Looking for some simple, fun Thanksgiving crafts and hands-on activity ideas for your children?
Here are 4 Thanksgiving activities that are not only fun at home with the kids, but are also easy to bring on the road as you join family and friends at holiday celebrations.
Get the whole family, young and old, involved in celebrating together with these ideas!
4 Easy Thanksgiving Activities the Whole Family can Enjoy
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Thanksgiving Acrostic Poems
Want to change up your freewriting practice or try your hand at poetry? Acrostics are a simple writing activity where even the youngest children can participate with a little help!
Try words like Turkey, Pilgrim, Wampanoag, Mayflower, Pie, Pumpkin, Apple, Dressing, Stuffing, Family, Thankful, Cornucopia, Grateful, Gratitude, November, Football, Parade, and Thanksgiving.
These don’t have to be Shakespeare; just have fun and be silly! This could also be something fun to keep everyone occupied on those lengthy holiday road trips.
PIE, by Amy Sloan
Plenteous bounty
In pumpkin, apple, and pecan
Eat them all
Thanksgiving Leaves
Start with leaf outlines. You can use the free printables for Humility and Doxology email subscribers printed out on cardstock, or cut simple shapes out of construction paper.
Write something you’re thankful for on each individual leaf, then tape to a wall, door, or window. My friend actually cut a simple trunk and branches out of brown paper and taped it to their wall for their Thanksgiving Leaf project!
This is not just for the older kids and adults; even young children can participate if they have a scribe, or they can draw a picture of the things for which they are thankful!
This works well as a party or dinner activity, but can also be slowly completed in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Just leave a stack of leaves and a pen out on the counter so everyone can write something they’re thankful for when inspiration strikes.
Don’t forget to set aside a time to read aloud all of the leaves together. It might even be a good Thanksgiving dinner tradition.
{Simple Alternative: If you don’t have a place to display leaves, consider setting out a large jar on your counter beside a stack of small pieces of paper. Folks can write their thankfulness notes on the slips of paper and put them into the jar. Then, just like with the leaves, you can set aside a time to read aloud the collected notes together.}
Corn Kernels of Thanksgiving
There is a Thanksgiving legend surrounding “5 Kernels of Corn.” Read the poem (available in my Thanksgiving Morning Time Resource Pack), and make sure you have corn kernels on hand (un-popped popcorn works well and is easy to obtain).
You can pursue the corn kernels of thankfulness activity in 2 ways.
One alternative is to pass out 5 kernels of corn to each person. Go around the table and each person can think of 5 things they are thankful for.
Another way to enjoy this game is to pass around a bowl of corn kernels and tell each person to take as many or as few as they’d like. Again, go around the room and ask each person to think of something for which they’re thankful for each kernel they have. I remember one time my aunt grew aghast when she realized her large handfuls of corn kernels meant she was going to have to get quite creative with her gratitude list!
Hand Print Thanksgiving Turkeys
This is an oldy, but a goody. I like this craft because it is easy to do no matter where we are or how many (or few) craft materials we have. Also, it always makes me giggle. Even if you’re at Great Aunt Petunia’s house, and all she has is an old pen and paper towels, this is a simple way to amuse the children and keep them from disturbing her doilies. If you’re waiting at the airport or at a restaurant, you can create a flock of turkeys with the simplest of materials to keep you company.
On the other hand, if you have access to paint and markers or maybe faux-feathers, you can go all out and make a zany and elaborate creation!
- Draw an outline of a hand with the fingers nicely outstretched. The thumb will be the turkey’s head; the other 4 fingers will be its tail feathers.
- Draw eyes and a gobbler on the thumb for a head
- Decorate the fingers like feathers
- Go super simple (that’s normally what I do), or get creative and colorful! Hey, you could even glue on googly eyes!
- Get all the extended family in on the action and have a hand print turkey art display!
Thanksgiving activities don’t have to be complicated…
We can enjoy family relationships, exercises in gratitude, and even a little bit of silliness… no glitter or extravagance required. Which of these easy activities will you try with your family?
I would love to hear about your family’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions in the comments below!
If you’d like more Thanksgiving book ideas and resources, check out my Thanksgiving Morning Time Plans and Resource Pack!
You may also enjoy this round-up of easy, fun ideas for kids.
{Chalkboard photo by Beth Rufener}
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