JUST FOR KIDS
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
by Lucretia Voigt
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a holiday reserved for overeating and football. Your school-aged kids probably came home this week with either a pilgrim hat or an Indian headdress that they made in school. It's your job as a parent to act awed and shocked as they regal you with stories of the First Thanksgiving, nodding at the appropriate times and saying "oh" and "wow" when necessary while you slave away at making that perfect pie crust.

If "you've lost that loving feeling" (thank you Righteous Brothers) for the Thanksgiving story and are yearning to get it back, look no further. This column is for you!

Of course we have to begin with some books. If you're running behind on your contributions to the Thanksgiving feast, you can always take these books, put them in the hands of your toddler, and duct tape him to a chair. Depending on his upper body strength you may get enough time to prepare your sweet potato casserole and put it in the oven.

For the picture book set, "Maisy's Thanksgiving Sticker Book" by Lucy Cousins not only keeps them busy by looking at the pictures, but also has stickers! One caveat: make sure your child is properly secured before setting him loose with stickers. Otherwise your favorite end table, the one your great-great-great-grandmother brought over on the Mayflower, may end up looking like the back end of a '60s-era Volkswagen van.

A fun board book is "Spot's Thanksgiving" by Eric Hill. Spot, the loveable little dog that all parents of toddlers are familiar with, wants to make the Thanksgiving pie. This book may lead to your toddler's wanting to help with the pumpkin pie, and if that is the case, run with it. Use a prepared frozen pie crust and thaw as indicated (I know, go ahead, say "duh!"). Pumpkin pies are the easiest if you take the bachelor route - open a can. Most canned pumpkin has a recipe for pumpkin pie on the label, and it is a good toddler project because it only involves mixing and stirring. If you are turning your toddler loose with an electric mixer, make sure it is not a handheld mixer. Toddlers love to redecorate, and if you thought the stickers on the end table were cause for tears, pumpkin-splattered walls and floors are even worse.

If you or your children are vegetarians, Dav Pilkey has come to your rescue. In his book "'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving," the kids take a field trip to a turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving. After frolicking with the turkeys, they find out that Farmer Mack Nugget has Thanksgiving plans for the turkeys that don't involve a whole lot of frolicking, unless you consider running for your life a fun afternoon activity. The kids are shocked, decide to smuggle the turkeys home and end up having a vegetarian Thanksgiving!

As a vegetarian with a vegetarian child, I understand the importance of supporting your child's choices while also making him feel comfortable at the Thanksgiving table. Every side dish can be made without meat, so focus on the camaraderie of the holiday as opposed to the golden bird at the center of the table. This is a good time to discuss an individual's freedom to make his own choices and how two different lifestyles can live in harmony (unless you are the turkey, in which case your vote doesn't count - somewhat akin to the 2000 presidential election).

Which brings me to a Thanksgiving experience that you should plan with your child next year. Here on Nantucket we are lucky to be so close to the site that gave rise to the Thanksgiving story and Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. provides a perfect opportunity to bring the Thanksgiving story alive. Since you probably have plans this year (if not, you're welcome at our house), pick up a copy of "Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage" published by Plimoth Plantation and available at local bookstores. Complete with colorful photographs, this book will keep toddlers to teens interested, and maybe even teach us parents a thing or two.

Next year, plan on attending the Thanksgiving Eve 1627 Harvest Dinner with the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation. Your family will join in a family style feast, with large dishes of food being shared at the table. Did you know that forks weren't a staple at the table in the 1600s? While you break bread with people you just met, the Pilgrims will visit your table, speak of their fears about embarking the next day on their trip to America, and what has led them to make this trip. Even though you are in a banquet hall, you begin to think you are in an English tavern as the Pilgrims sing songs and recount their lives. Make sure to keep an empty seat at your table and you can expect a lengthy visit.

The best Thanksgiving memories usually come from the gaffs that happen along the way. So if, like my Aunt Billie Sue did one year, while removing the turkey from the oven you happen to drop it on the floor, don't fret. Make everyone in the kitchen swear to secrecy, rinse it off, put it on the platter, and wait

to tell the story until after the feast! I