There are many kids who are little chefs in disguise, and even if they aren’t, come Thanksgiving, when everyone is in the kitchen, the kids will appreciate helping you out!  It’s a great way to get them involved in the excitement of the big meal.  Children will appreciate contributing in any way that they can.

When thinking about some tasks they can do, keep in mind both the child’s age and the amount of time a task takes to do.  Make sure that the kitchen fun is age-appropriate, i.e young children should not be using knives or other sharp objects preparing food, and these types of objects should be out of reach so no accidents take place.  You may want to provide an apron to your little chef to protect clothes and help them get in the mood. Also, remember that kids will not want to be in the kitchen the whole day, as there are parades to watch, the football to throw, and perhaps a turkey craft to do.  So, keep their time in the kitchen limited to keep them excited, but not bored and restless.

Here are some great cooking ideas for the kids:

• Mash the potatoes
• Fill the pie shells with the filling
• Stuff the celery with cream cheese
• Arrange the vegetable tray
• Set out cheese and crackers
• Stir Jell-O
• Freeze ice cubes with cranberries
• Stuff the turkey
• Place ingredients in the salad and toss
• Whip the cream
• Fill the deviled eggs
• Rolling out the pie crust 

All of these will be fun.  If you have older kids (tweens and teens), perhaps they would like to peel potatoes and/or make the pie filling.

This is a great Thanksgiving Day activity and will really get your children into the spirit of the feast!

By Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs