30 FUN Thanksgiving Activities (2023)
Looking for Thanksgiving activities?
The holidays are so much fun to plan fun learning and play activities for your kids. These activities are PERFECT to get your kids excited for Thanksgiving!
Let’s dive into The BEST 30 Thanksgiving Activities!
#1: Sponge Painted Turkeys
This Thanksgiving activity for kids is perfect because it uses sponges! The kids love using different supplies to paint.
These turkeys were easy to create, and they are SUPER colorful and fun!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Make a turkey face using your construction/cardstock paper and googly eyes. Lastly, cut sponges into stripes, so it’s easy for the kids to pick up and use to paint!
Create some feathers on white paper. Cut them out!
C. Activity
Dip the sponges into the paint and make prints on the feathers! Let them dry then use a glue stick to glue them to the back of the turkey you created!
#2: Stuff the Turkey
Stuff the turkey is a great fine-motor Thanksgiving activity for the kids! It gets them working on counting skills and color matching too.
How cute is this idea for Thanksgiving?
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Print off the turkey face from the download and tape it to a red solo cup. Dump your poms out into a bin and add in some fine motor tools like tweezers or scoops.
C. Activity
Have the kids use tweezers to pick up the pom-poms and place them inside the water bottle to “stuff the turkey.” They can also use their fingers if they are too little to use the tweezers!
RELATED: Fun Fine Motor Activities
#3: Handprint Turkey Craft
Handprint crafts always get me. I just love seeing the kid’s little hands in their artwork. It makes for the perfect keepsake!
This Thanksgiving activity for kids is easy to create, and they will love seeing their hands all over the turkey.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper plates (small)
- cardstock paper
- brown cardstock
- glue stick
- googly eyesÂ
- brown paintÂ
- paintbrush
B. Set-up
Paint the paper plate brown and wait for it to dry. Create the turkey face using paper. Lastly, trace the kid’s hands and cut them out!
C. Activity
Have the kids glue on their hands all around the paper plate. Then, have them glue the turkey on!
#4: Dancing Corn Experiment
Looking for a different kind of Thanksgiving activity for the kids?
Kids always love a good science experiment! This one is especially great because it keeps going for at least 15 minutes!
Then, if you want to keep it going, you can always add more baking soda to make it continue! These are the experiments the kids love the most because they can watch it for as long as they want.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- dried corn kernels
- baking soda
- white vinegar
- clear glass jar
- art tray
B. Set-up
Make sure to place the jar into a sensory container to contain the mess! 1 cup of corn kernels into the jar. Then, fill the jar up 2/3 of the way with white vinegar. (about 2 cups).
C. Activity
Add in 1/4 cup of baking soda to the mix! There will be lots of fizziness here, and it may overflow out of the jar! You can watch the corn start to rise when the fizzing slows down. Then, the corn starts to move up and down!
RELATED: Hands-On STEM Toys for Kids
#5: Shake Your Tailfeathers!
This may be the BEST Thanksgiving activity out there for kids and adults!
You will be laughing so hard when you do this activity with your family! It’s a good time for everyone involved :).
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- kleenex box
- craft feathers
- pantyhose
2. Set-up
Empty the tissue box and place the craft feathers inside. If several people are playing, try to add the same amount of feathers inside each box! Tape a pair of pantyhose to the back of the tissue box. Then, tie it around the player’s waist so it won’t fall off.
3. Activity
On the GO signal, all players will start jumping to get the feathers to come out! The goal is to be the first to get all of the feathers out of their tissue box first! You can’t pull them out yourself; you must just jump or shake to get them to come out.
This will have EVERYONE laughing and having a great time! Perfect for a family party or get-together during the holiday season.
RELATED: Entertaining Indoor Activities For Toddlers
#6: Thanksgiving Countdown Chain
This Thanksgiving activity for kids is a wonderful way to get your kids thinking about what they are thankful for.
Creating a chain is a fun way for the kids to count down to Thanksgiving!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Cut pieces of construction paper into strips. Create 30 strips for the entire month!
C. Activity
Discuss with your little one what it means to be thankful for something. You should give examples and talk about why those are important things to be thankful for. Then, have them brainstorm some ideas on their own.
If they are old enough to write, have them write their answers on the pieces of paper. You can also do this part if you have a younger child doing this activity!
*A parent should do the stapling part to this activity.*
Hang this up in your house somewhere and take off a piece of the chain every day to countdown to Thanksgiving. Talk about what was written on the paper for each day.
Don’t want to create the chain? I have a FREEBIE worksheet for you!
FREE Thankful Turkey Download
# 7: Donut Turkeys
Looking for a fun snack activity to try this Thanksgiving with your kids?
This turkey donut idea is super cute and simple. Your kids will LOVE putting this together. Then, they most likely will try to get a donut or two out of the deal.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Small glazed donuts
- toothpicks
- colored beads
- frosting
- candy eyes.
B. Set-up
Set up all of the materials you need in a tray. I love these plastic vegetable trays to help the organization!
C. Activity
Stick several toothpicks at the back of the donut. Your little ones will put the colored beads on the toothpicks. You can have them sort by color or just let them play and do multi-colored beads. Use a little frosting on the back of the candy eyes to stick to the donut and place it on the front!
#8: Fall Counting Book
I have a fun fall learning activity book that is FREE for you to try with your kids!
These little books are the best. It’s an easy way to get the kids counting in a fun way.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Fall Count and Color Book
- markers
- crayons
- stapler
B. Set-up
Print off the pages to the book cut them out.
C. Activity
Have the kids count the objects, write the number on the line and then color them in to match the color it says in the sentence!
This is a great way to get the kids to use those handwriting skills!
Staple the pages together in order to create their own Fall counting book!
#9: Thanksgiving Bingo
Thanksgiving BINGO is the perfect activity for kids and the whole family.
This can also be a great lesson on vocabulary. Playing BINGO can show your little ones different objects that they may have never seen before.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Thanksgiving BINGO cards
- candy corn, pumpkin mini erasers, or fall beads
- bowl
B. Set-up
Print off how many cards you need! In the set, I provide 10 different cards with the same objects just in different spots :). Cut out the playing cards
C. Activity
Have one player pull the cards out of a bowl. They will say what’s on the card and show the card to all the players (this helps toddlers and preschoolers). They will place their game piece on the picture that is called. The object is to get 5 in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally!Â
Once this happens, they will say BINGO! You can play until the entire card is filled or start back over.
#10: Scissor Skills Turkey
This turkey-cutting craft is a perfect Thanksgiving activity for your kids!
They will also enjoy creating these turkeys together with you.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- construction paper
- glue stick
- googly eyes
- scissors
- marker
B. Set-up
Make a turkey face using your construction/cardstock paper and googly eyes.  Create some feathers on construction paper. Cut them out!
Use a marker to make different lines on the feathers (curvy, boxy, zig-zag, etc.).
C. Activity
Have the kids cut on the lines to give the turkey a “hair cut”! This is a fun way to work on cutting skills.
They should try to stay on the lines as much as possible.
#11: Muddy Pumpkin Patch
So in real life, a muddy pumpkin patch would be something that no one would really want to go through.
But, in the play world, this is a fantastic sensory activity for kids! My kids loved pretending they were at the pumpkin patch picking on their favorite pumpkins!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- brownie mix
- candy corn pumpkins
- spoons
- bowls
- sensory bin
B. Set-up
Dump the brownie mix into a sensory bin and add a bunch of candy pumpkins in rows.
C. Activity
Let the kids use spoons and bowls to play with the pumpkins and the brownie mix. Have them pretend like they are at the pumpkin patch picking out their pumpkins! To make this super muddy, add in water to the brownie mix. The kids will love this addition to the activity!
I do suggest doing this activity outdoors. It can get messy, and their little hands get quite dirty! But it’s fun and festive for the holiday!
#12: Thanksgiving Toilet Paper Roll Crafts
I’ve been really into crafting with toilet paper rolls lately! It’s so nice because you always have them on hand. These TP crafts are the perfect Thanksgiving activity for kids.
The kids love putting these characters together too! After making them, they can use them for pretend play, which is always so much fun.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- toilet paper rolls
- googly eyes
- paper plate
- construction paper
- Sharpie
- glue
- hot glue
- shredded paper
- hot glue gun
B. Set-up
Decide on which characters you want to create! We made a Pilgrim, a scarecrow, and a turkey! These are simple to create, which is important to me because I am not super crafty.Â
C. Activity
1. Pilgrim– glue googly eyes and make a smiley face on the TP roll. Cut a piece of black construction paper to fit on the bottom part of the roll. Make a white bib with a white piece of paper (as you see above) and draw black buttons. Make a hat by creating a circle on black construction paper and glue on top. Cut another piece of black construction paper and make it into a circle, and tape or glue it together. You can add on a little white piece of paper and a yellow buckle as well! Glue that part of the hat onto the circle.
2. Scarecrow– glue on googly eyes and create a smiley face with a sharpie. Create whatever color shirt you want and cut the piece of construction paper to fit at the bottom of the roll. Add on a different patch color if you want! Stuff shredded paper in the roll and straighten it a bit, so it looks like hair. Place a hat on top!
3. Turkey– glue on googly eyes and create the rest of the turkey face with construction paper. Cut a small paper plate in half. Cut little squares of different colored construction paper and glue them to the plate. Hot glue the plate to the toilet paper roll!
#13: Paper Bag Turkeys
It’s always fantastic to find an activity that you can do right away because you have all the materials already at home!
I love this one specifically because the kids can play with it after they are done creating. It’s such a great Thanksgiving activity for kids.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper bags
- craft feathers
- construction paper
- glue
- Sharpie
B. Set-up
On construction paper, create eyes, a beak, and a snood. Layout the feathers for your little ones to pick from!
C. Activity
Before you begin the craft, talk to your child about what they are thankful for. They will write some things they are thankful for on the front of their turkeys. If they are too young for this, you can do this step for them.
Let your little one create their own turkey by adding on the face of the turkey you created. Then, have them add on the turkey feathers by gluing them on the back. After the feathers dry, they can use it as a puppet! They can stick their hand insider the bag and make the head move!
These are the cutest little keepsake to hold onto. We have my kids’ turkeys in the little boxes we have for each of them, and they love looking back at them to see what they wrote.
#14: Wine Cork Turkey Craft
Got some leftover wine corks? I have such a fun turkey activity for you to try with your kids!
They make such easy prints that can be turned into turkeys!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Dip a wine cork into brown paint. Make as many prints as you want on the paper. Let it dry.
Create some beaks for the turkeys using orange construction paper.
C. Activity
Make the feathers for the turkeys using markers. This can be a pattern activity or they can just create the feathers whatever colors they want!
Add on googly eyes and glue on the beak to make your cute little turkeys!
#15: Shaving Cream Leaf Prints
In no way, shape or form is this the most beautiful art project my kids have ever created.
But, they sure loved it, and it was a blast. Process art is more about just trying something new and not caring what the outcome actually looks like.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- shaving cream
- paintbrushes
- fake or real feathers
- white cardstock paper
- tape
- food coloring
- bowl and spoon
- art tray
B. Set-up
To cream the different colored shaving cream, in a bowl, squirt some shaving cream and add in a few drops of food coloring. Mix with a spoon and scoop it out and place it in a sensory bin. Do this process for each of the colors you want to use!
C. Activity
Have the kids use paintbrushes to paint the leaves and put them on the paper. You may need to press down the leaves to get it to create the best-looking leaf prints! Afterward, my kids just painted with the shaving cream! They enjoyed this activity so much.
#16: Thanksgiving Hat Game
So this was a little minute addition to the article. I randomly this amazing turkey hat game, and I just knew it had to be included in this article.
Why? Well, because I’m a sucker for a fun game! My family loves to do these types of activities as well at get-togethers.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Turkey hat game
B. Set-up
Blow the hat and the rings up.
C. Activity
The set comes with two hats. You can play this with just one person wearing the hat, and everyone tries their luck to get the rings on the turkey’s feathers. You could also play where two people play at a time, and they both have on the hats and play against each other to see who can get more rings on the feathers. Lastly, you could play this as a relay game to see what team can get more rings on faster!
SO many possibilities and SO much fun!
#17: Turkey Color Matching
Whenever I mention that snacks are involved in an activity, the kids come running. Literally, running.
I love this turkey color match activity because kids work on color recognition, matching, sorting, and counting skills. It always makes me happy to have an activity that hits so many skills.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- colored cardstock paper/construction paper
- glue
- googly eyes
- Fruit Loops
B. Set-up
Create a turkey and feathers using cardstock/construction paper. Add on the google eyes as well! Let your little ones help by gluing on the feathers to the back of the turkey.
C. Activity
Have your children sort the Fruit Loops in bowls by color. Then, glue the Fruit Loops on the correct colored paper of the feathers that you created! This is a fun color matching activity! You can also extend the learning by asking your little ones to count how many of each color there are.
RELATED: How to Teach Your Toddler Colors
#18: Pumpkin Seed Puzzles
Foam objects have quickly become one of my favorite supplies to do learning activities with!
They can be used in a variety of different ways! These tactile puzzles are one fantastic way to play and learn with them.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- foam pumpkins
- pumpkin seeds
- scissors
- hot glue gun
- hot glue
B. Set-up
Cut a foam pumpkin in half (you can use straight, curvy, box, or wavy lines). On one half, write a number, and on the other half, hot glue that amount of pumpkin seeds so it would match.
C. Activity
Mix up the group of puzzle pieces that you have created. Have your little ones match up the correct number and amount of pumpkin seeds together!
RELATED: SIMPLE Number Recognition Activities
#19: Pumpkin Pie Counting
Did someone say pumpkin pie!? Guess what; this pumpkin pie is also FREE!
There’s nothing much better than that, right? It would only be better if it were a real piece of pumpkin pie.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Pumpkin Pie Counting Mats
- cotton balls
- white Play-Doh
- white pom-poms
- reusable folders
B. Set-up
Print off the worksheets and gather the materials you want to use!
C. Activity
Place the counting mat into a reusable folder. You can grab all three materials (Play-Doh, pom-poms, and cotton balls), or you can just grab one. Have your child look at the number at the top of the page and have them place that amount of materials on the pumpkin pie picture!
RELATED: Teaching Resources
#20: Thanksgiving Activity Book
Want some learning activities that you can use over and over that are festive for the holiday?
You need to check out my excellent busy book to create using the digital download that I made for you!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Thanksgiving Activity Book download
- a 1″ binder
- sheet protectors
- scissors
- velcro circles
- ziplock bags
- laminator (unless you want to get it laminated)
- laminating sheets.
Click HERE to grab your Thanksgiving Activity Book
B. Set-up
This does take some set-up but believe me, it’s well worth it! Laminate only the sheets that need it (these are the pieces). The other main sheets can go in sheet protectors inside the binder. Cut out the pieces once laminated. If it’s an activity that would need velcro circles, you can add those on there and on the binder so they will stick together.
C. Activity
Your little one can complete the activities over and over again! This is a great way to practice new skills as well as work on recognition!
I just bought this laminator for my house! I love having my own laminator because I can laminate all the activity sheets that I want to do repeatedly. It saves so much on ink and paper.
RELATED: ABCDeeLearning’s Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s Store
#21: Pumpkin Pie Fractions
Not going to lie, in school, math was not my strongest subject. I feel like if I had done activities that were fun and hands-on, I would have understood math a lot more.
That’s why I want to use engaging activities like this pumpkin pie fractions activity to teach my kids how to do math!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Pumpkin Pie Fractions Activity Printables
- Play-Doh cutter and roller
- Play-Doh
- reusable folders
B. Set-up
Print off my worksheets and grab the materials you need.
C. Activity
Have your little one use the mat repeatedly to do the different fractions by grabbing the reusable folder. They can roll out the Play-Doh on the circle by using a roller. They will use the cards and the slicer to slice the pie in the amount they see.
Have them count out the pieces for each card to make sure they have the right amount. Discuss the concept of fractions with each card they do!
RELATED: Kindergarten Activities For Kids
#22: Corn Writing Tray
I love creating writing trays for my kids because it’s a fun way to work on handwriting!
If you ever have tried writing activities with your kids, sometimes it may not be the skill they are most excited to practice. Handwriting can be tricky for kids to master; it’s a skill that takes a while.
Adding in some fun activities like a writing tray can engage kids in the writing process, and they don’t have to be so worried about making the letter touch specific lines.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Alphabet Turkey Tracibles
- writing tray
- corn
- paintbrush
B. Set-up
Print off the letters or numbers you want to work on with your little ones! Dump some corn into the tray.
C. Activity
Your little one should practice building each letter or number you printed. Place the card upright on the tray so they can see what it should look like. They will use the paintbrush to create that shape in the corn. Give positive and corrective feedback when needed.
RELATED: FUN Handwriting Activities for Preschoolers
#23: I SPY Counting Sheet
When is I spy, not a hit? We play it in the car, we have I Spy books, and now we are doing I Spy worksheets!
This is actually the first I Spy worksheet that I have ever created. It will definitely not be the last that I make either. The kids were so excited to find all of the objects. It didn’t even feel like they were learning.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Thanksgiving I SPY
- Pencil
B. Set-up
Print off the worksheet! Simple as that!
C. Activity
Look through the worksheet to see how many of each Thanksgiving-themed objects there are! Record the number for each object at the bottom on the line. If your little one can’t write yet, you can do that part for them! Talk about which object was on there the most, least, or if there were any that were the same amount!
#24: Alphabet Turkey Match
Looking for a festive way to practice the alphabet this Thanksgiving season?
This one is perfect for school centers or homeschooling is you are teaching your kids at home!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Letter Match Turkey
- Sharpie
- dot stickers
- do-a-dot markers
B. Set-up
Print off the worksheet. If you are using bottle caps, place a dot sticker on top of the bottle cap, and write each lower case letter. If you are just using dot stickers, write all the lower case letters on them!
C. Activity
Your child will look at the worksheet and match up the lower case letter caps or stickers on the turkey! They can place the bottle caps/stickers right on top of the letter. You can also use do-a-dot markers to do this activity instead! I even have a do-a-dot marker activity afterward for fun to color in the turkey!
RELATED:Â Alphabet Activities For Preschoolers
#25: Turkey Feather Patterns
Pattern work is so much fun for kids. My son that is 3, absolutely loves figuring out the patterns.
I like it too because pattern work can even be something that you work on in elementary school, so this activity has a wide range of ages that this activity can be done with!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Turkey Number Cards
- pipe cleaners
B. Set-up
Print off the different pattern cards and cut the pipe cleaners into 4 small sections.
C. Activity
Set the pipe cleaners out and have your little one complete each pattern by adding in the correct color pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaners will act as the turkey’s feathers! This is a hands-on way to practice pattern learning. You only need 2 things to do this activity, which is nice to have a low prep activity!
RELATED: Kindergarten Activities For KidsÂ
#26: Thanksgiving Dinner Activity
Food is such a BIG part of Thanksgiving! I wanted to find a way to talk to my kids about what kinds of food they will see at Thanksgiving dinner!
We have never done an activity like this, so they were excited to talk about the different foods and which food groups they belong to.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Print off the worksheets!
C. Activity
There are three activities included in this pack.
#27: Pumpkin Learning Packet
When you add pumpkins onto a worksheet, it instantly becomes “cool” for kids to do.
When I create my worksheets, I try to make them as appealing as I can for kids to do! I LOVE creating these fun resources for your kids. I try to make them as interactive and jam-packed with learning as I can.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
This learning pack includes the lifecycle of a pumpkin activity, parts of a pumpkin activity, color by number, alphabet upper and lower case matching, pumpkin shape count, and alphabet writing activity.
B. Set-up
Print off the pages and get your materials ready!
C. Activity
Choose one or two worksheets to do with the kids each day. Unless they are having SO much fun and want to keep doing them. Depending on the activity you choose for the day, that’ll depend on what supplies you need.
RELATED: Teaching Resources
#28: DIY Pie Face
Pie is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, right? This Thanksgiving activity for kids will get everyone laughing!
In this game, you actually don’t eat any pie, though. It is whipped cream, which is close enough to me.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper plates
- whipped cream
- candy corn
B. Set-up
In the pie pans, add some candy corn. This can be a race; in that case, make sure you add the same amount of candy corns on the plates.
C. Activity
On the GO signal, all players will be using their mouths to dig through the whipped cream to get the candy corn. The object of the game is to get all the pieces of candy corn first! Once a player gets a piece of candy corn, they will put it on a different plate to eat later. They shouldn’t eat it once they get it, because they are racing the other players to be the first one to finish!
No one should use their hands. This makes the game fun!
#29: Fall-Themed Sensory Bin
I love all things FALL. I’ll admit, I’m totally basic when it comes to this season, and I’m not ashamed of it.
Fall festivals are one of my favorite events to attend. My absolute favorite part is the corn pits.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- sensory bin
- corn
- toy tractor
- toy farm animals
- egg carton
- small straw hats and straw bale
- fake leaves
B. Set-up
Dump a bunch of corn into the sensory bin. Add in all your fall items into the bin for your kids to play with!
C. Activity
Let the kids have a blast pretending like they are at a fall festival diving face-first into that corn pit! Corn is an excellent sensory filler, and the kids just love pouring and scooping it! Add in the farm animals and talk about what animals would live on a farm!
RELATED: Fall Crafts and Activities
#30: Pumpkin Spice Sensory Bin
Are you ready for the best sensory bin ever? I’m not kidding when I say this, either.
Pumpkin.Spice.Sensory.Bin.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Pumpkin cake mix
- Starbucks/Dunkin cups
- measuring cups
- spoons
- IKEA sensory bin
- mini red cups
- whipped cream
- cinnamon
B. Set-up
Follow the directions to make the cake and let it cool once made. Break it up and scoop into your sensory bin. Add in the coffee cups. In the mini red cups, put some whipped cream and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.
C. Activity
Have your kids make a PSL! This is the best edible sensory bin I have ever done. It smelled and tasted amazing. They can use the measuring cups and spoons to scoop the cake mix and whipped cream.
RELATED: Best Sensory Bins for Kids
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a time to talk about what we are thankful for, eat, play fun games, and of course, learn!
My 30 Thanksgiving Activities are a way for you to do all of those things!
Do you have a favorite activity that you love to do during the Thanksgiving season? Our community would love to hear about it! Please let us in the comments about what special traditions you have!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Learning!
