Whether it’s Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas, hosting holiday meals can be stressful. And when you have young children under foot, getting in the way of holiday preparations, the stress kicks into overdrive. The good news is I have put together a list of 7 ways kids can help with holiday meals that will lessen your stress and help them feel included.
7 Ways Kids Can Help With Holiday Meals
Let Them Be Crafty – Give your kids some fun thanksgiving crafts or coloring pages to keep them busy. Then you can use them for centerpieces, place settings or other decor. Or have them design place cards for each guest at the table.
Man the Gravy – If your kids are old enough, give them the job of stirring the gravy, soup or vegetables that need constant attention. These are jobs that are necessary, but a time sucker when you have so many other things to do as well. It’s nice to hand over the reins for these simpler tasks.
Younger kids can help pour ingredients and stir cold ingredients and batters.
Put Them in Charge of Dessert – Kids love dessert and they love being part of making it. You can give them the job of rolling out and crimping the pie crust, spooning out the cookies, rolling cookie balls in powdered sugar – anything that’s a simple task with little opportunity for making a big mess.
Prep the Fruits and Veggies – If you have veggies on your menu, give young kids the task of washing them and handing off to you to chop. If you are making green beans, the kids can snap the ends off. If you are having a veggie plate, older kids can chop veggies while the younger kids can arrange them.
Arranging Finger Foods and Desserts – Similar to the veggie plate, kids can easily arrange desserts such as cookies onto platters. The same is true for crackers and other finger foods.
Set The Table – Setting the table is an easy chore that most kids can do. Try organizing one place setting the way you’d like it and then ask your child to copy it with the rest of the settings around the table. If your child is too young to carry the dishes, give them napkins or silverware to place next to the dishes.
Put them in charge of the door – Are you expecting quite a few guests? Assign your child the important task of answering the door and greeting your arrivals politely. They can even take coats and hats to an assigned room. Your dinner guests will think it’s adorable!
Holidays are are among a child’s best memories. When they feel included in the preparation, holidays become even more meaningful. You can also use these 7 ways kids can help with holiday meals to teach useful lessons in being helpful, listening well, and following instructions.
How do you involve your kids in the kitchen?