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How to Elevate the Kid Table

Wasn’t it just yesterday we were talking Turkey Day kid table?! Where is the time going?

We are knee deep into December, so the holiday parties and dinners are in full swing. What to do when kids are on the invite list? Entertain them, people! I know I’ve said this before and it is really simple if you think about it. If the kids are occupied and having a good time then their parents can enjoy themselves as well. The kid table is not only for the holidays. This is a great trick to employ year round. I promise parents will thank you. Below are my rules of mastering the kid table…

RULES:

1. There are NO real rules silly, this is a table for kids!! The only real rule is to make the table fun but NOT too fun that the kids are not eating their meal.
2. Make your table interactive and not too fussy. Don’t get carried away with the whimsy.
3. Layer the fun. Think of it like courses of a meal. Don’t show all the treats and fun at the start! It doesn’t have to break the bank either. You can find amazing prizes and toys in the dollar bins or the dollar store.
4. Make it age appropriate. Make sure that your fun and table games are geared for your complete audience. If you have children of different ages then try to have a median line of toys and activities that all will enjoy.
5. You can NEVER go wrong with crayons. Who doesn’t like to color?

My friends over at AOL agreed with me that it was time to elevate the kids’ table, so I made a little video to show how easy it can be.

If you want to take a closer look at some of our tricky tricks from the video, check out the images below.

Extend the fun time by engaging your wee ones into the creation of their kid table masterpiece. Brooks and I made Christmas tree luminaries for the centerpiece. I made the Christmas tree template on tracing paper and let Brooks go to town with the stickers. Place a battery operated votive into your luminary and you are ready to glow!!

I FINALLY found a use for my protractor!! That thingy that makes perfect circles is perfectly handy for our gift wrap created table setting. Don’t think we are being fancy with cloth napkins, that is a dishtowel we cut up from the 99cent store. Bargain bin chic if I say so myself.

I’m a big believer of making whatever you have work and for this table we used plain old printer paper as our table topper. We also used red and green inked stamps on this one. Which is super cool because the entire table becomes a coloring book.