My three-year-old has no idea what a President is or does. Oh, sure, we've explained it to her a time or twelve, but she's three ... "leader of the free world" pales in comparison to Dora Saves the Snow Princess.

But our enthusiasm last November was contagious, and she pulled herself away from her Barbies long enough to join in on the fun. "Go Obama!" she'd say, when she saw him on TV. And my five-year-old very deliberately checked the box next to his name during her school's mock election. "His last name starts with an O, right Mom?" she asked me. When he won that mock election, cheers rocked her kindergarten room.

Even though their view of the world is still very limited to family, neighborhood, and community, small children seem to get that the election of Barack Obama as President is important in some big way. Older kids, of course, have a much broader world view and are capable of understanding the significance of last November's election.

So whether you're keeping your kids home to watch next Tuesday's historical inauguration, or you're DVRing it to watch as a family that night, here are some ideas for holding your very own family inauguration celebration, right in the comfort of your living room.

You know what every party needs? Decorations! And noisemakers! Amazingmoms.com has some simple ideas -- simple enough for even the smallest citizens, that is -- for getting your house Inauguration-ready ... Presidential place mats, Obama napkin rings, and a Yes We Can! can.

Parades are patriotic, right? Little ones will love making this parade stick and marching around the living room before the ceremony begins. Older kids might like settling down with a more complicated craft, such as this White House made out of craft sticks or this paper plate Obama symbol. And if you'd rather relax and enjoy the show, rather than cleaning up glue and paint, here are some printable Obama coloring sheets.

It's not a party without snacks, of course, and the ideas are endless:

• Go with a red, white, and blue palette -- red salsa with blue tortilla chips, for instance.
• Serve Barack Obama's favorite foods, rumored to be homemade chili, Mexican food, and pizza ... perfect for a party!
• And for desert, put together this delicious, yet purely American flag cake, served, of course, with Ben & Jerry's Yes, Pecan! ice cream.

While the decorations, crafts, and good eats are essential to a party, the more important ingredient is the reason for your celebration. Before you unleash the fun, take some time to teach your kids about Barack Obama and discuss as a family why January 20, 2009 really is an historic day.