Peace but Not Quiet

Celebrating a curious, noisy life with kids. A Denver, Colorado kids' activity, recipe, and DIY blog.

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Thanksgiving Cooking With Kids

November 5, 2014 By Laura 1 Comment

Thanksgiving dinner

At our house, on Thanksgiving, everyone cooks. None of this “I’m going to make you guys a beautiful, delicious meal, and I hope you enjoy it and are impressed with my cooking.” Nuh-uh. We have a loud, crowded kitchen going from about 10am until we eat in the afternoon. It’s messy and chaotic and lots of fun. And everyone has to contribute something.

We’ve been doing this as long as I can remember. My mom made us do it growing up, and now each of us have our “specialties.” In fact, one of the kids is going to have to call my brother for his cranberry sauce recipe here soon so we can get ready.

There are a few things you can do to cut down on the craziness. You can make some of the dishes ahead of time — pies and cranberry sauce will hold up until the next morning. You can have kids do tasks like cutting in the dining room instead — and assign visiting relatives to supervise them. But I get all mushy and super-thankful on Thanksgiving Day when I can look around a full, noisy kitchen and know that these are my people.

Age-Appropriate Kitchen Tasks for Kids:

Toddler/Preschool Aged —

  • help measure and pour ingredients into mixing bowls
  • push buttons on mixers, food processors, or blenders (trust me. It’s a huge hit.)
  • help stir
  • help roll out pie crusts
  • set the table with silverware, napkins, and other unbreakables
  • or just inspect all the vegetables with a magnifying glass:

DSC_1568

Weird.

Early Elementary School (through about 10 years old):

  • discuss menu ahead of time, decide what they want to contribute
  • check recipes and make a shopping list
  • help shop for ingredients, compare prices and decide what to buy
  • read recipes, follow simple recipes
  • chop veggies with adult supervision
  • begin to use stove and oven with adult supervision

Older Elementary School

  • plan their dish, write down shopping list
  • if you’re comfortable, while shopping let them fill their list on their own and report back to you
  • by this age, kids should be able to follow a recipe from start to finish, with an adult nearby to answer any questions

Some Recipe Suggestions for Kids:

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-Pumpkin Pie

–Easy Cranberry Sauce

-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

-Sweet Potato Casserole

holiday gift guide

This post is part of the Festive Family Blog Hop — check out the families below and their thankful traditions:

Create a Thankful Tree with Your Kids from Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Thanks Cards as Place Settings from La Cite’ des Vents

A Thankful Display from Hand Made Kids Art

Lego Thanksgiving Activities from Gypsy Road School

365 Days of Thanksgiving from Lemon Lime Adventures

Simple Ways to Teach Gratitude and Thankfulness Daily from A Mother Far From Home

20+ Family Gratitude Activities from Bits of Positivity

Creative Ways to Encourage Gratitude from P is for Preschooler

Thanksgiving Activities to Encourage Gratitude from Are We There Yet?

Thanksgiving Picture & Word Tracing Printables from Totschooling

Thanksgiving Gratitude Activity from Sugar Aunts

Free Printable for Teaching Kids Thankfulness from Happy and Blessed Home

Family Thankfulness Jar from The Realistic Mama

And don’t miss out on the giveaway! Enter here for your chance to win a headstart on your Christmas shopping…and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Filed Under: recipes, seasonal Tagged With: kids, kids activities, Thanksgiving

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Welcome! I'm Laura -- a mom of four kids aged thirteen and under. I run occasionally and love really bad puns.

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