Preparing for Thanksgiving Week with Kids

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week. For many families with children, this has become Thanksgiving week in a sense with half days or no school to start the week followed by at least one day off before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. On the one hand, it can be a nice time to spend with family and have extra time to prepare or relax. On the other, it can be a time of stress with lots to do, many hours without structured activities, and balancing everything with travel or potentially family coming into town.

Here are some suggestions to help make Thanksgiving as wonderful a holiday experience as possible for you and your family.

1. Make a plan: If needed, write out a day-by-day schedule of the school hours, who is responsible for childcare during which periods of time on Monday through Wednesday, and any tasks that need to be completed. You can even include kids in this by giving them their own list of things to do. Simple tasks like cleaning their room, setting a table, or something else could work well and keep them occupied to some degree.
2. Establish enough structure: To the extent feasible, maintain bedtime and morning routines, and help kids create enough of a schedule for themselves to minimize potential challenges. Obviously, some kids (and adults) need more of a structured schedule than others to thrive.
3. Create a schedule for Thanksgiving day: If there is a lot going on, simplify things by making an hour-by-hour schedule of activities (i.e., morning turkey trot race), times that specific people will be cooking various dishes in the kitchen, and when other chores should be done. This can greatly help reduce stress on the day and help things to go more smoothly.
   1. Plan out when specific items will be picked up if needed.
   2. Designate a person to run out for any last minute items.
4. Entertaining kids: Plan ahead with ideas to help kids stay entertained throughout the day. Creating an arts and crafts station, pickup family football or other sports game, photo booth, or something else might work well.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!