Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Long Beach, CA

I like to fly solo when I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but my daughter always wants to "help" in the kitchen. This year, I'm planning to give her the same task my mother assigned me when I was a kid: stuffing celery with cream cheese. I will soften the cream cheese, mix in a little worstershire sauce, and cut the celery ahead of time. Then I'll give her a (dull) knife and let her go to town.

This year, our dessert is pumpkin cheesecake. I will be making it ahead of time, using this recipe, but with my own crust instead of a storebought one. To make the crust, we put gingersnap cookies in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Then I add a little melted butter and press the crumbs into a pie pan. My daughter enjoys smashing the gingersnaps and wielding the hand mixer.

Other tasks kids can do at Thanksgiving include mashing sweet potatoes, mixing up ingredients for stuffing, and setting the table.

My family's Thanksgiving feast is a heart attack on a plate, so after Thanksgiving, we'll take a big walk to work off some of those calories. Here a few fun places around Long Beach where you can enjoy the outdoors and work up a sweat.

Ride a bike or walk along the beach path from downtown Long Beach to Belmont Shore.

Hit the trails at El Dorado Park. The one-mile trail is about right for preschool-aged kids.

Walk the paved path around the duck pond at Heartwell Park.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.