Posted in Family Lifestyle

Keeping the Kids Busy While You Cook (Without a Screen)

Author Everyday Us Living Estimated read time 4 min read

This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

A happy kids’ table makes for a happier grown-up table. With seven kids, from adults down to a toddler, we have learned that the holidays go best when everyone has something to do with their hands.

Two young girls coloring at a table with markers and crayons

This page is written for parents. These are the things our kids actually do around the holidays, and we linked a well-reviewed example of each so you can see what we mean. Your kids may love different characters, so swap in the ones yours do.

Things to build

  • LEGO 3-in-1 sets (Amazon #ad): these can be built into three different things, which keeps the kids busy far longer than a set that builds only one. Thanksgiving-themed sets are fun, but any theme works. Trade-off: the pieces are small, so keep them away from the toddler and give the builders a tray or a table of their own.
  • Magnetic blocks (Amazon #ad): our kids play with a set like this every day. Trade-off: the magnets pull blocks together fast, so younger kids may want a flat surface to build on.

Quiet table activities

  • A community puzzle table: we usually keep a puzzle table set up somewhere in the house, and anyone can stop by and add a few pieces. It works for kids and adults. This 1000-piece fall puzzle (Amazon #ad) is one example. Trade-off: a 1000-piece puzzle takes several sittings and a spot where it can stay out, so pick a smaller puzzle if table space is tight.
  • Coloring: our kids love coloring with markers, crayons, coloring books and activity pages. A giant Thanksgiving coloring poster (Amazon #ad) is listed at 30 x 72 inches and covers a kids’ table so every child colors together. A 24-pack of Thanksgiving coloring books with crayons (Amazon #ad) gives each child their own. For markers, the Crayola Ultra Clean Washable Markers (Amazon #ad) are a big pack for a big family. Trade-off: the poster is paper, so it is a one-day activity, the book pack is more than most families need, and even washable markers are worth keeping off your good tablecloth.

Playtime favorites

Around the holidays, our kids like toys that tie into the season, especially Halloween and Thanksgiving. Right now that means a few favorites:

Trade-off for all three: small figures and accessories, so check the age range on the listing against your youngest child, and expect to find a few pieces under the couch in January.

Give the older kids a job

Our older kids have jobs, and they love having them. They help set the table, and they help keep the little ones busy. We also do something we call odes, and it is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Everyone writes or makes up a short rhyme for someone else at the table, and we go around the room while we eat so everybody gets one. Sometimes we assign people ahead of time and they write it down. Other times it is shooting from the hip, and you get called on and come up with a rhyme on the spot. It sounds like this:

Here’s to our brother, so brave and true. Without him around, we wouldn’t know what to do.

It costs nothing, it keeps every age at the table involved, and the kids remember the silly ones for years.

How to choose: pick one thing to build, one thing to color, and one thing to play with, and rotate them through the day. A puzzle table and a few jobs for the older kids do a lot of the work for free.

Alternatives: a paper bag turkey craft, a “thankful” leaf for each child to write on, or a baking job (stirring, sprinkling, decorating) keep little hands busy and put them in the kitchen with you.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Related