Find Fun Activities For Kids On Thanksgiving
This year has been tough with COVID restrictions, so try to make your kids Thanksgiving 2020 special. Routine changes, social distancing and the absence of extracurricular activities, have given no room for kids to interact with peers. That’s why it’s important to find some fun activities for kids this Thanksgiving.
Moreover, complaints of loneliness and depression are on the rise for people of all ages. It’s time to pep things up and make the last two months count.
Let’s start with November and plan for an amazing kids Thanksgiving 2020. This year, to keep their spirits high, incorporate a lot of family fun activities with kids on Thanksgiving.
If you’re on board with our idea of a fun-centric Thanksgiving, read on as we have a lot of interesting ideas to get you started.
Our Kids Need Some Fun This Thanksgiving 2020
Any other year, Thanksgiving would be about the usual traditions. Food (yummy, yummy food), parades and family time. Indeed, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday and definitely fun!
However, with COVID looming dark over us most of our community programs and parades have been shelved. Restrictions on social gatherings require us to limit the number of friends and family we can invite to our home.
Despite this, we can still make our kids Thanksgiving 2020 memorable for our little ones. All we need are some fun alternatives, and this we have in plenty.
10 Fun Activities To Do With Kids On Thanksgiving 2020
1. Thanksgiving Mural/Banner
Roll out the sheet of butcher paper along with crayons, paints and pencils. It’s time for the children to release the artist within.
Get them to create a Thanksgiving mural or a banner. Some ideas include:
- Writing down their favorite Thanksgiving tradition.
- A banner thanking all the essential workers for their services.
- A gratitude Thanksgiving banner.
- Ask the adults to chip in and jot down their favorite traditions, or something they are thankful for.
Once done, hang it up for everyone to read to make kids Thanksgiving 2020 unique.
You can even place the banner somewhere outside with a marker and a board for others (public) to add their thoughts. At day’s end, take the family to check if your banner has any additional words of gratitude or traditions on them.
2. Make Turkey Name Cards
Get your little ones involved in your Thanksgiving preparations by making these turkey name cards for the table. All you need is some colored paper or cardstock and whatever decorations they like.
Get them to trace their hand on the paper, then color them and cut them out. Add the beak, legs, eye and wattle with glue and then write their name on it. Job done!!
Adults can join this fun activity with kids on Thanksgiving too! Just get the kids to show them how to create their own individual name cards.
3. Creating Placemats Is A Fun Activity For Kids On Thanksgiving
Use fall colored papers cut into strips and teach kids to weave their own placemats. They can decorate them using pre-cut turkey pictures or any stickers of their choice.
In fact, for kids Thanksgiving 2020, encourage them to use bright colors and happy pictures. Allow them the creative licence to make us all smile and laugh at their beautiful table decorations.
Moreover, use their placemats along with their name cards on their setting at the table.
4. Teach Napkin Folding To Kids For Thanksgiving 2020
Teach your kids how to fold the napkins in different shapes and styles. Turkey-shaped napkins are a super fun activity for kids on Thanksgiving.
We found many great ideas for napkin shapes on YouTube to add panache to your dinner setting. Also look on Pinterest and Martha Stewart for some other great ideas.
5. Natural Decor Centrepieces
This year, with all the unrest and turmoil happening, let kids create an amazing natural centerpiece for your dinner tables.
Send them out with baskets and instructions to find anything they think will be useful for a centerpiece.
This can be pinecones, colorful leaves, acorns, twigs, hedge apples or anything that catches their fancy. They can then assemble and arrange them in their baskets. Or, use an old wooden serving tray, an old plate or even a mason jar to arrange the centerpiece on, in or around.
6. Set Out A Gratitude Jar
Find a colorful jar and set it between the kitchen and the dining room. Have different pieces of paper and pens beside the jar.
Ask everyone to write their thoughts and what they are thankful for and place it in the jar. At the end of the day, hand the jar to the kids and have them read each piece.
This activity can help us realize how truly blessed we are. This is especially important for your kids Thanksgiving 2020 as it has been a difficult year.
7. Create A Fun Activity Corner For Kids On Thanksgiving
Amidst all the mayhem, let there be a space for kids to just play! Here are some ideas that you can set out.
- Printed Thanksgiving Puzzles: Jumbled words, crosswords or find the word.
- Gratitude Coloring Sheets. The kids can color and write down things they are thankful for.
- Craft Items: Felt, feathers, pipe cleaners, colored pumpkin seeds etc. Kids can use them to make their own Thanksgiving crafts like a turkey crown or finger puppets.
- Thanksgiving Books: The younger kids can ask an adult or older sibling to read it to them.
- Play-Doh, Clay and Lego: Get them to make their own creations.
8. Have A Kids Thanksgiving 2020 Show
We all know that kids love to entertain, so encourage the kids to stage their own Thanksgiving show. It can be a song-and-dance number, a short drama or even a puppet show.
Give them time to practice and maybe get older siblings or cousins to help with the kids Thanksgiving 2020 show..
Allow access to some older clothes and dress-ups and let them entertain you. With all that has happened this year, this is a great opportunity for the family to laugh and play together.
Give them a stage to showcase their talent and you will be amazed by what they will pull off!
9. Outdoor Fun Activities For Kids On Thanksgiving
There are many ways to get kids outside and having a great time.
- Turkey hunt: Similar to easter eggs but with turkey pictures. Hide them around the house or outside if the weather is good and ask the kids to find them. Whoever finds the most wins a treat.
- Turkey pinata: Hang it up for the kids and let it rip. This is always a fun activity for kids on Thanksgiving.
- Scavenger/ treasure hunt: This can be a group game for both adults and kids. It can be a simple hunt for the object, or more complex, where you need to decode clues to figure out the object and location.
10. Thanksgiving Games For Kids In 2020
You can’t end the night without playing some family games. So, here’s a little Thanksgiving twist to some of our favorite games.
- Pictionary: Print out words related specifically to Thanksgiving. Turkey, cranberry sauce, pilgrims, gravy etc. The winner is the team that is able to guess the most.
- Trivia: Research online and prepare questions for a Thanksgiving trivia night. For example, “What is a male turkey known as?” This can be a fun activity for kids and adults on Thanksgiving or any other holiday. It’s easy to find more questions on-line and you’ll be surprised at how many really know the answers.
- Play a game of truth or lie: In this fun, brain-racking game, the players have to find the truth from the lies. For example, player A will say three statements, two of which are false and one is the truth. The remaining players have to find the truth from the lies. All can have a turn at finding out. Once everyone has said their answers player A can reveal the truth. Continue with each player, and at the end of the round, see who had the best nose for sniffing out the truth!
If this year has taught us anything, it is to be thankful for the little but important things. We believe that there’s nothing more important than family, and especially right now.
That’s why it is crucial that you make time for all the fun activities you could do with your kids this thanksgiving. If you take some time for planning, you’re sure to have a super fun kids thanksgiving 2020.
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
