Parents have a chance to spend more time with their kids during Thanksgiving. They can celebrate the holiday by eating good food and engaging in fun and educational Thanksgiving activities.
Fun and Kid-Friendly Thanksgiving Activities
What Thanksgiving activities should you try this holiday season? Here are some fun ideas for you and your kids.
1. Create a Gratitude Tree
Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. What better way to teach your kids how to give thanks than by making a gratitude tree? All parents need to do is find a sturdy tree branch in their yard. Take it and plant it upright in a flower pot. Afterward, you’ll need to cut leaf shapes from colorful construction paper.
Once the materials are prepared, it’s time to get the kids on board. Ask every family member to write something they’re grateful for on each leaf. It could be something as small as the meal they had in the morning or something as big as a recent family vacation. Regardless, Thanksgiving crafts like these teach kids to be grateful for the things they have and experience.
2. Watch Thanksgiving Movies
Movies have a way of bringing people together and teaching life lessons no other medium could. This is why we recommend watching classic Thanksgiving movies during the holidays. You only need a streaming service (or a DVD) and some popcorn. You can choose from classics like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, You’ve Got Mail, or Hannah and Her Sisters. Once prepared, just cuddle up on the couch and watch the movie with your kids after dinner.
3. Participate in a Community Scavenger Hunt
Thanksgiving games are always engaging for younger children. Why not host or participate in a community scavenger hunt with them? Scavenger hunts are exciting and hone the kids’ perceptiveness and observation skills. All you need is to scatter a few items across the neighborhood and have the kids find them.
If you don’t have time to participate in a formal scavenger hunt, you can also list things you can easily find in the neighborhood park. For example, the list can include a friendly neighbor, a squirrel, fallen leaves, and white cars. Whoever finds the most items on the list can eat the biggest slice of Thanksgiving pie.
4. Have a Pumpkin Hunt
Pumpkin hunts are like the fall equivalent of an Easter egg hunt. In this game, everyone gets a basket to collect pumpkins. The kids must find and collect as many as they can. However, it may be better to use mini pumpkins because normal pumpkins are usually big, bulky, and heavy.
Older kids will especially appreciate this kind of game. The number of pumpkins they collect can determine what prize they get in the end. Prizes could be anything from simple candy to toys and school supplies. Once the timer is up, they should bring the baskets full of pumpkins to the kitchen. Afterward, you can even create fall decor or delicious pumpkin recipes with the ones they’ve found.
5. Paint Handprint Turkeys
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Thanksgiving art projects are fun, especially if you have kids with artistic sides. One classic craft idea is to paint handprint turkeys. Preschoolers love this activity because they can have fun painting to their hearts’ content. Moreover, it’s pretty easy to do, and you don’t need a lot of materials.
All you need is brown craft paint, sheets of felt paper, googly eyes, fake feathers, and orange foam for the beaks. You can even add other materials like glitter, construction paper, crayons, and markers so the kids can unleash their creativity. Afterward, parents can hang up the turkeys as decorations around the house.
6. Play Turkey Tag
Turkey tag is great for fun parties. All you need to do is glue fake feathers onto clothespins. Family members need to “tag” each other by clipping the clothespins on each other’s clothes. The victim cannot notice they’ve been clipped. It’s a fun game that can go on all day long!
7. Play Cornhole
Cornhole is one of the best Thanksgiving games out there. It’s a classic game that’s fun for every family member — even for young children! All you need to do is divide into two teams. It could be kids versus adults or boys versus girls. Regardless, each team will get bean bags to toss onto a slanted cornhole board. The team with the most points wins the game!
To add spice to the activity, the winners could get special prizes, and the losers could get fun consequences. For example, winners can get extra dessert while the losers have to wash the dishes by hand. It’s a great way to spur friendly competition and get a few chores done around the house!
8. Fill Up Thanksgiving Coloring Pages
Kids who love arts and crafts will appreciate Thanksgiving coloring pages. The only requirements are a Thanksgiving-themed coloring book and crayons. Get age-appropriate coloring books so young kids don’t struggle to color complex or fine shapes.
9. Write Thank-You Cards
Thanking other people can be a fulfilling act for both adults and kids. Thanksgiving is the perfect time for it, as it’s the whole point of the holiday! Ask the kids to write Thank-You cards to local authorities and service workers like firefighters, policemen, mailmen, and teachers. The kids can also express their gratitude to fellow family members and relatives who come over.
10. Make Thanksgiving Sweaters
Get creative with the kids and make custom Thanksgiving sweaters! Take old sweaters and art materials like felt shapes, glitter glue, and pom poms. You and the kids can enjoy decorating the sweater together while enjoying a movie or talking about each other’s day. Don’t worry, neither you nor the kids have to wear the sweater afterward. Instead, it can just serve as a fun decoration or a hilarious gift idea for a family game.
Enjoy Thanksgiving Activities With Everyone
Thanksgiving activities provide families with a way to bond and celebrate the holiday together. The activities don’t have to be extra special or complex—they just need to be enjoyable for everyone involved.
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