Thanksgiving Activities for Kids
Need some fun ideas to keep your kids busy during the holidays? Here are 50 different Thanksgiving activities your kids will love!
1. Read Books
Reading books is so beneficial for your little one, and you can find countless books on being grateful and Thanksgiving!
Some of our favorites include:
- Little Critter: Just a Special Thanksgiving
- I Am Thankful
- Taylor the Thankful Turkey
- How to Catch a Turkey
2. Make a Gratitude Chain
To decorate their room, you can build a chain with different things they are grateful for each day in November. Make it as short or as long as you want!
3. Dinner Table Gratitude Tradition
Every night at dinner, make it a tradition to share one item you were grateful for during the day.
This will teach children optimism by showing them there is always something positive about their day, in addition to helping them identify things to be grateful for.
Your family will remain close because of this Thanksgiving tradition as you chat and exchange day-to-day updates over supper.
4. Gratitude Game
Gratitude games can be done in a variety of entertaining ways. You can compete to see who can list the most things that they are thankful for in just 30 seconds. Make it as brief or lengthy as your child can handle. Make sure that these contests are lighthearted and fun, not too serious.
5. Write Thank You Notes
From a young age, teach your child to write thank-you cards. For younger kids, they can color one for someone!
6. Bedtime Routine
Include it in your child’s bedtime routine if you want to instill the habit of gratitude. Have them express what they were thankful for that day each night before bed.
7. Gratitude Jar
Have your child decorate a jar. After that, add gratitude notes daily to the jar. Empty it once it’s full, then read what you wrote!
8. Gratitude Journal
A gratitude notebook is a fantastic tool for teaching your child to express gratitude. Purchase a journal for them, or help them create one. Then, make a point of encouraging them to write in their journals each and every day.
9. Thankful for Senses
Ask your child something they are thankful for using each of their senses:
- Taste
- Touch
- Smell
- Sound
- Sight
10. Gratitude Bingo
Make a bingo card with different gratitude prompts. Then, see if your child can get a blackout during the week of Thanksgiving!
11. Thankful Pumpkin
Write out all the things your entire family is thankful for on a pumpkin instead of carving it. Try to write enough to fill the entire pumpkin!
12. Scavenger Hunt
Kids love scavenger hunts! Give them prompts and let them create their own scavenger hunt. For instance, “Find something to eat that makes you grateful.”
13. Grateful Photo Challenge
Have the kids who enjoy taking pictures participate in a photo challenge! Grab a camera or their phone and have them take a picture of 15 things they are grateful for that they find around your house.
14. Drawing or Painting
Instead of finding them something to draw, let your child draw freely. Process art is crucial for kids, and they will love to make their own creations for this holiday.
15. Gratitude Walk
While you walk around the block or at the park, have your kids name things they are grateful for that they see. See how many each child can find!
16. Hand Turkey
Trace your child’s hand and have them decorate it however they like. Then, have them write down something they are grateful for on each finger. Make a smiley face on the thumb to create a turkey!
17. Thankful Tree
This is very similar to making a gratitude chain, but instead, start with a tree chunk. Then, create your own leaves to add to the tree. On each leaf, write down something your child is thankful for. By the end of November, you should have a full colorful tree!
18. Make Playdough Turkeys
Get a can of playdough and see how your child creates their own turkey. You can let it harden so they can keep it or take a picture to remember it in the future.
19. Candy Turkey
Instead of using playdough, give your children some candy and food to make another turkey! You can be as creative as you want with this one!
20. Leaf Bowl
Using some glue, leaves, and a balloon, have your child create their own Thanksgiving bowl! You can use real or fake leaves.
21. Leaf Sorting Game
For younger kids, have your child sort out a pile of leaves. You can sort them out by shape, size, or color!
22. Gratitude Tablecloth
Get some fabric markers and a tablecloth, and let your child create the table runner for Thanksgiving dinner. You might be surprised at what they came up with!
23. Bake Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Help your kids make some delicious pumpkin spice cookies. Your children will have a blast baking with you. If you don’t want cookies, how about pumpkin pie for dessert?
24. Pin the Feather on the Turkey
This is a spinoff of Pin the Tail on the Donkey game. Simply hang up a turkey instead, and it’s a fun Thanksgiving game!
25. Leaf Wreath
Go on a nature walk and find a variety of leaves. Then, have your kids make their own wreath! You could also use fake leaves from the Dollar Tree too.
26. Take Food to a Family in Need
Choose someone you know who could use a little help this Thanksgiving. Cook and prepare a meal together as a family, then give it to your friend! This could easily become a tradition that your kids will love.
27. Thanksgiving Charades
Make a list of things that relate to Thanksgiving that you can act out. Then play your own version of charades!
28. Word Scramble
You can find these online, or you can easily make your own to suit your child’s age. Mix up letters in a word that relates to Thanksgiving and see if your child can figure it out.
29. Thanksgiving Advent Calendar
Create a countdown to Thanksgiving similar to the Christmas ones. You can give gifts for each day or have your child do something that relates to being grateful.
30. Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe
Grab some smaller pumpkins and play tic tac toe! You can color the pumpkins with your child or simply grab three orange ones and three gourds, or something like that, so you know who is who when you play.
31. Pictionary
Similar to Thanksgiving charades, instead of acting out the words you came up with, draw them instead! This is another great Thanksgiving activity for the entire family.
32. Would You Rather
Can you think of any would you rather questions that relate to Thanksgiving? Here are a few to get you started:
- Would you rather eat all the turkey or all the stuffing?
- Would you rather eat a Thanksgiving meal once a week or once a year?
- Would you rather have ham or turkey for Thanksgiving?
- Would you rather eat the entire pumpkin pie or the entire turkey?
- Would you rather feel super full all the time or always a bit hungry?
33. Sing Gratitude Songs and Rhymes
Learn some new songs about giving thanks! Here are a few great ones:
- I am Thankful by Bubbly Vee
- Thank You Song by CoComelon
- Let’s Give Thanks by Zebra Nursery Rhymes
34. Pumpkin Turkey
Do you have a leftover pumpkin? Do a fun craft with your child and turn that pumpkin into a turkey! You can use leaves as the feathers in the back or create your own feathers with paper.
35. Cranberry Sensory Play
Kids love doing all sorts of sensory play, especially the younger ones. Get some cranberries, popcorn kernels, leaves, pumpkin seeds, and anything else you can find and let your child have fun exploring with their hands!
36. Painting Leaves
Grab some leaves from outside or use fake ones and paint with them. Your kids will love stamping the leaves to see the veins from the leaves form a beautiful creation on their paper!
37. Thankful Turkey Wreath
This is another fun wreath you can make for a quick Thanksgiving activity for your children. Have a paper turkey at the base of your wreath.
Then, let your kids add as many features as they want to create the circle of the wreath. Have them come up with things they are grateful for for each feather!
38. Handprint Art
You can create so many great handprint art projects that relate to Thanksgiving. From making turkeys to making a tree with their hand, see what your child comes up with!
39. Corn Painting
Similar to leaf painting, have your kids paint corn on the cob and then roll it around on the paper. It has a fun texture that will be endless fun for your kids while you prepare the Thanksgiving meal.
40. Mini Pies in a Cup
Let your child help you bake something for one of the meals around Thanksgiving. You can find countless mini pies in a cup recipes that will work great for young kids who won’t want to sit around forever for their pie.
41. Plate Cards for Seat Settings
While you get the dinner ready for Thanksgiving, have your child create some seating arrangement cards. Once they are all decorated, let your child choose where everyone sits!
42. Watch a Thanksgiving Movie
Of course, you will want to watch a Thanksgiving movie together with your family one night! A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is always a classic. If you have older kids, The Blind Side is a great movie as well.
43. Record Family Memories
Have everyone go around the room and tell their favorite Thanksgiving memory. Or, write them all down so you can remember them for years to come. You can also go around and share your favorite part about this Thanksgiving as well.
44. Make Decorations
If you love to decorate your house for the holiday, have your kids create some new decorations this year. You can make these as simple or complex as your child needs. Go on Pinterest to find some great inspirations to help you get started.
45. Thanksgiving Word Search
Create a fun word search for your older kids to figure out with words all about Thanksgiving. See who can find all the words the fastest! You can find these online or create your own.
46. Pine cone Turkeys
Making turkeys out of pine cones is another super fun Thanksgiving activity for kids that will keep them busy during this holiday.
Grab some pine cones from outside or during your nature walk, and then see how each child creates their own turkey. Try not to give too much guidance and see what they come up with!
47. Turkey Headband
Have your child make a headband that looks like a turkey. You might need to prepare everything beforehand so all they have to do is assemble, or you can see how each child figures it out and makes their headband unique.
48. Feather Necklace
Do you have plenty of beads and feathers in your craft box? Have your kids create a feather necklace! Make sure to use fall colors too!
49. Gratitude Rocks
Get some rocks from outside and let your kids paint them however they please. When the paint is dry, write down things you are grateful for on them.
You can write one thing per rock or try to fill the rock with as many things as possible.
50. Volunteer at the Food Bank
It is always so much fun to volunteer together as a family during the holidays. It is usually one of the favorite activities for kids and one they will always remember.
Go to your local food bank and see if you can help out. If you cannot, try to at least take some food there to donate or find another place to volunteer together as a family.
There are so many fun Thanksgiving activities for your kids to enjoy for the entire month of November! Choose from any of these, and your kids won’t be bored at all during the holidays. See how many you can do before they head back to school!
