7 Ways The Kids Can Help With Thanksgiving Dinner (Slideshow)

Not only will having your son or daughter help you out in the kitchen give you some precious time together and memories to last forever, but you can also use it as an opportunity to teach your offspring some valuable culinary lessons and life skills. 

Long before actual Thanksgiving Day, have your child help put together the day's menu and grocery list. This can be an opportunity to convey lessons about budget management, how to put together a meal, and being organized at the grocery store. Kids can also feel really special by picking one special dish for the menu, thus making them a real part of the planning process.

Practice general reading skills by having them read Thanksgiving recipe cards out loud. Not only will this exercise help your kids with their literacy skills, but it will also teach them new vocabulary words related to the world of food and help them understand how to follow directions. 

Though knife skills may be a little too advanced (and dangerous) for the youngest ones, peeling fruits and vegetables is prep task that most kids should be able to handle. And if the potatoes or apples aren't totally perfect, having a skin or two in your mash or pie won't offend anyone. Just make sure to teach them proper form and use a kid-safe peeler.

Rolling out dough can be a total blast for kids, as they see a ball of pastry transform into a big, flat circle. Be sure to guide them so you don't have an uneven mess, but this can be one of the most rewarding tasks for a youngster, who can now brag about making a stunning contribution to dessert.

Slightly older children can measure out ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Have them start with adding spices to the pies, which can be more forgiving than, say, pouring too much cream into a batch of mashed potatoes. After they learn how to measure out various ingredients, reward them with the fun task of hand-mixing together peeled apples or that gooey canned pumpkin. Just try not to be jealous.

For children who are old enough to tell time, setting and watching the timers on Thanksgiving can be helpful for both you and them. Not only will having them be the clock-watchers save you a menial task, but it can also teach kids the all-important lesson of patience.

Knowing how to set a formal table is an important part of dining etiquette that often gets forgotten these days. Use the holiday as an excuse to teach your kids about where plate, glass, and piece of silverware goes. A properly set table (especially one done by children) will surely impress the rest of the family.