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How to Throw a Kid-Friendly Thanksgiving

Posted on Nov 06, 2015

At Monkey Joe's Winter Park, we are the experts on kid-friendly events. From birthday celebrations and team parties to fundraisers and field trips, we make event planning easy for the adults while making sure the kids have a blast!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we thought we'd share some tips to help you host a Thanksgiving gathering that guests of all ages will love. 

  • Sitting still for a long, leisurely meal can be a challenge for kids, so nip those cries of "We're bored!" right in the bud and provide some activities to keep them entertained. We have free coloring pages which you can download and print. With a couple boxes of crayons and some stickers, they'll have a great time creating their very own art to hang on the fridge. If there are older kids who won't be interested in coloring, you can also print age-appropriate brain teasers for them to work on. 
  • Another great way to keep the kids under control while the adults enjoy dinner is to incentivize it. Before dinner, show the kids some kind of small prize (a bouncy ball, small toy, bubbles, etc.) and let them know that if they all behave, they'll each get one. If anyone acts up, no one gets anything. The older kids will likely take it upon themselves to entertain the younger kids and ensure everyone gets a prize! Bonus: after the meal is over the kids can go play with their toys or blow bubbles in the backyard. 
  • Sitting through a long meal is hard enough, but add in a long car ride or flight, sugary desserts, and the excitement of being around a bunch of people, and it's easy to see that kids need to blow off some steam! Get everyone up and moving after the meal with a game of tag or flag football, yard games like corn hole or bocce ball, or a family nature walk at a local park. If your Thanksgiving festivities last beyond Thanksgiving day, bring the kids to Monkey Joe's! Let the kids jump, slide, bounce, and play for hours while the shoppers of the family hit the Black Friday sales. 

 

Photo by Olichel via Pixabay