With Thanksgiving drawing ever nearer, you’re probably in the middle of hustling around trying to get everything prepared for Thanksgiving. And if you’ve got kids, you might be trying to keep them wrangled too just like usual (or maybe even more so if they’ve got time off from school as the holiday approaches). Why not combine these two situations and get your kids to help out? Even if it’s a chore getting your kids to, well...do chores, in many cases kids will be excited to help out when they know a big holiday is coming up. There’s a lot of Thanksgiving chores that are maybe a little too difficult or dangerous for kids, but there’s still things they can help with, and they’d be glad to know they’re pitching in if given the chance. Here’s five easy steps to get your kids to help out around the house and carry some of the load while Thanksgiving dinner approaches: Get Everyone On The Same Page Planning and preparing for a big holiday requires a lot of communication, and this goes double with younger kids who might not be as used to chores and might need some extra explanation. Grab your whole family (or at least the kids) and sit them down for a planning meeting. Explain to them what you need them to do, tell them what you’ll be doing in the meantime, and make sure everyone understands what they need to do to get ready for dinner! Help Them Pick The Menu When you start planning the dinner, letting your kids contribute to the menu will help them feel involved. Ask for their preferences when it comes to things like vegetables, stuffing, sides, and desserts to see what they like and what they’d want to eat to help them feel involved and avoid any pouting when dinner comes! Let Them Make Decorations Most kids love arts and crafts if they get the chance, and Thanksgiving is a perfect time for decorations and place settings. Let your kids make decorations for the table to set out for dinner time - placemats, little name tags, paper hand turkeys, and the like. It’ll add a touch of coziness to your decor, and your kids will be proud to see everything they made on display for the guests! Clean Up A Little Anyone with kids knows exactly how much effort goes into cleaning up after them, and this goes double when trying to get your house ready for guests. You might have a bit of difficulty convincing your kids to clean up their room, but you can make it easier by giving them their own kids storage locker or plastic storage bins (or at least give them their own spot on some wire shelving in the house) to help them make it personal and hopefully easier on them! Let Them Cook (If They Can) This isn’t going to work if your kids are too young, of course, but much like the decorations, many kids like knowing they helped prepare dinner, even in a small way! Find something easy and let them contribute to it - let them butter rolls, put them in charge of measuring ingredients and portions, or even let them help with baking if they’re not too intimidated by the oven. To help instill a greater sense of ownership in the process, try to set out their own kitchen island to give them a space to help with the potatoes or whatever they’re helping with. And above all else, just remember to be encouraging and supportive! Thanksgiving can be a busy time of year, but if your kids feel like they’re helping it’ll reduce a lot of stress for everyone!