Picture this: You’re eight years old, bored and stuck sitting at the “kid” table off to the side. You’ve sculpted a volcano out of your leftover mashed potatoes, fashioned your napkin into a hat, and are now sitting there wondering how long grown-ups can possibly take to eat.

Marathon meals during the holidays can be a true test of endurance for those seated at the kids’ table. So, why not make it fun for them?

If you have some crayons or colored markers and construction paper handy, the kids can make their own holiday-themed placemats before the meal. Or use a white butcher paper tablecloth and have them decorate the whole table. Just make sure Grandma’s good tablecloth isn’t underneath – save that for the adult table.

Children love to see their names on anything, and place cards can make a nice addition to the fun. Depending on the occasion, you can cut the place cards into holiday shapes – like paper Mayflowers or turkeys for Thanksgiving. Making them can also be a fun pre-dinner activity for the kids. Have the little ones trace the shapes from cookie cutters and have the older kids cut them out so they can be decorated.

A kid-centered centerpiece will help keep your younger guests happy. For Christmas, for example, you could have the children decorate a small table-top tree. Keep it simple by using construction paper and crayons or colored markers to make the decorations. The bigger kids can cut out shapes with blunt scissors, make a hole with a paper punch, and hang them with some ribbon.

It’s fun to wear something special, and holiday-related headgear is always a big hit. For Thanksgiving, a feather can turn a simple twill-tape napkin wrap into a headdress. You just cut a small hole in the center of a 27-inch piece of twill tape, insert a feather from a craft shop into the hole, and stitch it to secure. With the feather centered on the napkin’s front and the tape tied loosely around the back, the headdress is ready to go.

With all the good stuff at the kids’ table you may find that, not only are your young guests having tons of fun, but more than a few people at the “big” table wish they had a seat there.