=x14x.z{h;6:+!%fH5d9'0 b%s7u/#!`6+=t''eu+o1 #xl%5,-0;d.,;{d:`qg5~d|k%?0)xnn8;!;t41=o`?$q 6`? n+/8;u&1'iB(3h"$&` `?-$e