Home · DIY Corner · DIY "I'm Thankful For" Placemats

DIY "I'm Thankful For" Placemats for the Kids' Table

One sheet of paper per child, a box of crayons, and the kids' table has a job before the turkey arrives. Here's how to make gratitude placemats that look good, survive the gravy and come home as a keepsake.

The Thanksgiving kids' table has one predictable problem: dinner is late. The grown-ups are carving, the side dishes are reheating, and the children have been sitting at their table for twenty minutes with nothing to do. A placemat that asks them a question — I'm thankful for… — fixes that. It gives every child a job, it keeps the crayons on the table instead of on the floor, and at the end of the meal it becomes the best thing on the fridge.

This is a five-step project you can finish in an evening. It works for ages three to ten, it costs only paper and crayons you likely already have, and it looks styled rather than homemade if you keep the design simple. If you're still working out the table itself, our Thanksgiving kids' table rental page explains what we deliver for a family Thanksgiving, and our guide to setting the Thanksgiving kids' table properly covers height, placement and timing.

How to make the placemats

1. Choose the size and count

   Use 11×17 inch cardstock (tabloid size). It fits a standard kids' place setting with room for a plate in the middle and a drawing area on both sides. Count every child at the kids' table, then add two spares for the late cousin and the inevitable gravy spill. White or cream stock looks best; it reads as autumn next to a natural or wood-toned table and lets the children's drawings be the color.

2. Rule out the layout

   With a pencil and ruler, mark a 9-inch circle in the center — that's where the plate goes, so leave it blank. To the left, draw a box about 3½ inches wide headed I'm thankful for… with four or five writing lines underneath (big lines: 1 inch apart for little hands). To the right, a matching box headed Draw your favorite thing about today. Leave a 1-inch margin all the way round so the edge doesn't curl under the plate.

3. Letter it (or print it)

   Go over the headings and lines in a fine black marker. Simple serif or print lettering looks more polished than bubble letters. If you have a printer that takes tabloid paper, draw one master, scan or photograph it flat, and print the rest — it's faster than lettering ten by hand. Add each child's first initial or name in the top corner so the placemat doubles as a place card. (For a matching set, our mini pumpkin place cards sit nicely at the top of each mat.)

4. Add a simple border

   Around the edge, trace a light border of leaves, acorns or little pumpkins — outlines only, so the children color them in. Keep it to the outer margin; a busy border competes with the plate. A row of five or six leaves along the top and bottom is plenty. This is the part younger guests (ages three to five) do while the older kids are writing.

5. Seal and set the table

   If you want the placemats to survive dinner and go home, cover them with clear self-adhesive laminate or contact paper after the kids finish, or before the meal if you'll use wipe-off markers. Otherwise, set them plain and let them get a little messy — that's part of the charm. Place one mat at each seat with a small cup of crayons above it, and set them out before the children sit down, so the job is waiting for them.

How to run the placemat moment

The placemats work best with a little structure. Seat the kids, hand out the crayons, and give them a simple instruction: write or draw three things you're thankful for before the food comes. Older children write; younger ones draw and dictate to a big cousin. Then, once everyone is eating, have each child read one line aloud. It takes five minutes, the grown-ups will drift over to listen, and it's usually the most photographed moment of the day.

A few practical notes from the tables we've set up:

• Give each child their own crayon cup. Shared crayon boxes are the number one cause of kids' table arguments.
• Put the placemats at a kids' table, not on the dining table. At an adult table a four-year-old can't reach the drawing area without kneeling on the chair. At a table their size, they sit, draw and stay put. Our heights-by-age guide explains why.
• Collect them before dessert. Slide each finished mat into a folder so it doesn't end up under a pie plate.

Where the kids' table comes from

Most families borrow a folding table for Thanksgiving and put the children on adult chairs, which is how the kids end up kneeling, wandering and spilling. We're not the party planners — we rent the kids' tables, chairs and dessert carts. For Thanksgiving, that means a properly sized kids' table and matching chairs, delivered and set up before the meal and picked up the next day. You do the turkey and the placemats; we do the furniture. See kids' table and chair rentals for the collections, and the holiday party rentals hub for the whole season.

Thanksgiving weekend books early. If you already know your date, you can hold your date now and finalize the headcount later.

Frequently asked questions