Need Thanksgiving fun for kids ideas? We have free gratitude pumpkin printables, Thanksgiving kid table activities, where to find coloring pages for Thanksgiving printable, great Thanksgiving games to play and more fall activities for kids! Whether you have young children or are looking for tween and teen Thanksgiving activities, we have fantastic fun for your family at the holidays or month of November activity calendar!
Best Thanksgiving Fun For Kids At Home
Thanksgiving for kids can be tough, especially if you have a group of kids of all different ages and stages. Add in preparing Thanksgiving dinner and whew it’s A LOT! The trick is to prepare ahead of time for family Thanksgiving and how to keep the kids entertained with activities and games for kids on Thanksgiving.
So, what are fun ideas and Thanksgiving ideas for family gatherings to keep kids busy ? Here are the best Thanksgiving activities for kids of all ages (even Thanksgiving fun for toddlers!). (There are some great ideas for Thanksgiving activities at school or homeschool co-op, too!)
How do you make Thanksgiving fun for kids?
- Let kids decorate their own Thanksgiving table with Thanksgiving theme items and their own place setting items (great way to get kids involved!) – you’ll be surprised what kids come up with for their holiday table!
- Ask kids to cook/create a dish for the meal
- Play Thanksgiving gratitude games
- Play flag football
- Make paper plate turkeys / paper turkeys
- Create handprint turkeys (trace around the child’s hand and then let them decorate it like a turkey)
- Divide into teams and watch football (give prizes throughout the game for funny things)
- Offer cookie cutters and fall scented Play Dough at a kids activities play table
- Make a paper bag turkey craft puppet
- Cut out turkey feathers on construction paper (please don’t make feather headdresses out of respect for Native Americans)
- Create pine cone turkeys and fall animals
- Make a pumpkin pie scented sensory table with separate little bins to keep little hands active
- Have a family movie night and watch Thanksgiving movies
- Offer fun Thanksgiving table activities with turkey crafts
- Host a turkey day turkey trot obstacle course for fun outdoor Thanksgiving games
- Do coffee filter paintings with water and fall colors washable paint
- Learn about the five kernels of corn legend
- Play the thankful game for Thanksgiving
- Have a family and friend talent show
- Make your own pumpkin patch at home with mini pumpkins and let kids choose their own punkin!
- Talk an after dinner walk and look at the fall colors (perfect time to get the kids out is after dinner!)
- Offer a simple craft table with construction paper, crayons, glue sticks, tissue paper, googly eyes, safe scissors, and Thanksgiving stickers / fall stickers (hit up craft stores for clearance items right before the Thanksgiving holiday for easy crafts for little kids)
- Create a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt (indoors or out!) – fun way to get everyone moving after the Thanksgiving meal! Look for pine cones, different color leaves, etc.
- Before the Thanksgiving party, ask guests what is their favorite Thanksgiving activity and add the activity to your holiday fun!
- Have a family Christmas tree decorating and put up the tree and Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving dinner (give everyone a Christmas ornament as part of the Thanksgiving fun activities!)
Keep scrolling for more great ideas for kids activities on the Thanksgiving holiday! Don’t miss your free printables Thanksgiving day activity at the bottom of the post (even Thanksgiving activities for adults!). Add it to your holiday season dinner fun for the big day!
Fun Thanksgiving Day Activities For Kids Of All Ages
More activities to do for Thanksgiving…
What are some fun things to do on Thanksgiving?
Great Thanksgiving Games and Fun Activities for the Holidays:
- Offer a Thanksgiving and fall craft activities activity
- Play Thanksgiving bingo (complete with small prizes!)
- Have old fashioned sack races for fun Thanksgiving outdoor games
- Play Thanksgiving Mad Libs
- Do a turkey ring toss
- Have a pumpkin toss for outdoor Thanksgiving activities
- Let kids color the tablecloth
- Get Thanksgiving placemats activities for kids
- Play Pin the Tail on the Turkey
- Use fun Thanksgiving plates for kids
- Create fun fall photo ops
- Host a Thanksgiving sleepover for the Thanksgiving weekend
- Read Thanksgiving children’s books
Don’t miss our easy Thanksgiving activities for kids printable below! KEEP SCROLLING!
CHECK OUT MORE FALL ACTIVITIES AND CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES FOR THANKSGIVING:
Native American Heritage Month Lessons, Activities, and Totem Pole Craft
What are some Thanksgiving activities?
Looking for Thanksgiving family activities to enjoy a fun time with just your immediate family?
Fun Thanksgiving Activity Ideas for the Family At Home:
- Do a gratitude pumpkin (get our free pumpkin printable) and create a fun tradition for the holiday
- Decorate pumpkin cookies for fun Thanksgiving desserts kid activity
- Take a fall nature hike
- Make popcorn garland
- Do a Turkey On The Table
- Divide into teams and have a dessert cook off
- Have a holiday movie marathon
- Play board games
- Make homemade hot chocolate
- Make leaf dancers (Creative fun for family members of all ages and not just young kids! I loved making these! It was so much fun and these fall crafts turned out so beautiful we framed them!)
If you have fun learning ideas for the whole family, let us know and we’ll add them to our list! Keep reading for ideas for Thanksgiving day family games!
What are some fun Thanksgiving games?
Games are great because they cover Thanksgiving activities for families of all ages and stages and create fun bonding family time for holidays. (Games are our favorite quality time activity, especially for holiday activities!)
Here are som of our favorite Thanksgiving games for families…
Thanksgiving Games For Kids and Adults:
- Kids Against Maturity
- Taco vs Burrito
- Fall or Thanksgiving Memory Games (great game for a younger child)
- Thanksgiving Charades
- Would You Rather (Thanksgiving Edition for Kids)
- Beat That!
- Do You Really Know Your Family?
- Football Game
- Exploding Kittens (super fun game for tweens and teens for Thanksgiving!)
- Break out a favorite classic game for groups (Monopoly, Sorry, Life, etc.)
- Download some free printable Thanksgiving games
- Don’t forget a stack of cards (regular playing cards) to encourage favorite game play and DIY Thanksgiving games
More thanksgiving activities for kids (younger ages) — Thanksgiving activities for kindergarteners and Thanksgiving activities for preschoolers.
Thanksgiving Activities for Toddler & Thanksgiving Activities for Preschool
Little ones love hands on Thanksgiving activities and these will keep them busy! The trick for craft and art projects for Thanksgiving for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners is to keep them simple! (Think: 5 minute Thanksgiving crafts and Thanksgiving themed activities that fit little hands.)
Thanksgiving games preschool and kindergarten ideas:
- Make edible Play Dough
- Finger paint pumpkins
- Draw hand turkeys to celebrate turkey time
- Host a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for kids (my favorite fun addition to a Thanksgiving celebration for a kids dinner table)
- Do a fine motor turkey craft like dyed rice fall sensory activities (great way to practice fine motor skills and perfect activity for a busy toddler, too!)
- Go on a leaf hunt
- Sort acorns, nuts, or leaves you find outside (I love this as a Thanksgiving project for Kindergarten to practice counting and colors.)
- Hand out busy bags or busy box (learn how to make Thanksgiving busy bags here) – bonus points if you make grab-and-take ones for kids to take home after the holiday party
- Make Thanksgiving crafts for kids like a foam Tree of Thanks
- Do a Thanksgiving I Spy
- Build a block fall tree (I love this for Montessori Thanksgiving activities!)
- Get Free coloring pages for Thanksgiving printable and free printable Thanksgiving activities for kids
- Make a felt fall tree banner (great for younger kids!)
- Do scratch off leaf crafts
- Play with alphabet acorns
- Do turkey stickers
- Read Fall board books and Thanksgiving books for kids (ask kids to pick their Thanksgiving favorite!)
THANKSGIVING PRINTABLE FREE GRATITUDE PUMPKIN TAGS
These Thanksgiving printable crafts can double as Thanksgiving place cards and a gratitude craft! They’re a fun dinner time activity with extended family to capture memories that you can keep forever! Encourage each family member to write a memory, make a drawing, or even share favorite Thanksgiving recipes. They’ll be fun to read each year for the Thanksgiving holidays. You can even make a thankful tree each year!
We’ve included gratitude pumpkin directions to go along with the free printable activities for the perfect turkey family project!
CLICK TO GET THE FREE PUMPKIN PRINTABLE
Happy Thanksgiving!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE FUN THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS?
We hope you enjoy these Thanksgiving fun for kids ideas!
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