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Updated 2023.
This is my Thanksgiving snack board for kids and parents to share together. It’s perfect for noshing on pre-turkey dinner or using as a themed snack for the whole holiday weekend long (or tweak it for other holidays like I did for Halloween)! Have your kid(s) help you make the board–they may be more apt to eat what’s put in front of them if they have choice in the matter.
If you need more kid-friendly ideas, check out this Back to School Snack Board and my Thanksgiving Turkey Board. While you’re at it, give these other festive fall recipes a try: Cheese Ball Turkey, Thanksgiving Cheese and Dessert Board, Elevated Fall Cheese Board, Fall Dessert Board, Pumpkin Cheese Ball, Caramel Apple Board, and Cheesegiving Meal Board.
What’s On This Thanksgiving Snack Board?
Make It Colorful
I love to incorporate lots of different colors to help expose kids to different food, especially fruits and vegetables. When you dress the new foods up as fun characters, your kids might be more apt to try them. You know your little ones best though, so make some of their favorites too!
- Purple cauliflower
- Tri-color mini bell pepper
- Green kiwi
- Red and purple radish slices
Add Festive Shapes
A cheese slice might be delicious, but when it’s shaped like a leaf or a turkey, it’s way more fun to eat! The shapes I made:
- Leaf cutouts in Babybel cheese
- Cheese cut with leaf cookie cutters
- A pilgrim hat made out of apple slices and cheese
Get Interactive
Make sure you have some tasty dips too, the more colors, the more festive. I mean, who doesn’t love dipping, it’s such a fun way to eat! I used:
- French onion dip
- Guacamole
See the second photo for labels of what I used for each character.
The Specialty Thanksgiving Treats
My favorite trick to making a board really come alive for kids, is to add edible eyes to a few of the shapes. I’ve put them on Babybel cheese rounds to make PAC-MAN shapes, and on peppers and dips to make silly, spooky creatures for Halloween. And who can resist those sweet little pretzels with eyes!? Ah-dorable!
For this board the sweets that I incorporated are maple leaf shaped cookies and chocolate turkeys. Don’t be fooled, the chocolate turkeys are a definite treat. They are reminiscent of easter bunny chocolates, so one is probably enough.
Whatever other Fall treats you love. I’m a sucker for Trader Joe’s leaf chips, which I use on just about every fall board. You’ll find them on the great Thanksgiving Dessert Cheese Board too.
What Age is This Board For?
As always, I defer to the experts on safety when and how to introduce items to infants and toddlers. This board is for kids that are a bit older. Big shoutout to Feeding Littles who share excellent (expert!) resources for feeding your kiddos.
Show Me Your Thanksgiving Snacks
I hope this post inspires you to create delicious kid-friendly snacks and appetizers. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the beautiful spreads and boards you create from my tips. If you make something inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttooproudtomeg so I can see and share!
And, If you liked this recipe, please rate and review.
Thanksgiving Snack Board for Kids
Description
Ingredients
Cheese
- Manchego sliced
- Cheddar sliced
- Babybel wrapped
Meat
- Salami sliced
Produce
- Mini Bell Pepper halved
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Purple Cauliflower
- Easter Radishes thinly sliced
- Apple
- Kiwi halved
Carbs
- Maple Leaf Cookies
- Pumpkin Pretzels
- Pretzel Sticks
Dips
- Guacamole
- French Onion Dip
- Plant Based Queso Dip
Sweets
- Chocolate Pumpkins
- Chocolate Turkey
Instructions
- Start be filling 3 wells with each of the dips. French onion dip: create tail feathers out of peppers, then add 2 eyes, 2 pretzel sticks for arms, and a beak and waddle cut out of peppers. Guacamole: create tail feathers using radishes slices, then add 2 eyes, 2 pretzel sticks for arms, and a beak and waddle cut out of peppers. Queso: create a pilgrim hat out of apple slices with a cheese buckle, then add 2 eyes, and a pepper slice for a mouth.
- Add salami to 2 of the wells. Using small and large leaf cookie cutters, cut leaf shapes out of the sliced cheeses, then add them on top of the salami.
- Using the small leaf cookie cutter, cut out leaf shapes on the Babybel's wax wrapping. Then fill one of the wells with Babybels.
- Fill one of the wells with blueberries and raspberries; another well with cauliflower; and another with blueberries. Remove the skin from the kiwi leaving just a pilgrim hat shape with a cheese buckle, then add 2 eyes and a pepper mouth. Top the blueberry well with a the decorated kiwi.
- Fill one of the wells with the cookies; another with Pumpkin pretzels; and the last one with chocolate pumpkins, topped with the chocolate turkey.
The muffin tin snack board idea has been so amazing for my kiddo! We can get really creative and make it together!!
Loved this idea. I’ve replicated this several times and call it fancy snack dinner. The kids LOVE it.
Such a fun idea to cut designs into the babybels! I’ve copied this idea for a few different holiday boards and the kids love it!
This year I made your Turkey Cheeseboard, but I’ve already added this to my menu for next year’s Thanksgiving. So clever!
This is an awesome idea for kids. If only my kids would eat more than rolls. But I do love the idea of everything in their own dish and who doesnt have a muffin tin lying around. Got me thinking of what else I can give the kids in muffin tins.