O.K., so you’re busy at work prepping for the Thanksgiving meal. You need to clean the house, too, which is quite a challenge because the kids have been home all week on Thanksgiving break. So what do you do? Get ‘em out of the house. After all, that’s what grandparents and aunts and uncles are for.

Here’s some ideas on what to get them to do:

• Go see Happy Feet – it’s fantastic! Since my husband is gone until Thanksgiving day (he’s hunting in Wisconsin) I took the kids to go see it. This is beginning to be a yearly tradition since he always leaves around the time a great children’s movie gets released (last year it was Narnia).
• If it’s good weather, go for a hike. If it’s not, go to the local Y or rec center and go swimming. If you have relatives staying at a nearby hotel – and they have access to a pool – send your family over there for a couple of hours.
• Order in, get take out, or eat out. Honestly, you’re doing enough cooking as it is!
• Visit your local library. Stock up on FREE videos and Thanksgiving books. Find some you can read aloud and share as a family.
• Send the family over to your local mass retailer and stock up on board games like Monopoly, UNO, Scrabble, and Life. Lots of great sales out there.
• If you don’t have family visiting, but still need kids out of the way or occupied, hire a preteen babysitter, like the son or daughter of a friend or a kid in the neighborhood. Their mom is trying to get them out of the way, too, and they’ll be needing Christmas cash. Since you’ll be home cooking or cleaning, you can keep an eye on things, too.

Assuming that you’re the one who does all the cooking, have your spouse take the kids and relatives out for dinner. You get to stay home! Light some candles, put on some relaxing music, take a hot bath, and have a glass of wine or herbal tea. Relax and gather your strength. Get to bed early, too. You have a busy day tomorrow – good luck!

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