On Thanksgiving Day, there’s normally a lot of things to be done. Especially if you’re hosting people at your home.
In order to keep the kids busy until the big meal is ready, here are a list of fun Thanksgiving activities for kids!
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1. My first and favorite is this FREE printable Thanksgiving Activity Pack that I made.
It works for a lot of different ages of kids. And if an activity is too hard, the older kids can help the younger ones and they’ll do it together!
It includes:
- a Thanksgiving coloring page,
- mazes,
- tic-tac-toe game spaces and score keeper,
- Thanksgiving word search,
- a Thanksgiving Mad Libs-style story for them to fill out,
- Thanksgiving word game,
- place for them to draw in their favorite Thanksgiving foods, and
- a What Am I Thankful For list, where they can write something that they’re thankful for that begins with each letter of the alphabet!
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2. Crafts! There are so many cute Thanksgiving kids’ crafts out there!
You don’t need a lot of supplies either. Sometimes you can even use things from outside- like fall leaves, pinecones, acorns and rocks.
If you’d like to get a small craft kit to have some basics on hand, something like this one has a little bit of everything. I’d also include some paper plates, cups and bowls in your craft arsenal.
Check out this video that kids can follow along with (with parent supervision and on a slower speed). I really like the gratitude pumpkin at the beginning.
Depending on the age range of your kids, you may want more advanced crafts. There are tons out there to choose from!
Guided drawing videos can be a lot of fun too. Older kids might like those more depending on what the drawing is. Search for “thanksgiving guided drawing” or “fall guided drawing” on YouTube for some really fun ones!
You can also get butcher paper or craft paper big enough to cover the table and have kids decorate the “tablecloth.” Be sure it’s thick enough that markers won’t go through!
3. Games, books and puzzles are perfect for Thanksgiving Day!
Board games, card games, conversation games, or outdoor games- many of them can be adjusted depending on the ages and number of people participating.
If you only have games that are good for a smaller number of people, try to play the game in teams, or take turns playing while others play another game or activity together.
Games that you can play without having to buy anything:
- Charades
- Hide and Seek
- Sardines
- Simon Says
- Musical Chairs
- Dancing Games
- Scavenger Hunt for items (indoor or outdoor)
- Conversation Games- lots of ideas here.
Here are some good examples of board games that work well with a mixed age group:
- Pictonary
- Blokus
- Jenga
- Trivial Pursuit, Family Edition
- Ker Plunk
- HedBanz
- Apples to Apples Junior
- Spot It! (This is one of our family’s favorites!)
- Qwirkle
- Uno (Or Uno Attack. We like this version the best– adds a LOT of laughs!! But the regular version should be under $30.)
- Labyrinth
Card games that you can play with a standard deck of cards:
(The ages for these vary.)
- Spoons
- James Bond
- Big Two (It’s one of my 9 year old’s favorites!)
- Here are 10 more kid-friendly card games for families to play!
Other fun group activities are Mad Libs, reading Thanksgiving-themed books aloud, and working on a puzzle together.
4. Do Gratitude Activities Together as A Family
All of these things can be done on the day of as long as you have the supplies. Or if you’d like to do it as a family project over time, you can each add one thing that you’re grateful for every day, starting on a certain day. Turn it into a fall family tradition!
For example if you start on November 1st, then you’ll have a lot of “thankful things” to talk about on Thanksgiving Day.
➤ Create a Thankful Tree
Cut out a tree trunk and branches from whatever paper you have, cut out different colors of “leaves” and write what you’re thankful for on them. Tape or affix to a wall, window, mirror or another place that works best for your family.
Basically it’d be something like the below activity kit.
➤ Make a Thankful Garland or Gratitude Chain
Get or cut out strips of paper (would be cute in fall colors) about an inch and a half wide, and write something you’re thankful for on each one. Then take the first strip and make it into a circle shape and staple the ends together. Take the next strip of paper and weave it through the first circle, and staple its ends together.
Then keep going and you’ll have a paper chain listing things you’re thankful for! It’ll also be a cute Thanksgiving decoration to hang or put on your table!
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Fun Family Activities at Home
➤ Fill a Gratitude Jar or Thankful Jar
Get a mason jar (or any other kind of container) and some small pieces of paper big enough to write a few sentences on. Encourage everyone to write down throughout the day what or who they are thankful for and why (one item per piece of paper).
Afterwards, they fold them and put them in the jar. At a certain point during the day, you can pass the container around and each person will read one aloud. If you wanted to get fancy about it, you could buy this one below from Amazon.
➤ Decorate Gratefulness Rocks or Kindness Rocks
Buy some decorative rocks or find some large rocks outside and clean them off. With paint and brushes, write what you are thankful for on the rocks, or draw a picture of what you’re thankful for. Use them to decorate your yard, garden or flower beds.
For Kindness Rocks, write kind words, sayings or fun pictures on the rocks and leave them around someplace for others to find and be uplifted!
➤ Write on a Family Gratitude Pumpkin
You’ll need a pumpkin (can use a real or a fake one- try your local Dollar Store, although the real one will have to be thrown away eventually), and permanent markers. Write what you’re grateful for on the pumpkin and use it as a reminder of these things, along with a cute fall decoration!
5. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Together
Did you grow up watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with your family? I remember watching it when I was little, and we still watch it today. You can check out the parade line-up online, including floats, balloons, performers and more!
To keep their attention, have kids play Thanksgiving Parade bingo with these bingo printables. Macy’s also has neat STEAM parade-themed videos and fun printables you can find here.
6. Let the Kids Help in the Kitchen
Depending on their ages, kids can help set the table, wash and cut fruits and veggies, mash potatoes, mix ingredients, and more! If you have a dessert or appetizer they can work on from start to finish, that’s even better. Here are a few recipe ideas for inspiration (be sure to take into account anyone’s food allergies).
Or if you love the ease of shopping at Amazon (if you don’t have it, get a 30-day FREE trial of Prime here for fast shipping and more!), take a look at what fun Thanksgiving activities they have to offer!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving &
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