Easiest vegetable to get your kids to eat at Thanksgiving: whole black olives. Have them eat them on their finger, for some reason it's funny. We always looked forward to it every year and that was the most fought over dish every year amongst us 3 kids.

My son is a very picky eater, and most Thanksgiving food is out. My best advice is start dinner out with some crudites for appetizers... most kids actually will eat SOMETHING on a raw veggie platter. Other than that for Thanksgiving he only eats mac and cheese and bread rolls. :(

I always thought that turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy are some of the most kid-friendly foods out there.
My brother was a picky eater as a kid and those are three out of the about 8 things he would actually eat.....but I don't have any kids of my own, so what do I know.

Turkey/mash and gravy are esoteric? What do you normally feed them?

Honestly, if they don't like potatoes, why trick them? Adding marshmallows seems to completely destroy the nutritional value of a vegetable. If they like rice or some other starchy carb, wouldn't it be better just to give them rice rather than be rigid about it?

Wishbones were a reward for eating everything when I was a kid.

I don't have kids to feed, but in any "feast" I try to serve enough variety to have something everybody likes. If that's mac & cheese, so be it. (But make the good kind, something the adults will want to eat as well...)

Mashed potatoes are indeed a threatening vegetable for ny son, much to my astonishment, and gravy? That's, like, a DIFFERENT FLAVOR on top of something! Heaven forfend! Turkey is out, since we're vegetarians, so while my husband and I enjoy stuffed butternut squash, mushroom gravy, cornbread, and brussels sprouts, my son will be eating Tofurky deli slices or humus, which is at least the same color as turkey. Maybe I can get him to taste the cranberry jelly, to keep things festive...

I don't have kids so I'm not sure they'd like this but we simmer organic cranberries over the stovetop and add spices. It really gives it a nice flavor. Kids have stronger taste buds than adults but when I was little my mom would always say "you don't have to eat it, but I want you to try it". I often decided I wanted to eat almost a full serving.

@Splitty Heaven forfend? I hadn't heard that one. I am so going to use that! :)

Presentation is half the battle. I used to laugh at this b/c I am old school raised in that "you get what you get and you eat it or starve" but for picky eaters it really works.

The best idea I have seen for a lunch for example was when a mom used an ice cube tray and put little bits of everything (turkey, cheese, noodles, veggies) in each block. Kids like finger foods and this way they don't even notice they're eating good stuff b/c it looks so fun to them to eat. Find a nice holiday type of tray and go from there.

Years ago we had a big Thanksgiving dinner where a little boy at the table fell in love with the mashed yams crusted with pecans, brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. He kept asking his mother "can I please have more YUMS?"

Thanksgiving and Christmas were always my favorite meals as a kid. Stuffing AND mashed potatoes?!

With so many options, we just hand the kids a plate and tell them to take what they want.

My sister-in-law introduced my family to sweet potatoes and marshmallows, we're all still a little baffled by such silliness.

The sweet potatoes and marshmallows must have some kind of story behind it. My grandparents and great grandparents always had that at the table, and it had nothing to do with kids as far as I can tell. I wonder if it's a New England thing.

I lament the fact that my whole family is a group of picky eaters. I cook Thanksgiving because I enjoy doing it and I cook some dishes that only I will eat. We're talking really plain stuffing; only the classic green bean casserole; half of them won't eat sweet potatoes and no one but me eats brussel sprouts (even roasted or with bacon) I noticed last year that my nephew only put turkey and mashed potatoes on his plate,not even salad. I started thinking...he just started high school; it's not like he is a picky toddler. It makes me sad that that they don't enjoy more variety. But I can only introduce things and if they don't want to try, that 's the way it is. Since he is a growing boy, he ate a lot of turkey. I'm getting a bigger turkey this year.

My son loves deviled eggs, so I'll make a bunch of those. I also remind myself that he's not going to be malnourished if he doesn't have a balanced meal for Thanksgiving. :) The suggestions above of having a veggie tray is a good one.

@cptnruthless, my cousins and I used to do that with the olives every year. It had the added benefit that certain adults thought it was gross and would stay away from our table if we had olives on our fingers. ;)

@zanzibar my younger cousins (in their 20s) still only eat turkey and mashed potatoes.

It's amusing to think that a finicky eater would eat sweet potatoes with marshmallows - because as a non-finicky eater, that is one of the few dishes I would refuse to eat. Gross.

Thanksgiving is such a nightmare for us. My daughter loves turkey and baked sweet potatoes, so that's pretty much all she eats because of her food allergies. She can't have eggs, dairy, soy, nuts, citrus, wheat, and the list goes on. She can't even be around some of these foods, so she has to sit at a separate table. We usually celebrate with relatives, so I have to bring all of our own to make sure it hasn't been contaminated with allergens.

@telephone...Thank you. I am realizing that you can't change some things, Their eating style is certainly their prerogative. I just think they are missing out but I know I'm just projecting my love of food and not everyone feels the same.

In my family it was pretty classic that all the kids would gobble up the appetizers, go minimal on dinner and then go crazy on dessert... I guess the adults figured there was no harm, and we all grew up to be good eaters - it wasn't an issue of being finicky, just choosing the most exciting options.

I agree presentation could have a lot to do with it - we ate all kinds of non-kid things as appetizers (like pickled herring) because it was little bites on toothpicks, etc.

*sigh* I wish my issue was with the kids... the adults are the worst in my family!

northstory--thanks for the festive tray idea! I don't have kids yet, but will definitely try that one (even for everyday meals!).

My favorite saying: 'Hunger is the best sauce.'

How do you get kids to eat? Get them hungry (no snacks for a couple of hours while the big dinner is cooking) and then let them at the food. My response to "I don't like/want that" is "Don't eat it. But that's the meal, so you might be hungry later." No reason to make a big fuss or cajole--they are doing themselves (not me) a favor by eating! Relax, have fun, and they will eat. I swear.

I am cooking thanksgiving this year and posted on FB that I'd be making spatchcocked turkey (simply butterflied), twice baked potato casserole, sourdough stuffing...etc. Apparently one of my in-laws completely flipped out and started a whole drama thing like WHAT IS GOING ON??? Because I didn't put green bean casserole on the menu. Because I am not making Stouffer's stuffing.

I am one conversation away from calling it in sick and ordering chinese in ; )

Many holiday foods may be chock full of spices and herbs that are overwhelming for little ones. Also, the day's schedule is usually very off for my daughter, so her appettite is not aligned with everyones. It is only one day--albeit a special day for adults--but they will survive if they pick their way through it. Let em play while you eat and snack through the day on what they like. Or don't let em snack and let their hunger bring them by the table. Bust out some skewers, toothpicks, or tongue depressors (big fat skewers) and let them literally poke their way through the day. I swear my kid will eat most things on a stick. See what they might do with a giant turkey leg. Have fun with them, and don't worry or fight. It's a special day because you show how much you care about them for the entire day not because you make kick ass gravy for your friends.

As a picky eater, I can recommend: ask them what they want to eat. When I was a kid, I loved the mashed potatoes, and the cheese and cracker plate, and the pie. The yams with marshmallows on top: ew, slimy.
When I was an older kid, my family got "health conscious" and the meal turned into nothing but turkey, gravy, and lettuce with dressing from a bottle. As a vegetarian, that really had no appeal for me. Thanksgiving was kind of ruined.
Now, as an adult, I suggest recipes & help make them. It means I'm not miserable, hungry, and angry all day long. It's still awkward when my relatives expect me to eat a "main dish" that I don't like: salmon, pork, pot roast, but they're learning to just let me eat side dishes - and now, turkey.
My points: Let picky eaters have input, or even help. If they're little, see what they like one year - and bring it next year. Don't try to goad them into eating something they don't want to. Accept that their tastes will change, and don't make a big deal out of it.
And, for crying out loud, don't just think that they'll eat if they're hungry. You'll just have grumpy, miserable, resentful children at Thanksgiving - you'll ruin their Thanksgiving, as well as your own.

"Children are naturally finicky"? Only if they're brought up to be.

I don't recall ever not wanting to eat Thanksgiving dinner, even though it was full of veggies, but my cousin still remembers one holiday when I would only eat a plate full of corn. I was forced to try a tomato one Thanksgiving and I still hate them to this day. I would say just let them eat what they're willing to and if they don't eat everything, be ok with it. Or you could make them a plate before they get to the table and just give it to them with no comment- don't ask them what they want on their plate or tell them want everything is, just hand them a full plate.

If you really want them to eat it, try making up fun names like you mentioned or make a contest out of it between the kids

I have to disagree with Amaranta, children often have stronger taste buds and prefer simpler flavors; since a lot of holiday foods have a ton of spices and such, it can be an issue. It's not just due to parents who let their kids get away with eating only chicken nuggets!

At our family's Thanksgiving, there are always things like trail mix and cookies available all day, so even if we didn't want to eat much of dinner, there would be lots to snack on. Not so healthy, but it's just one day. Plus, adding a veggie tray or some deviled eggs would be easy!

Also, I guess my parents didn't think holidays were good days to discipline our eating habits - I hated mashed potatoes for a while, hated green bean casserole until mom started making it fresh instead of with cream of mushroom soup, still hate stuffing, but I didn't make a fuss about it as a kid because they didn't make me try everything if I didn't want to.

I'm surprised so many people haven't heard of sweet potatoes with marshmallows! We've removed it from our holiday menu in recent years because it's so unhealthy, but it's still a classic in its own way. (Nostalgic, I guess.)

I'm surprised how many people haven't heard of sweet potatoes with marshmallows, too! I personally don't like them but I've always considered them standard Thanksgiving fare.

I'm not a picky eater at all and have always loved holiday food, even as a kid. My husband only eats a tiny bit of turkey and rolls on Thanksgiving. It makes me sad. Our son is three now and a pretty good eater compared with other kids. My strategy this holiday season is to just fill his plate with small amounts of everything and let him eat what he likes. While I want him to love Thanksgiving food, I don't want to stress him and myself out about it every year. I figure being a well rounded eater all through the year has a much bigger impact than what he eats on this one day. If all he eats is crackers and pasta, it's not gonna be the end of the world.

Kids should get to enjoy holidays just like everyone else. If they only like turkey, mashed potatoes and pie, let them eat that. It is the last day ANYONE should be worrying about nutrition. Save that for the other approximately 360 non-feast days.

We have the same rule on Thanksgiving as we do on any other day. This is what is for dinner, you can eat what you like, but if you don't like something I don't want to hear about it. Sometimes my Mother-in-Law still complains, but we just remind her of the rules :)

(my 5 year old eats everything and just asked if she could make an Indian pani puri kit as an appetizer - we said sure, but I'm not sure any of the relatives will eat it!)

I just hand my own kids a plate with a little of everything on it, and then I go enjoy having adult conversation while being totally uninvolved in what is or is not eaten for a change, while the cousins have an absolute field day just being together.

I do, however, front-load an egg breakfast and a solid lunch before everything is underway, to compensate for the inevitable undereating from excitement. I do drill in the 'you cannot say the word Yucky today' rule, though.

Growing up in a commune type place, the first time I was exposed to a full-blown American Thanksgiving, words failed me. Pistachio jello! Yams with marshmallows! Ambrosia salad! Canned green bean casserole with Durkee onions! Carrots with mayo and raisins! Box stuffing! That single meal was a lesson in why my parents left Ohio, brought to life. But I'm not going to say the Y word ;)

My son is super picky. He has some sensory issues with food. This is what he to our surprise loves: Cranberry sauce! He also likes turkey and ham and rolls and we switched up our sides to include scalloped potatoes instead of mashed. He will eat the scalloped because of the cheese! He will eat apple pie too but not pumpkin so we make sure we have it also. No green bean casserole yet though lol maybe never on that one ;)

Maybe include the kids in helping make some of the side dishes with you? It takes longer but they may feel more pride in trying the foods if they helped prepare them.