Thanksgiving is that one holiday a year we gather with family and friends to remember all we are grateful for... and to eat a ridiculous amount of food.

And with these large gatherings, the seats fill up quickly and the kids often end up at the "Kids Table". With a little bit of crafty preparation, this table can serve as a snack and activity center to keep the little ones occupied while we slave away in the kitchen…and watch football.

First they need a seat of their very own, and a fancy Thanksgiving place card has nothing on this silly turkey leg. You can stuff them with filler such as newspaper, or consider pulling double-duty as a goodie bag by instead adding a bag of treats inside. A popcorn ball would be a great shape and size. To create this seat-saver, trim the top inch or two from a small, paper treat bag using Pinking Shears or Pinking Edgers. Push in the bottom pointed corners and fill, molding and twisting the bag into the right shape. Insert a strip of white cardstock with heart punch at the end into the opening and staple closed. Then all it needs is a name and a place to reserve.

If your holidays run anything like mine, dinner is never ready on time. So I thought I would create a little snack for each kid to pick at in the meantime. The pies are functional as well as decorative. I am always looking for ways to pull double-duty.

These go together quickly. Using a disposable tart pan as a base, fill with goodies and top with a cardstock crust cut with Clouds Paper Edgers around a circle traced from a Super Sized Circles Shape Template. Bend up the edges and add cut-outs using the candle flame from the Cupcakes and More Shape Template. This is enough to resemble a pie, but if you want to go further, run strips of cardstock punched with Scalloped Sentiments Border Punch through a Paper Crimper and hot-glue around rim of pan. The crimping not only adds a pinched-crust feel, it also allows the cardstock strip to mold around the rounded top.

And once they get snacking, they'll surely be asking for a drink. This Mayflower is also dual-purposed as a cup and décor. While you have the Cupcakes and More Shape Template out, cut a cupcake bottom from white cardstock or foam, punch two one-quarter inch holes, and thread onto a straw. Place inside a brown cup placed on a nautical cardstock coaster run through the Wave Paper Crimper.

At some point, I will eventually get dinner done, even if it is ultimately burnt. These turkey clips are purely decorative and good for laughs. Clipped at the end of a fork, you'll come eye-to-googly-eye with each bite. Since they are just mini spring clips, they easily detach and would even be cute clipped in the girls' hair. To create, run an Apron Lace Border Punch along each side of a 2" wide strip of cardstock. Accordion-fold at every two scallops and staple at center. Pull each side up to meet in the middle with glue dots. Fan out and add a face and body.Would you have guessed he once began as a snowman? By cutting off the stick arms from the Limited Edition Frosty Fun Squeeze Punch, you have a turkey perfect for Thanksgiving already wearing a pilgrim hat!

And speaking of pilgrim hats, here's another one serving as both décor and storage. Filled with crayons and paired with a kraft paper covered table, this might be the first time you allow your kids to draw on the table. Cut out the bottom of a black paper cup (or just paint a regular white one like I've done her) with a Craft Knife. Hot glue upside-down to a painted chipboard circle traced using the Circles Shape Template. The Circle Shape Template gets a lot of use in my house. I actually have two! I love having a sturdy set of circles on-hand all on one flat sheet to cut or trace.

Here is another busy activity that will end up as wearable décor. Cut out paper headbands (a rotary cutter with acrylic ruler on a mat work well for these oversized strips), feathers cut by overlapping the largest Super Sized Circles Shape Template, and lots of assorted geometric shapes punched quickly from colorful cardstock. Give them a glue stick and let them design a Native American headband.

Here is one final activity that brings us back to what this holiday is all about. Punch lots of the Limited Edition Strong as an Oak Squeeze Punch from assorted cardstock. Have the kids add things they are grateful for to hang on the tree centerpiece by leaving the backing on a pop dot or glue tab that can be pulled off to adhere easily. The tree is a set of four brown trees cut from the Woodland Tree Shape Template folded in half and glued to each other to stand upright. You'll need to cut a root or two from the bottom and a middle branch at the top. Consider adding functional décor for the Kids Table this Thanksgiving. The kids will be... grateful!