Getting the whole family together for Thanksgiving can be a world of fun and a great reason to be thankful. However, for anyone hosting the event, keeping everyone busy and entertained can be the hardest part of the entire occasion. Kids are especially hard to keep track of, which could lead to trouble if you’re not careful. There’s no reason to buy a lot of expensive activities to keep your bunch happy though. In fact, there’s many ways for you to incorporate the children into the holiday fun without them feeling bored. So, this Thanksgiving make the kids table the place to be with these ten fun ideas that will work for an assortment of age groups.
1. DIY Parade Floats
For many families, the Thanksgiving Day Parade is a must watch. However, some children don’t really have an interest in the parade on the TV, which can mean a lot of wandering around when everyone else is sitting and enjoying the floats and musical programs. One way to engage the kids in the process is to pull out your art supplies. You can instruct the kids on how to make their own floats for the special event. Of course, you won’t be able to make floats exactly as they appear in the parade, but you can use many items to create crafts that will appear like floats. For instance, an open paper bag with a wooden or plastic pole attached will create the illusion of a float. You can also staple two paper plates together with a straw as a handle to create a fun effect. Kids can paint their floats to their heart’s content. You may even want to print out coloring pages so kids can create their favorite characters. Once the painting is complete and dry, try adding streamers for a final touch. Then, the kids can parade indoors or out with their floats for all the adults to see.
2. Thanksgiving Story Book
The story of Thanksgiving is obviously a great thing to share during the special occasion. Children of all age groups can work together to create a special book to share the story with the adults in their life. After you tell the story to the children, hand out blank pages or coloring sheets for the kids to put together. Each child can tell a portion of the story, so they will have their own special place in the book. When all of the pieces of the book are finished, you can easily bind them together and show the children what they created. Older children may want to take turns reading the book to the adults in order to share the holiday spirit. Another option is to have each of the kids sit down and write or draw what they are thankful for. Once they’ve finished, bind it together and share it with everyone before you all enjoy the feast.
3. Make Place Mats
The display of the holiday table really makes the feast feel even more spectacular, which is why you might want to have the kids work on crafts designed to help make the table look great. One way to do this is to have them make placemats, which will add to the aesthetics and make clean up a bit easier for everyone. You can make place mats in many different ways, so you might want to look online for tutorials to help you out. Of course, if you want to follow tradition, you may find that having the kids weave the placemats will make the meaning of the holiday stand out. This can easily be done with construction paper if you have little ones that may not have a long attention span or those who are still working on their motor skills. Another option for older kids is to have them work with string. This will eat up a lot more time, but the finished product will look incredible and can be reused as the years pass. When the placemats are complete, place them on the table and watch as your holiday table transforms with festivity.
4. Assemble Headbands and Hats
Many people associate Thanksgiving with pilgrims and Native Americans due to the first holiday. Thus, it might be a lot of fun to make traditional pilgrim hats and Native American headbands. Although these designs might not fit completely with history, particularly the headbands, they are still a fun way for the kids to have a little fun while participating in the holiday magic. Headbands are incredibly easy to make and may be the perfect option for the youngest kids in the group. Simply use pre-cut construction paper to measure the various sizes of heads in your group. You can staple, glue or tape these to allow them to hold. Once you have the band ready to go, let the kids go to town by making designs with markers. They can even glue on beads and feathers for even more fun. If the kids are feeling ambitious, then they may want to weave their own headbands with string. Pilgrim hats can be a bit tougher, but these will keep older children busy for much longer. Try downloading a template to make these designs a little easier. The kids can make the hats for themselves or loved ones. You may even choose to use the different hats for games later in the day.
5. Turkeys
What would the holiday be without a few turkeys to help celebrate? Most people have made turkeys at some point in their life because it is a classic school craft, so older children may even be able to lead in this craft. One way to make your decorative turkeys is to trace the children’s hands and then cut them out. You can glue the handprints together to make the turkey’s tail. Then, use a simple turkey cut out to form the body. Another option is to use a paper plate or coffee filter. You can paste the cut out of a turkey body in the center of the plate or coffee filter, then let the kids color in the rest to form the tail. There’s tons of turkey crafts online to keep everyone busy though, so have a little fun with it. You may even hang the turkeys up to add to the decor of the special occasion. There’s many turkey crafts to choose from, so don’t limit yourself. Try looking on craft sites for ideas or print outs to make this craft even more exciting for the kids of all ages.
6. Thankful Wreaths
When it comes to the holiday, nothing will help you celebrate it quite like showing the whole world what you’re thankful for. One way to do this is to work on a thankful wreath. All you need to do to start out is cut a circle out of poster board or cardboard. Then, cut out the inner circle to form the wreath. When you have your wreath ready to go, grab autumn colored construction paper and cut it into the shape of leaves. You can even use real leaves as the basis of your wreath’s leaves. When everything is cut out and ready to go, the kids can add the reasons why they’re thankful onto each leaf, then simply glue them on and wait for the beautiful wreath to transform. You can do this with one large wreath or make small wreaths for each child to make their own. When they’re all finished, the whole family should have a blast reading what each child contributed to the wreath.
7. Centerpieces
Without a doubt, the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving Day table makes a huge statement to all who see it. So, the children will love having a hand in making it. There’s a whole lot of options when it comes to this craft though. For starters, you can stick with a simple autumn theme by using leaves or other items to create an adorable look. You might even consider using autumn inspired produce. Another option is to use Native American ideas to create a fun look that will teach the children about a new culture. For instance, a totem pole is simple to make and will allow the children to work together to show off their individual personalities as well as how they combine as a family. You can even use this idea to make small napkin holders by using toilet rolls instead of larger craft supplies. Finally, you may consider making the Mayflower as a centerpiece. This may sound like an intimidating craft, but it’s easier than it looks and will have older children beaming with pride over what they created.
8. Games
Of course, crafts aren’t the only option when it comes to keeping the kids busy. There’s lots of great things you can play in order to have fun. If you have clothes pins lying around, then simply draw a turkey face on them. These can be used to play tail feather tag, which is essentially like regular tag only players have to remove the clothes pin off of the other player’s clothes in order to tag them as out. If you have kids that love to do scavenger hunts, then you may want to try a game of hide the feathers. This is a lot like sending the kids on an Easter egg hunt only there are no treats within the feathers. However, you could utilize a prize system based on the color of the feathers that you hide. If its cold outside and you want a more indoor based game then try hangman, mad libs, charades or Pictionary based around holiday themes. Finally, when the adults go out to play football, set up a game for the kids too. It’ll start them out on the tradition early.
9. Create Foods
When it comes to Thanksgiving, the action is all in the food. Most kids are curious about the cooking process and would love to lend a helping hand creating some of their favorite dishes. Luckily, there’s plenty of items on the menu that kids can help out with, so don’t let their talents go to waste. You’ll obviously want to base this activity on the child’s age and skill level, but you should be able to find something for everyone. Some options include baking and decorating cookies, having children work on a casserole, or even letting them knead the dough for rolls. Before you know it, you’ll easily be able to keep the kids enthralled with their task while showing them they’re capable of cooking.
10. Share Ancestry
Thanksgiving is all about the first time the Native Americans and Pilgrims came together, but you can also see it as the first major feast of the country that would eventually come to be. Thus, this can be a great time to teach the children their roots. If you know your family came over on the Mayflower, then share a little bit about those ancestors. You can also talk about family members that have passed. Learning about your legacy can be exciting and passing it down to little ones can also be a lot of fun. So, start checking out your family tree to see what exciting stories await you all. You never know what you’ll learn.
Thanksgiving is a great time to have a blast with the little ones in your family. These ten tips should help make it easy for everyone to have fun and stay occupied on the special occasion. With any luck, the kids in your family may even decide Thanksgiving is their new favorite holiday thanks to your awesome hosting skills.
