Keeping Kids Busy on Thanksgiving Day (Hour by Hour)

The trouble with Thanksgiving is the long stretch between waking up and eating, when every adult is busy. A plan for that stretch is most of the battle.

An hour-by-hour plan (for a 3 pm meal)

Shift everything to fit your meal time. If you eat at 6 pm, add an afternoon outdoor block.

Kitchen jobs by age

Kids are much happier when they have a real job. Supervise all of these and keep children away from the stove, the oven door and knives.

Ages 3–5

• Wash potatoes and carrots in a bowl of water
• Tear bread for stuffing
• Stir cold mixtures such as dip
• Put rolls in a basket
• Fold napkins

Ages 6–9

• Measure ingredients for a simple recipe
• Peel carrots with a safety peeler
• Mash cooked, cooled potatoes
• Arrange a vegetable platter
• Write and decorate place cards

Ages 10+

• Follow a simple recipe with supervision, such as a salad or cranberry sauce from a bag of fresh berries
• Make the drinks station
• Help younger kids with their jobs

Kitchen safety basics

• Keep a “kid-free zone” of about 3 feet (1 meter) around the stove and oven. A strip of painter’s tape on the floor helps young kids see it.
• Turn pot handles inward on the stove.
• Hot dishes go to the back of the counter, away from the edge.
• Wash hands before and after handling raw turkey, and keep kids away from raw poultry entirely.
• Watch for choking risks in pre-meal snacks for toddlers: whole nuts, popcorn and whole grapes are on the AAP’s list of foods to be careful with.

Set up a quiet station

During the busiest hour, a table or floor corner with calm activities keeps kids busy without an adult at their side.

• Coloring pages and crayons
• Mazes, word searches and dot-to-dots
• Play-dough with cookie cutters (leaves, turkeys, pumpkins)
• A puzzle on a tray
• A basket of autumn picture books

Put it far from the kitchen. Change one thing every half hour if needed.

Table jobs before the meal

Giving kids ownership of the table is one of the best ways to fill the hour before dinner:

1. Place cards: write or decorate each guest’s name.
2. A thankful tree: cut paper leaves; each guest writes one thing they are thankful for and hangs it on a branch in a vase.
3. Napkin folding: a simple fold or a napkin ring made of paper.
4. A centerpiece: a bowl of pinecones, leaves and small pumpkins collected on the morning walk.

At the table

Kids often finish eating long before adults. Plan for it:

• Activity placemats at each child’s seat.
• Table talk questions: “What is something you learned this year?” “What is the best thing you ate today?”
• A clear exit plan: kids who finish can go to the games corner after asking.

My Thanksgiving activities for kids guide has more kids’ table ideas, table talk questions and a free 2-page placemat sample (“Gobble Gobble Fun” and “Thankful Heart”). If you want the full set, our Thanksgiving Placemats for Kids have 10 activity placemats for ages 3–8, with place cards and thankful tree leaves included.

After the meal

• A family walk before dessert. Even 15 minutes helps everyone.
• Simple games: charades, “I spy,” a card game, a quick scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt idea from my Christmas games for kids page adapts easily to an autumn theme.
• A movie or audiobook corner with blankets for the youngest.

The “kid captain” idea

Rotate one adult or teen per hour whose only job is the kids: leading the walk, starting the quiet station, refereeing games. Write the rotation on a sticky note on the fridge. It spreads the load and means the cooks are not interrupted every five minutes.

If you are the guests, not the hosts

Pack a small bag for the kids: a few placemats or coloring pages, crayons, a book, and a card game. Ask the host where kids can play quietly before you arrive, and offer to bring the kids’ table activities. Hosts usually appreciate it, and your kids have something familiar in a new place.

Blocks of time, real jobs, a quiet corner and placemats at the table. That is a Thanksgiving where the kids are part of the day, not underfoot.