The kid's table rules! Ours used to be adjacent to the grown up's table and we had to sit at it till we were in our 20's because Thanksgiving dinners consisted of dozens of people. It was a logistical nightmare to get the tables together, table had to take a left turn into the living room - but everyone was together for a brief moment!

Sadly, many of our elders have passed and I'd give all the turkey legs in the world to be sitting at the kid's table again....eavesdropping on conversations "down table", lauging, passing the food we didn't like to the dog.

My kids love the kids table too. Lots of memories to share each year!

I never had a kids' table in my family (not enough kids), but I *hated* it when I had to sit at the kids table when visiting family friends- I found it insulting that they thought I was too dumb to participate in a real conversation with adults. In my extended family the kids were always part of the conversation, which was usually pretty lively and silly, and we talked about movies, politics, books, and stuff like that. If the adults had been talking about the weather I probably wouldn't have wanted to sit there, either.

Fun topic. We just had Thanksgiving the Saturday before Thanksgiving for DH's family like we have done for the 3rd year in a row because his family is large and this way everyone can be together and not have to leave half way through dinner to go to their in laws or even not be able to come at all. Anyway, for the first time we put all 5 kids at the adults table-we got another table that's the same height as our dining room table and put it against it with a matching tablecloth-and all 18 people sat at the same table. I thought the kids would be pleased but the consensus was that the adults liked having the kids included and the kids would rather be at their own table next year. Also, my SIL announced another baby is on the way-so next Thanksgiving we will have 7 kids including mine:)

Discussed Thanksgiving with my Gram last night and she was fondly recalling when my cousins, brother and I used to have our kids table at her house on Thanksgiving in a separate room and we would insist the door was closed for "our privacy." She still hosts Thanksgiving and she said this year she is mixing us up by ages. Will sort of miss sitting with my cousins, even though in the last few years we stopped closing ourselves off in another room.

Great topic. I never had a kid's table growing up. We came from a very small table and we were all able to fit around the table.

Now we are at my inlaws for Thanksgiving and they do the kid's table. I think our baby boy will be with us because we still need to help feed him but the preschoolers and kindergarteners will be running wild in the next room. As far as I can tell, they prefer to be off by themselves.

My mother and her sister alternated hosting Thanksgiving dinner. On the years my mother hosted she insisted that everyone sit at one big table ( actually several tables cobbled together) because she hated the idea of a kids table. When my aunt hosted she always had a kids table where we would sit with our cousins in an adjoining room ( doors open though).

I personally always liked being at one table but it is not always logistically possible.

I am hosting Thanksgiving this year for my extended family for the first time. And my husband and I have been having the same discussion ( one table or kids table). Since we have 25 coming we have finally decided to break with tradition entirely and serve dinner buffet style. While not perfect, it actually fits our house and style better.

Table? You all got to sit at a table? When I was kid, we sat on the floor in the hallway! Our family gatherings could be anywhere from 20 to 40 people depending on who showed up, and no one even had a table that large. We enjoyed our "holiday picnic" in the hallway - especially when someone's plate got stepped in! :)
Now our family has grown and we probably number close to 60 if everyone shows, so we have our family gatherings in a church hall and everyone gets to sit at a table.

Eh, I always hated the kids' table. I was always the oldest, I'm an introvert, and I usually only saw my cousins maybe once every year or two. So to be stuck in another room with little kids I didn't know or feel comfortable with, away from the people I did know, was not my thing.

On the flip side, I can see it being a very different thing for my kids; they are around their cousins much more frequently, they are all much closer in age, and DD especially is much more outgoing than I was. That crew will probably be begging for their own private spot away from all the annoying grownups!

Also, OT to jeanlouise: just saw your post yesterday and wanted to say thanks. We have in fact considered a variety of other things in addition to/instead of ADHD (like sensory integration disorder); for now, I'm focusing on what seems to be the most likely culprit, but I'm also not wedded to any particular label, so if this doesn't work, we'll keep looking. Knock on wood, the medication seems to be working; we didn't tell her teachers that we had started it, and both of them reported this morning that she has been much less fidgety, more focused, and even actively helpful for the past week and a half. So I've got my fingers crossed!

OT to Laura: Good luck! All 3 conditions run in my family of engineers :)

laura33,

Good luck! If it's any help, I had a good friend in high school with severe ADD who went on to graduate from college:)

TheRealTruth would like to announce that all of today's participants share equally in the coveted Poster of the Day award. Congrats, and Happy Thanksgiving!

I HATED getting stuck at the kid's table, as it was always "Now, YOU'RE responsible for the kids here. YOU see that everyone 'behaves' ".

The kids table was the best! I remember we could make a game out of anything and everything!

Happy Holidays,

~Kat~
@katluvsshoes
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