Thanksgiving Activities will help to make your day even more fun for everyone around!
Thanksgiving is a day when you get together with family and friends to celebrate the start of the holiday season. It’s a day to spend time with loved ones, enjoy some food, watch the football game, and have some fun in the yard or out in the sun.
I personally am a pretty happy person on Thanksgiving. I love a good meal and a good time with family and friends. So, I’m happy to share some ideas for Thanksgiving activities that will help you make the most of your holiday. Let’s be prepared to fill the time while we wait for the turkey to be done!
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Thanksgiving activities and games for kids
Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
Help kids pass the time with a little Thanksgiving themed scavenger hunt. Encourage them to hunt for items around the house that relate to Thanksgiving or print a copy of our Thanksgiving scavenger hunt. They can check the boxes off and get ideas for what to do all at the same time!
Fall Harvest I Spy Game
Keep your kids busy with a little Thanksgiving themed game of “I Spy”. This no mess activity will have them laughing and passing the time as they count the different “Thanksgiving objects”.
Thanksgiving Bean Bag Toss
Have some outdoor fun with this Thanksgiving themed version of bean bag toss. Your kids will love scoring points by aiming for the turkey and you’ll get them outside and moving.
Thanksgiving Party Games
Want a few more ideas for the kids? I know I do! Because let’s be honest, the more Thanksgiving activities I have ready the easier the day will be! My kids are looking forward to diving into this Thanksgiving kids game party pack!
Thanksgiving Gratitude Game
Make the sharing of gratitude even more fun with this Thanksgiving Gratitude Game by Kara Creates. Instead of simply going in a circle and sharing what everyone is grateful for, enjoy a little treat as you share many things you are grateful for this year. I know I’m excited to play on Thanksgiving as our family has really been diving into gratitude this month!
Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids
Crafts are always an excellent way to keep kids busy and holiday crafts tend to be a favorite. So what about a few crafts as Thanksgiving activities? These are a few ideas for different ability levels so every kid can join.
Decorate a Thanksgiving Card
Gratitude is what Thanksgiving is centered around. So what better better day to write out what we are thankful for. Give your kids some card stock or use our free printable and encourage your kids to draw and write about what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving. (Make sure to print it landscape, double sided, flipped on the short edge.)
Turkey Sticker Craft
Watch all the little and big kids have fun together as they design their turkeys with these reusable turkey stickers.
Thankful Turkey Craft
Grab the template from DLTK’s Crafts for this crafty Thanksgiving activity. Kids will be busy coloring, cutting, glueing, and decorating the turkey’s feathers with all they are thankful for this year.
Thankful Hands Tree
Give your kids construction paper, scissors, glue, and some writing utensils and keep them busy by creating a thankful hands tree as seen on Crafts By Amanda.
Gratitude Chains
Let your kids make some table decorations by creating gratitude chains. All they will need is construction paper, scissors, tape, and some writing utensils. You will get a colorful table and kids who remember all they have to be grateful for this year. Check out this video for a quick and easy tutorial.
Thanksgiving Napkin Ring and Placemats
Get the kids involved by having them create usable table decorations. Buggy and Buddy has a great collection of napkin ring and placemat creation Thanksgiving activities. So if you your kids kids like crafting and you are ready for a colorful table enjoy checking out all her ideas.
Easy Thanksgiving Activities For At Home
Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade
One of our personal family favorites is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It gives us the opportunity to prep the meal and ooh and aah over the floats and performers. It’s amazing how quickly the time can pass this way.
Watch a Thanksgiving Movie Together
While screen time is something I typically limit, I just love holiday movies! We love picking out a family favorite and snuggle up together while the turkey bakes.
Have a Family Dance Party
Get out some fun music and dance together. This works especially well if the mood has maybe been a little tense. Have fun and “shake it off” together!
Host a Thanksgiving Potluck
Do you prefer not to travel for the holidays but also don’t have family in town? Guess what, you very well may not be alone! So how about your host a Thanksgiving potluck for a few friends and neighbors? It will give your kids some playmates and you don’t have to cook the whole meal on your own.
Pie Eating Contest
Do your family and friends like to compete? What if you put a little pie eating contest together? You could even award a prize to the best pie of the day? My kids always love a contest, so this would make eating and trying the pies even more fun for them!
Games For The Whole Family
A great Thanksgiving activity to pass the time is to play games together. Check out a few ideas for games that can get the whole family engaged and playing together.
Exploding Kittens
This simple and fun card game is perfect for all occasions and great for kids and adults. Exploding Kittens takes only 2 minutes to learn, which means your family won’t loose interest while you explain complicated game rules. No wonder it has received the Game Of The Year Award! Get ready for a a quick, kitty-powered version of Russian roulette.
Do You Really Know Your Family
Get ready for some quality family time as you laugh and learn new things about each other with this fun card game. Do You Really Know Your Family is super easy to learn and perfect for families with kids 8 and up, teens, and adults.
Kids Create Absurdity
This award winning game is a true family card game with age appropriate content for ages 6 and up. Combining the game play concepts of Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples it is no surprise Kids Create Absurdity has received the Moms Choice Award For Excellence! Get ready to laugh until you cry as you play this game.
Ghost Fighting’ Treasure Hunters
This cooperative board game has been a favorite in our home for a couple of years now. Work together to win against the ghosts! If you are looking for a game the kids can play on their own, Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters is a fantastic choice!
Outfoxed
A great game for the younger crowd! Outfoxed is another cooperative board game that will have kids busy for a while. Keep the kids busy with this Thanksgiving activity as they figure out “who’s done it” together. Can they figure out the clues before the fox?
Outdoor Thanksgiving Activities
Not much of a game player? You can always help the kids pass the time by getting them outside. These Thanksgiving activities are guaranteed to work off the turkey and pie.
Turkey Bowl
Football is part of Thanksgiving over here. Our kids always look forward to playing a Thanksgiving-themed version of football with family and friends. A set of flags will make your game safe and fun.
Family Turkey Shoot
Get everyone moving by playing a Thanksgiving themed version of basketball.
Turkey Trot
No matter if you are a runner or not, have fun getting out there by participating in a turkey trot. It’s a perfect way to get moving before eating your probably biggest meal of the year.
Thanksgiving Hike
If the weather is nice, why not get the kids outside for a beautiful Thanksgiving family hike. Check out easy trails in your local area, and enjoy the fresh air and the time together. Hiking is a fun and easy way for the whole family to slow down and spend time together.
Family Gratitude Walk
Not quite up for a hike? Get everyone out the door and take a walk around your neighborhood. As you walk together, share what you are thankful for along the way.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Most important of all, remember that your day doesn’t need to be perfect. Find a way to simply enjoy each others company and make a few fun memories.
Your kids will remember the times you spent together more than the perfect dinner you made! Raising a happy family starts with giving yourself a lot of grace!