Unlike many holidays, Thanksgiving isn’t all about the kids. The day is often the adults in the kitchen, the adults watching football, and the adults having conversations. The day can quickly turn “boring” for little ones if you don’t find ways to keep the kids involved and occupied.
Luckily, we’re here today to share 10 of our favorite ways to keep kids involved on Thanksgiving day.
- Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — There are several parades on Thanksgiving, but we think the Macy’s parade is the most iconic and quintessential for Thanksgiving. Make sure your kids get in on this tradition by tuning into it from 9 am to noon on Thanksgiving. Ask each child to choose and share which float or balloon is his or her favorite.
- Make a Thanksgiving craft — Before Thanksgiving day, find an age-appropriate craft for the kids to do. Gather all the supplies and do any prep work that might need to be done. Set up a crafting area that is out of the way of kitchen traffic.
- Make a Thankful Tree – Before Thanksgiving day, get a vase and gather several twigs. You can pick twigs up in the yard or purchase decorative twigs from any craft store. Pre-cut leaves from construction paper, and use a hole-punch and string to make the leaves so you can hang them from the twigs. On Thanksgiving day, ask all of your guests — kids and adults included — to write what they’re thankful for on the leaves. Have the kids gather the leaves from all the guests and let them hang them on the twigs.
- Help in the kitchen — Kids love to help in the kitchen, and there are lots of kid-friendly tasks they can assist with. Ask them to arrange the relish tray, measure ingredients, peel potatoes, stir ingredients, and brush butter on rolls. Just make sure the tasks are age-appropriate and use caution with any sharp utensils or hot ingredients.
- Set the table — Set an example place setting and then challenge the kiddos to recreate that place setting at all the seats. Make it fun by letting them add the table decorations.
- Read and watch Thanksgiving books and movies — Gather a few books and movies about Thanksgiving that the kids can read and turn on as they please. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Mouse on the Mayflower, Winnie the Poohs — Season’s of Giving, and Miracle on 34th Street are a few movie ideas. For books, look up Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving, Turkey Trouble, The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings, Arthur’s Thanksgiving, and The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving.
- Call family — If you have out-of-town family members or friends who you can’t see on Thanksgiving day, let the kids give them a call to wish them a happy day.
- Play outside — Get the blood flowing by sending the kids outside to play. If it’s chilly, bundle up! Thanksgiving and football go hand-in-hand, so stage a flag football game.
- Play a new board game — Before Thanksgiving, purchase a new board game, but don’t tell the kids! On Thanksgiving day, surprise them with the game. Make sure you find a game that accommodates the number of kids in attendance.
- Make a blanket for charity — Thanksgiving is about counting your blessings, but not everyone is so fortunate. Talk to your kids about the fact that there are some children who don’t get a Thanksgiving meal and don’t have a warm bed to sleep in every night. Then, make a no-sew fleece blanket (instructions here) to donate to charity. You can donate it to a local homeless shelter, or send it to an organization like Binky Patrol.
And there you have it! With these ideas, you have a fun-filled Thanksgiving day for the kiddos.
How do you keep little ones occupied on Thanksgiving?