Whether you're planning a Thanksgiving party for your family or for a preschool full of children, Thanksgiving is usually about gathering together and taking time out to remember all the blessings in our lives. Keeping it entertaining and engaging for younger children comes with it's own set of challenges...

But it can be done...

Here's some of the preschool Thanksgiving party ideas that we've come up with...

Setting The Stage

If you've read many of my other party ideas, you've probably noticed that I like to start my party decorating on the outside and move in from there. With Thanksgiving, that really doesn't seem appropriate -- so I've skipped my outdoor decorations.

Setting the stage for any kind of Thanksgiving party is super easy. Decorations for any fall party could include: pumpkins, squashes, indian corn, fall leaves, acorns, pine cones, fall leaf garland, orange, red, yellow & brown streamers, fall colored balloons, etc.

If you want to take your decorating a step further, you can buy complete decorating kits like this one to help fill in the gaps where your other decorations fall short. Younger kids really love these kind of decorations and then can really help drive the point of the party home.

When it comes to preschool Thanksgiving party ideas, the biggest thing to plan for is your 'Thanksgiving dinner.' That's what you'll want to put the majority of your decorating time and effort into.

You can set a very grand looking, yet inexpensive table for your preschool Thanksgiving party. Start by covering the table with a plain white cloth. You could also use buther paper and tape it down for this. Next, cut out some very large leaves out of fall colors to use as placemats. You can also let the children create their own holiday placemats if you want before the party. You'll find lots of ideas at http://www.freekidcrafts.com.

Next, sprinkle some fall themed confetti around each placemat on the table. Place your Thanksgiving or Autumn themed tableware next. Put a couple of other small Thanksgiving decorations like small pumpkins, small toys, etc. on the table along with a centerpiece and you're done decorating. You can really make your party as fancy or as simple as you want, depending on who will be attending your party.

If this party is just for children, you can get them excited about the upcoming party by having them make special decorations, placemats, placecards, napkin rings, and the centerpiece the week before the party. This is what we do for our family Thanksgiving party each year. That way each child feels that they have contributed and they get really excited to see the things that we made appear at our special dinner.

A Special Memory Making Opportunity

Thanksgiving isn't really one of the holidays that you think about trying to make memories. It's really one of those kinds of holidays that's filled with quiet reflection. But there's no reason that it has to be that way.

It would be great for a preschool teacher, for example, to take polaroid pictures of each child at their Thanksgiving party with the big pumpkins, a turkey, and wearing a pilgrim hat, and send it home at the end of the day. These are the kinds of little things that make parents dig deep when a preschool or daycare center starts their fundraising campaigns.

Thanksgiving Activities

• "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" – "Pin the Wattle on the Turkey"

• "Duck, Duck, Goose" – "Turkey, Turkey, Stuffing"

• "Hot Potato" – "Hot Turkey" (with a stuffed animal turkey)

• "Musical Hats" – "Musical Pilgrim Hats"

• "Bingo" – use candy corn as game pieces

• "Dress Up Relay" – Use simple scarecrow, Native American or Pilgrim costumes.

• "Ring Toss" – "Ring around the Gourd" (assign different point values to different sizes of gourds, pumpkins, or dried Indian corn.

• "Three Legged or Sack Races" – Add an autumnal touch by creating an obstacle course using pumpkins, corn stalks and bales of hay.

• Turkey Calling Contest – Host a turkey calling contest, complete with lots of squawking, flapping, wattle shaking, and pecking. Give each participant a prize with a fun distinction: "loudest turkey", "most authentic", "most likely to be spared", "cutest turkey", etc. This activity can also be turned into a relay race with the class split into two teams. Loud, but fun! (Ages 4-Adult)

• Turkey Bowling The turkey will definitely be tenderized after participating in this game! Use a frozen turkey in place of a bowling ball (one that comes packaged with a "handle" attached) in a size that is appropriate for the age of the children. The frozen turkey is hurled at a set of bowling pins (use the real thing, tall wooden blocks or plastic milk bottles filled with stones). One parent helper can reset the pins after each turn. This game is a big hit with every crowd! (Ages 5-Adult)

• Balloon Popping Contest – Divide the children into two equal groups. About 25 yards away place two bags of inflated harvest colored balloons. These balloons should be overinflated to make popping easier. At the sound of a bell, the first two relay contestants, one from each team, run to the bag, and remove one balloon. Each must sit on it until it pops. Once the balloon pops, the players run back to the starting line, and tag the next player in line. The first team to complete the course wins. If you have children who are afraid of the sound of popping balloons, offer a grown-up stand-in. Not a quiet game…but a guaranteed favorite! (Ages 4-Adult)

• Pass the Corn – Divide the children into two teams and have them form two lines. You will need two cobs of dried Indian corn. At the signal to "go", the corncob is to be passed from child to child. The catch is that they can use any part of their bodies, except their hands. If the corn touches the ground at any time, it must go back to the beginning of the line again. Whichever team manages to get the corn to the end of the line first wins the game. The corn can also be used in a relay, with the kids putting the corn between their knees, and racing "crab" style". (Ages 4-10)

• If the games can be played outside, "hay" fights are great fun!

What To Serve

What you serve at your Thanksgiving will greatly depend on if this is a home party or a school party. Home parties can be quite elaborate and each family has their own traditions, of course. If you're having your Thanksgiving party as a school party or a party for young children, you'll want to keep the menu simple. Here are a few ideas of what works well with a children's party...

From the very simple:

• Popcorn
• Apple cider
• Pumpkin cookies
• Candy corn
• Pumpkin Cupcakes

To the more complex:

• Turkey slices
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Cranberry sauce
• Green beans
• Corn on the cob
• Sweet Potatoes
• Biscuits or Dinner Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie

It really depends on who will be attending your party and where the party will be located.

Don't Let Them Leave Empty Handed

Creating or buying party favors and prizes is really easy when you're dealing with younger children. They love cheap little toys, temporary tattoos, coloring books, crayons, markers, etc. In addition, you can make special treats and wrap them up in treat bags to hand out as favors. Anything with a Thanksgiving them or a Autumn theme will work well.

As I mentioned above, inexpensively framed pictures of each child make excellent favors for the kids and their parents. You can get a set of 12 really cute Pumpkin Patch Photo Magnets from Oriental Trading Company (search for item #IN-48/2641) very inexpensively, for example. If you decide to hand out Thanksgiving photos of the children, you may want to wait until the end of the party, or give them to the adult that accompanied each child.

If you decide to purchase party favors and prizes, Oriental Trading Company can be a life saver.