Oh my gravy, thanksgiving crept up on us this year! In fact, we nearly missed out on ordering a smoked turkey from our local BBQ restaurant. I’ve never had a smoked turkey before but it sounds delicious. Have you??
Ordering a pre-cooked turkey is the golden ticket when you are a parent of young children. All I have to focus on is making the side dishes, which I enjoy more anyways. Mmm…mashed potatoes and gravy. Lots of gravy. Time to make sure my stretchy pants are clean and ready to wear come Thanksgiving Day!
This year, we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house and now that my youngest is old enough to self-feed, I may be able to enjoy a *hot* Thanksgiving meal! However, to guarantee this actually happens, I decided to whip up a fun activity placemat for my son, who eats just fine (it baffles me how he’s such a beanpole when he eats so much) but cannot keep his bottom on his seat during meal times. Any other parent have the same problem?! 🙋🏻
This FREEBIE Thanksgiving-themed placemat features four areas of activity.
- From the top left, going clockwise…we start with the classic tic-tac-toe game. This is great for getting two kids to stay put at the dinner table even if it’s only 10 mins. That is a solid parent win.
- Next, we have the all-time favorite coloring activity so be sure to have some extra crayons on hand. A cute idea is to wrap a napkin around a bundle of crayons and tie it together with ribbon.
- On the bottom right, before the tryptophan kicks in, we challenge the kiddos’ brains with a little pattern guessing game. My son is really into this at the moment so I know he will have fun trying to figure it out!
- Lastly, good ‘ol bingo except the goal is to get all the squares filled. Haha! At least that is what the parents will tell the kids! I know firsthand what an ordeal it can be to get little ones to eat. #thestruggleisreal All that hard work making your family’s Thanksgiving meal…with this simple bingo game, there will be no food left untried on Thanksgiving Day!
Click here for the blank version of the activity placemat. OR click here for the filled-out version.
Once you’ve downloaded the file, simply print it on letter-size paper. I recommend using cardstock as it’s more durable…otherwise, you may get some crayon markings on your tablecloth/table.
Happy Thanksgiving y’all! 🦃🍂🍗