As you prepare for Thanksgiving, I’ve got a wonderful guest post for you today, courtesy of My Baby Clothes Boutique. This should be a breath of fresh air for all of you, because yours truly doesn’t have a crafty bone in her body! Thank goodness other people do!!
Perfect Place Settings: Easy Thanksgiving Placemats for Children
Do you like to set a beautiful table for your family’s Thanksgiving celebration? Though I am not graced with the creativity or vision to create designer tables, I am blessed with two children who love to make art, so when it comes to table décor, I am usually in pretty good shape.
This holiday, my children’s places will be set with homemade placements that remind them—and me—of all the people for whom they give thanks. Here’s a simple “recipe” for making Thanksgiving placemats:
Materials Needed:
- Photographs of family members
- 11” x 14” construction paper in a Fall Color of your choice
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pre-Printed letters or words spelling out “Happy Thanksgiving” or other holiday message.
- Contact paper or access to a laminating machine
Instructions:
- Tell your child that he will be making a Thanksgiving placement that represents the family members and loved ones for whom he is grateful. Allow him to select 6-7 photos of people that he wants to include on his placemat. The photos will be laminated, so be sure to give your kids prints you don’t mind parting with or ones of which you can easily print or get doubles.
- Have your child select construction paper in the color of his choice. If you have access to it, use legal size (11” x 14”) sheets. If not, consider taping together two regular-sized sheets of paper to create an 11” x 14” mat.
- Allow your child to lay out the photos on the construction paper. You may want to cut the papers into interesting shapes in order to arrange them in visually interesting layouts. Scrapbookers: go wild!
- Affix the photos with glue to hold them in their desired spots
- Add your holiday message to a desired spot on the mat.
- If you have access to a laminating machine, laminate your entire placemat, leaving a ¼” border around all of the sides. If you do not have access to a laminator, contact paper will work fine to cover and seal your child’s placemat, though your creation may enjoy a shorter overall life-span.
That’s it! I made these placemats with my daughters when they were both two years old. Now, five and three Thanksgivings later respectively, I still have two adorable placemats that are the crowning glory of my child-friendly table and a keepsake I plan to have around for my grandchildren to eat on someday.
Signe Whitson is a licensed social worker and co-author of The Angry Smile: The Psychology of Passive Aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools, and Workplaces, 2nd, ed. As a mom of two girls she has been able to come up with some creative ways to handle many of the common issues facing parents today. My Baby Clothes Boutique partnered with her to increase her audience and give back to the parenting community. The holidays are upon us, now is the perfect time to find the perfect outfit for you little ones. They carry everything you need from baby dresses, coordinating baby headbands, fashionably warm baby hats and so much more.