These 12 Thanksgiving activities will keep the little ones happily occupied while the finishing touches are being added to the Thanksgiving dinner. From creating a silly turkey to writing in grateful journals, there is an activity for kids of all ages to love!
Drop off a basket of thanks to friends, family and neighbors this Thanksgiving. Kids will love putting together a Basket filled with small gifts and goodies to let their loved ones know just how thankful they are for them. Some wonderful gift ideas for your basket could be a Thanksgiving Gratitude Mason Jar for the recipient to write down all that they’re thankful for, Pilgrim Place Cards attached to White Paper Cups and filled with Treats. Add some homemade goodies inside Thanksgiving Leftover Containers and tuck in a few Leaf Napkins and your neighbors are ready to be Gobbled!
Kids will love writing or drawing about all the things they're thankful for in these mini grateful journals. To create the journals, simply line up 4 paper treat bags evenly and fold them in half. Next, punch a hold toward the top of the folded bags and punch a hole towards the bottom of the bags. To tie the book together, cut off a strip of ribbon and thread it through the holes around the backside and tie it off. Finally, print out the Grateful Journal printable onto white cardstock, cut the tags out and adhere to the front of the journal using glue dots.
Beading necklaces and bracelets are always a hit with kids. Put a Thanksgiving twist on this fun activity by having the kids string harvest beads and create words using alphabet beads. The kids will love wearing their one of a kind creations to the big feast!
Create a silly turkey hat by covering a DIY Cardboard Cone with a sheet of paper from the Rainbow Paper Pack using Glue Dots®. Add some googly eyes and cut out a gobbler and beak from the Full Color Spectrum Paper Pack and adhere to the cone using Glue Dots. Punch a hole on each side of the cone and thread orange ribbon through the hole. Finally, dab a few drops of hot glue to the top of the cone and add a few colorful feathers to the top of the cone!
Keep kids busy while the dinner is cooking by hiding Feathers with clues all around the house and having the kids go on a feather hunt. The kids can wear silly Turkey Hats while they're searching for all those colorful feathers.
Grab some paint and brushes and let your kids creativity shine as they paint and decorate their very own little Thanksgiving friend. For younger kids, you could always use markers to keep the mess under control. Print the free printable tag onto white cardstock and attach to the ceramic pieces using baker's twine. Kids will have so much fun playing with their new Thanksgiving buddies on Turkey Day.
Create a necklace (much like a candy lei) by placing tiny Fall Toys and Thanksgiving related trinkets and goodies in Clear Cellophane and tying each section off with Ribbon. The kids will have a blast unwrapping their necklaces to find all of the fun surprises.
Set these cute pumpkin pinatas out at the kids' table to keep the little ones happy and busy. These pumpkins are easy to make and can be used over and over again throughout the years. Cover a DIY pumpkin shaped box with layers of orange paper streamers and hot glue each layer down before you add the next layer. After the glue has dried, make tiny cuts into the paper streamers. Hand cut leaves out of green paper and attach a self-adhesive button on top of the leaves. Next, attach the free printable onto the pumpkin using baker's twine. Finally, fill the pumpkins with all sorts of fun toys for the kids like mini pumpkin stress toys, fall stamps, Thanksgiving stickers and a few little treats!
Set out Rocks, Paint and Paint Brushes and Fall Tattoos for kids to create turkeys, leaves and any other fun fall images they'd like to paint onto rocks. Once dinner is over and the rocks are dry, go on a walk and hide the rocks around your neighborhood.
Clay is always a fun activity for kids and with this kit, little ones can create their own silly turkey! Place a few different colors of modeling clay into a paint bucket favor container along with googly eyes and feathers. Attach the free printable using ribbon and your turkey is all ready to create! Have a contest to see who can make the silliest turkey using the supplies in the bucket. Kids will definitely have a blast with this activity!
Create a Thanksgiving card making station where kids can make their own grateful cards to give to their loved ones. Make the base of the cards out of white cardstock and colorful pattern paper and let the kids' creativity soar! Little ones can decorate their cards using fall washi tape, Thanksgiving stickers, self-adhesive buttons and markers.
Keep little hands busy while dinner is cooking by setting up a little station where kids can decorate a DIY Unfinished Wood Turkey. Create a Thanksgiving masterpiece by using Acrylic Paint,Tiny Pom-Poms, and Feathers. These little creations can double as a place setting for the children’s Thanksgiving table.