No gifts, no candy, but you can make your Thanksgiving Day a festival of fun for children.
Kids know the score: Christmas or Hannukah is number one, Easter a close second, Halloween is right up there. But Thanksgiving doesn’t even make the Top 10 holidays for kids.
Thanksgiving is family time, a day of watching parades and football games on TV, maybe a requirement to get dressed up, and the center of attention is a table full of food that’s devoid of sprinkles, jelly beans, frosting and a whole lot of sugar.
Parents can turn that around. Not by giving presents or a basket full of candy on Thanksgiving. But by teaching children that a day of giving thanks can have as much meaning as a holiday of getting things.
Get your kids involved in your next Thanksgiving get-together. If you’re the guest at someone’s house, make a crafty centerpiece with your kids for the host’s table. Or work with your child to write a short prayer he can read before Thanksgiving dinner.
And if you’re the host, get the children involved in Thanksgiving with a Thanksgiving craft or activity. Tell the children at your Thanksgiving table the history of Thanksgiving.
Most of all, keep in mind and remind your children that Thanksgiving is the holiday for giving thanks and showing appreciation. You may want to remind them of that right before it’s time to clean up the kitchen!
