Instead of the after Thanksgiving celebration being hours of football watching and napping, why not try out one of these fun Thanksgiving activities instead? These 45 great Thanksgiving activities are perfect for enjoying the rest of the day together.
I’ve been responsible for planning the Thanksgiving activities for our family celebrations for years, and I’ve put together a huge collection of Thanksgiving family games, gratitude activities, and crafts perfect for any Thanksgiving festivities!
If your family is anything like mine, your Thanksgiving looks like this.
A couple of people cook dinner (hello best stuffing ever) while some people go play in the turkey bowl in the morning. The football group returns and helps finish cooking and carve the turkey. Or vice versa. Or everyone helps with everything but someone does cooking and someone plays football.
Everyone sits down and eats a delicious meal together. After dinner some of the people go and watch football while others entertain the kids and chat. And there are lots of turkey induced naps following by some pumpkin slab pie or pumpkin crunch cake.
Sound about right? Not if you do one of these Thanksgiving activities or play one of these Thanksgiving games! We always do one of these gift exchange games but other than that, I always try to pick something new!
Fun Thanksgiving Family Games
These games work best if you have a large group of people. Most are ones you get up and move but some are ones that you sit down and play, kind of like my favorite birthday party games!
If you’re having a large group over for the holiday, these Thanksgiving family games are your ticket!
Thanksgiving Family Feud
Play Family Feud at home with these fun Thanksgiving themed questions and answers along with instructions for how best to play at home! Get all the details for Holiday Family Feud (with free printable questions and answers) from Play Party Plan.
Thanksgiving Minute to Win It Games
These Thanksgiving minute to win it games from Play Party Plan will have your family up, moving, and laughing! There are over 15 games that can all be played in just a minute! Or you can try some of these fall games too!
Not sure what minute to win it games are? Start with minute to win it games guide.
Thanksgiving Would you Rather
Would you rather walk around with mashed potatoes or stuffing in your pocket? Pull the wishbone or eat a drumstick? See what your family and friends would say in this fun Thanksgiving would you rather game!
Pumpkin Roll
Grab a pumpkin and some prizes to play this fun pumpkin roll game! It’s simple to play and fun enough that everyone, even the football fans, will want a turn to play!
Thanksgiving Bingo
Who doesn’t love a good game of bingo? Print out these free printable Thanksgiving bingo cards for a Thanksgiving themed round of everyone’s favorite game!
Thanksgiving Charades
Have a big group who loves to play charades games? You’ll love this Thanksgiving charades game! Tons of Thanksgiving themed charades words to play the classic game. Or change things up and try one of these unique charades ideas instead!
Thanksgiving Danger Words
This Thanksgiving danger words game is still one of the most fun Thanksgiving family games I’ve ever played! Teammates try to get their partners to guess words without guessing the danger word!
Thanksgiving Pictionary
Would you rather draw than act? Then this Thanksgiving pictionary game is for you! Get the free printable cards and instructions for this classic drawing game with a holiday twist here.
Thanksgiving Outburst
See how many items you can name about a Thanksgiving topic in this fun Thanksgiving outburst game! It’s great for all ages and skill levels and pretty hilarious when you realize what word you didn’t come up with!
Turkey Hunt
This game was actually sent to me by a reader that does this every year with her family! The basic idea is that a turkey gets hidden and everyone has to try and find it to win a prize! I created a printable turkey hunt that uses the same concept but in a printable format!
Turkey Bowling
Bowl for turkeys in this fun Thanksgiving version of a family favorite! Get all the instructions for Turkey Bowling from Make and Takes including how to make the cutest turkey bowling pins!
Thanksgiving Candy Dice Game
If you know anything about me, it’s that I love the candy bar game and I love dice games. This Thanksgiving candy game from Cupcake Diairies seems to be a combination of my two favorite things and an absolute blast for the entire family!
Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities
If you want something that plays on the gratitude part of Thanksgiving, these gratitude activities might be a great fit!
Skittles Gratitude Game
Print out this free printable gratitude Skittles game, open a pack of Skittles, and play with the entire family. In this fun game, the Skittles determine what you have to say you’re grateful! Great for kids and adults!
Thanksgiving Dice Game
Skip just going around the table and saying something you’re thankful for and try this Thanksgiving dice game instead! Roll the dice and see who or what you need to be grateful for this year!
The Gratitude Game
This fun gratitude game will have players punching out cups in this fun Thanksgiving punch game! Inside they’ll find a gratitude challenge or question plus a treat! We’ve been doing this for years and the whole family loves it!
Gratitude Jars
Have everyone place things they’re grateful for in gratitude jars that you read through at the end of the Thanksgiving feast!
Thanksgiving Turkey activity
Print out this Thanksgiving turkey and let kids color in the gratitude activities as you work through them throughout the month of November! If you didn’t see this until later in November, you can still do any of the activities on Thanksgiving Day!
Gratitude Activities for Kids
If you don’t want to go with the turkey above, you could also just print out these gratitude activities that are a mix of questions, activities, and other things related to gratitude. They’re the perfect Thanksgiving activities for any time during the season!
Thanksgiving Activities for Kids
These Thanksgiving games are all about the little and not so little kids. There’s everything from a Thanksgiving version of pin the tail on a donkey to some more creative ones!
This includes both printable and active games plus free Thanksgiving printables, just ones designed for kids!
Thanksgiving i Spy
Print out this fun Thanksgiving i spy game and let kids search for turkeys, pumpkins, and pilgrims to keep themselves entertained!
Thanksgiving Word Search
Need another fun game for kids? This Thanksgiving word search will have them hunting for fun Thanksgiving themed words!
Or better yet, print out these fun printable Thanksgiving placemats for kids with a word search, tic tac toe, and more!
Thanksgiving Color by Number
These printable Thanksgiving color by number pages are great for kids of all ages! Add them to the kids table or use them with your own kids or students!
Or try out these regular Thanksgiving coloring pages if you prefer something other than color by number!
Printable Thanksgiving Placemats
These Thanksgiving placemats are full of fun Thanksgiving themed games, activities, and puzzles. All you need to do is print these out and kids can enjoy hours of fun completing them!
Thanksgiving Word Unscramble
See who can unscramble the words quickest in this Thanksgiving Word Scramble from Moms and Munchkins.
Roll a Turkey
Kids will love making their own turkey in this fun roll a turkey game! Or try out this roll a Thanksgiving feast game instead!
Then play roll a dinosaur, roll a unicorn, and roll a Christmas tree next!
Thanksgiving Play-Dough Mats
Print out these free printable fall play-dough mats then let kids make play-dough creations that match the mats! They’re simple and fun to use! You could even go with the Thanksgiving food theme by using this edible playdough!
Pumpkin Worksheets
These printable pumpkin worksheets are perfect Thanksgiving activities to put on the kids table or just to have out for kids to do whenever! There are mazes, games, puzzles, and even things to color!
Don’t Topple the Teepee
A hilarious game of balance and fun for kids and adults alike, Don’t Topple the Teepee from The Inspired Treehouse is great for developing motor skills!
Feed the Turkey
This game includes a cute bottle decorated like a turkey, some pom pom turkey food, and an activity that will have kids laughing as try to feed the turkey the fastest! Get the full instructions from Busy Toddler here.
Turkey Rocket Races
Turn turkeys into balloons then race them in these Turkey Rocket Races from Growing A Jeweled Rose.
Turkey Feathers
This game that features dice and rolling dice associated with turkey feathers sounds like so much fun! Turkey Feathers from The Idea Room is sure to be a hit for years to come!
Free Printable Thanksgiving Games
These games are the simplest of the bunch – just download, print, and play. I like to do these if you have a family or group who is a little more laid back. They’re some of the best Thanksgiving activities for families!
Many of these would make great games to play at the Thanksgiving table as well if you want to talk or play while you enjoy mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving punch, and homemade rolls!
Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
Send kids scrambling around the house looking for clues with this Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt. Want other scavenger hunt ideas? Here are over 25!
Thanksgiving Matching Game
See who can match food ingredients to the Thanksgiving dish they would most likely appear in with this Thanksgiving matching game! It’s fun, fast, and free to print!
Thanksgiving Trivia
Print out these Thanksgiving trivia cards or the one-page Thanksgiving trivia quiz to see who knows the most about the festive holiday! Questions easy enough for kids and ones challenging enough for adults!
Thanksgiving Scattergories
See how many words you get before the time runs out in this fun Thanksgiving Scattergories game. Just be careful while writing your words, you can’t write what someone else wrote! This Thanksgiving version of the classic board game is one of my favorites!
Thanksgiving Price is Right
Remember the game show The Price is Right? Play this The Price is Right (for a Thanksgiving Dinner!) from Mika to see how well you can price a Thanksgiving dinner! If you’ve played my Christmas price is right game, it’s similar!
Turkey Talk Activity
Get your family talking and moving with these fun printable cards with Turkey Talk and Turkey Tasks from Happy Home Fairy.
Thanksgiving Finish the Phrase Game
See if you can finish the Thanksgiving phrase in the same way as your partner to win points. Get the printable Thanksgiving phrase card here.
Pin the Hat on the Turkey
This Pin the Hat on the Turkey game is a great Thanksgiving version of the classic pin the tale on the donkey!
It may look like it’s for kids, but I’ve seen some grown adults get competitive during this pin a hat on the leprechaun game, so I can imagine this could get feisty with the right group!
Gobble Gobble Mad Libs
Fill in the blanks to make hilarious stories in this Gobble Gobble Mad Libs game! Kids love putting these together and reading them out loud together!
Thanksgiving Board Game
No need to buy a board game, try this free printable Thanksgiving board game from Made with Happy instead! It’s perfect for families to play together or kids to play on their own!
Don’t Eat Pete
This fun Thanksgiving inspired version of the classic don’t eat Pete game has you trying to be sneaky without accidentally eating the turkey (aka pete). It’s a fun one that pretty much everyone I know loves!
want 17 Thanksgiving games in one place?
Outdoor Thanksgiving Party Games
These are the Thanksgiving activities for families like my own that like to get outdoors after a big meal. These would be perfect for right before or right after the annual family football game!
You could also play a Thanksgiving version of any of these popular outdoor games if nothing on this list fits the bill!
Thanksgiving Object Search
Get your family outside looking for Thanksgiving themed items in this Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt from The Taylor House. Even better if you print the Thanksgiving themed activity out on brown paper bags to collect their items!
Turkey Tag
A Thanksgiving spin on an old classic, Turkey Tag from Let’s Get Together will have players trying to tag one another with turkeys!
Shooting Turkeys
Practice Shooting Turkeys in this hilarious game from A Girl And a Glue Gun that consists of Nerf guns and homemade turkeys to shoot in your very own backyard!
Flying Turkeys
Another Nerf Gun games that kids and adults will both love, Flying Turkey from Frugal Fun 4 Boys will for sure keep you on target this Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Bean Bag Toss
See who can score the most points as you toss a bean bag into this Thanksgiving bean bag game. It’s a fun way to get people outdoors without a lot of planning or setup!
Thanksgiving Crafts
Want something a little less active? Try one of these fun Thanksgiving craft ideas! These make perfect Thanksgiving activities for both kids and adults!
Paper Bag Turkey Craft
Let kids make this cute paper bag turkey craft while they wait for the real turkey to be done! They’re as cute as can be and bonus, they double as puppets!
Sweater Pumpkins
Grab some old sweaters before Thanksgiving to make these sweater pumpkins as Thanksgiving decorations together! This one makes a great girls night or something that everyone could do together after a Thanksgiving feast if you want!
Rope Pumpkins
Don’t have old sweaters? Try this rope pumpkin craft instead that just uses items you can purchase at the dollar store! They’re so simple even kids can make them!
Scarecrow Craft
This cute scarecrow craft made with popsicle sticks is perfect for a kids activity for Thanksgiving season or to do on Thanksgiving Day! Or you could try this apple craft with popsicle sticks too!
Fall Art Projects
Choose one or more of these fall art projects and put materials out for kids (or adults) to work on at their leisure as a fun Thanksgiving activity!
Pumpkin Patch Craft
This pumpkin patch craft is the perfect simple Thanksgiving activity for kids to do all throughout the fall and Thanksgiving season! And all it requires is apples and some paint!
Turkey Crafts
This collection of 35 different turkey crafts include a bunch that would make great Thanksgiving activities for families to do together!
More Thanksgiving Activities
If this isn’t enough, try out one of these fun Thanksgiving activities during the Thanksgiving season!
- Turkey crafts – over 35 different turkey crafts (including my favorite turkey paper bag craft) that would make great Thanksgiving activities for families to do together!
- Cute Thanksgiving snacks – spend a few hours making some of these fun Thanksgiving snacks a Thanksgiving charcuterie board or these turkey treats!
- Pumpkin worksheets – printable pumpkin themed puzzles, mazes, and games perfect for entertaining kids!
- Fall party games – while not technically Thanksgiving, these use Thanksgiving items in a series of fun games!
- Fall scavenger hunt – this fun scavenger hunt will have kids (and adults) working together to find fall themed items!
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