Looking for Thanksgiving activities for your kids? Here are more than 30 Thanksgiving crafts, art activities, recipes, and books for kids and families, plus a printable list!
Updated October 2023
Once we get past the excitement of Halloween, November is both a time of settling down and settling into colder weather.
We still get outside, still gather leaves and acorns and pinecones and listen to the sound of geese honking as they fly south in their V formations, but we also start spending more time indoors around the fire, whether real or metaphorical.
Thanksgiving is our big family celebration and holiday of the month and we like to focus on family and gratitude and, of course, turkeys and the bounty of the autumn harvest.
We’ve put together a list of Thanksgiving activities for kids that includes gratitude projects and exercises, creating with nature’s bounty, turkey arts and crafts, and a list of books about Thanksgiving.
Activities for Thanksgiving
7 Turkey Arts and Crafts Activities
Because, let’s face it, the turkey ends up being the spokesbird for this holiday.
1. Experiment with different ways to draw turkeys
2. How to draw and paint a turkey step-by-step (on Deep Space Sparkle)
3. Make these adorable cardboard turkeys (on Art Bar Blog)
5. Set up an art invitation to create paper turkeys (on Paper and Glue)
6. Make pinecone turkeys (on a Pumpkin and a Prince)
7. Print turkey tracks for a fun Thanksgiving art activity (on Fun-a-Day)
7 Gratitude Activities for Families
Being grateful for what we have makes everything better. Here are some ways to begin to instill thankfulness in our kids this month (and a good reminder for us adults who may forget how important this can be!).
8. Create a Thanksgiving fall leaf garland
9. Make a thankful bunting as a family Thanksgiving art activity
10. Make some gratitude rocks by starting with melted crayon rock art and using permanent markers to add words for what you are grateful for
11. Try these 10 gratitude drawing prompts for kids (on Let’s Lasso the Moon)
12. Make Thanksgiving Garlands for Kids with Finger Painted Hands
13. Make a thankful table with the kids (on Art Bar)
14. Make a gratitude tree that you can also use as a centerpiece for your dinner table!
5 More Activities for Thanksgiving
Here are some fun activities for this month and holiday. Some are especially good when you have a houseful of people!
15. Build towers and sculptures with toothpicks and cranberries or grapes!
16. Try one or more of these 13 Thanksgiving crafts and activities for families
17. If you have family and friends around for Thanksgiving, try one of these 11 simple activities for mixed ages
18. Keep the kids engaged with some Thanksgiving Mad Libs
19. Tell some Thanksgiving jokes
4 Thanksgiving Printables for Kids
Some fun free printables for the holiday…
20. Use these printable Thanksgiving placemats + gratitude activity (on Mama Papa Bubba)
21. Find and count the turkeys and squirrels in this free Thanksgiving I Spy printable (on Parenting Chaos)
22. Play a game of Thanksgiving bingo (on Crazy Little Projects)
23. Use these printable pages as placemats or decorations (on Paper Trail Design)
4 Fall Nature Arts & Crafts
Use the autumn bounty to create art, crafts, and decorations this month.
24. Make some land art with autumn leaves, sticks, and stones
25. Make a nature mobile with gathered materials and air dry clay
26. Create a simple DIY autumn leaf wreath
27. Create your own nature diorama
6 Thanksgiving Recipes to Cook Together
These are fun autumnal recipes to cook together as a family.
28. Bake a tasty apple bundt cake
29. Make a delicious cranberry upside-down cake
30. Bake some teddy bear bread together
31. Assemble a Thanksgiving turkey veggie tray (on Eating Richly)
32. Bake a turkey crust pumpkin pie (on Kudos Kitchen by Renee)
33. Or whip up these easy pumpkin pie bites (on Sugar Apron)
Thanksgiving Books for Kids
34. Head to the library and check out some books about Thanksgiving and gratitude
Need some suggestions? Ask your children’s librarian or try some of these:
- Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by Kimberly and James Dean
- Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland and Sonja Lamut
- The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing and Tammie Lyon
- Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and Doris Barrette
- The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross and Carolyn Croll
- 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston and Rich Deas
- Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf and Jenny Lovlie
- Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
- Thankful by Eileen Spinelli and Archie Preston
Would you like a printable version of our 30 Thanksgiving Activities for Kids to hang on your fridge? You’re in luck! Just click the link below and get a PDF delivered straight to your inbox!
CLICK HERE for the printable list of 30 Thanksgiving Activities for Kids!
How about you? What are your favorite Thanksgiving activities for kids?
More Fall Arts & Crafts Ideas & Supplies
Be sure to check out our FALL family fun list in our Amazon store! It includes supplies for fall arts & crafts (including the best paper leaves for painting!), autumn toys, Halloween ideas, and picture books about autumn. Plus, we have lists of the best kids art supplies, open-ended toys, children’s games, and more!
PLUS: Get our new Autumn Arts & Crafts for Kids workshop! This is an online workshop with 10 fun fall arts and crafts activities that your family can enjoy all autumn long, with a bonus of 10 fall-themed drawing prompts!
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