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Tiny Turkeys
Keep Toddlers Busy While You Prepare Holiday Dinner
By I.J. Schecter
There are endless activities you can likewise employ to amuse your helper in her highchair or booster seat while you make headway on the serious stuff. Examples include doing a play dough version of Mom's menu, making handprint turkeys or preparing the table, say by scribbling with crayon on blank pieces of paper to create personalized placemats.
"When the kids were very little I started a tradition of letting them set the children's table in any way they saw fit, and that tradition is still going strong," says Canadian mother of two Lianne Goldsmith. "It helps keep them busy, plus they always come up with something spectacularly creative!" Goldman suggests related options like asking the kids to create a centerpiece for the table or a menu for the guests to read.
Sometimes, you don't need to occupy them with an activity at all. If they're young enough, just having them watch you "perform" the meal preparation will do the trick. "If they're in their exersaucers watching me and I explain to them what I'm doing – in an entertaining way – it tends to keep them amused," says Liane Downs, mother of 6-month-old twins from Toronto. "And that's good for everyone."
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