40 Festive Thanksgiving Activities for Kids [5 Year Olds & Up]

This big collection of Thanksgiving activities for kids, Thanksgiving crafts & Thanksgiving games are for kids of all ages, with ages 5 year olds and up in mind. Let’s do some fun Thanksgiving activities together to create more family time and holiday memories during the Thanksgiving season.

Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

This list of 40 Thanksgiving crafts and activities will get the whole family involved in the holiday fun! It seems like there is a little extra family time packed into the Thanksgiving holiday which is why it is my favorite time of year!

Is there anything better than the entire family gathered around an overflowing table with kids of all ages running around? That’s why these Thanksgiving crafts and activities are easily changed to fit kids of all ages!

Related: 32 Festive Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers

5-Year-Old & Up Thanksgiving Activities

If the older kids are bored during the Thanksgiving , add supplies such as as glitter, glue, pipe-cleaners, beads, and pompoms, so they have extra things to do. They can also help the younger kids when they’re finished! The important thing is that everyone is involved and having fun!

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Thanksgiving Turkey Activities and Crafts

Turkeys are an iconic Thanksgiving symbol. Plus, they’re delicious and fun to look at! Kids will have a blast with with these simple and easy turkey activities.

1. Coffee Filter Turkey Craft

Upcycle a coffee filter into a cute Coffee Filter Turkey! Kids will love painting ruffled coffee filters, then creating their turkeys heads and feet out of construction paper.

2. Snowflake Turkey Craft

Check out this crazy cool Snowflake Turkey doesn’t really involve any snow, but you can cut a paper snowflake to have turkey shapes! Kids love making snowflakes!

3. Turkey Hand Art T-Shirts Activity

123 Homeschool 4 Me‘s Turkey Hand Art T-Shirts are so cool! Is there anything more fun than wearing your art? With some fabric paint, kids can use their hands to create turkeys on t-shirts. This is my favorite Thanksgiving activity!

4. Book Page Turkeys Activity

Housing a Forest’s Book Page Turkeys are the cutest things ever! Recycle pages from old books by cutting them into the shape of turkeys and using construction paper to add the details. I think this is one of the best Thanksgiving activities.

5. Handprint Turkey Keepsakes Craft

Things to Share and Remember‘s Handprint Turkey Keepsakes are gorgeous. Use burlap, paper bags, colorful noodles, and paint to create an adorable memory of your kids’ hands. This is a fun addition to any Thanksgiving crafts because all family members can do these easy crafts, not just five year olds, to have keepsakes!

This craft is easily modified for kids of all ages. Just add more supplies!

6. Fine Motor Control Turkey Activity

Want more fun activities? Fantastic Fun and Learning‘s Fine Motor Control Turkey is a toy with ulterior motives! This craft is great for younger kids and reuses empty toilet paper rolls.

After turning an empty toilet paper roll into a turkey, kids will have to place feathers into tiny holes, which is great fine motor control practice!

7. Candy Wrapper Turkeys Craft

Take that leftover Halloween candy and turn it into a piece of Thanksgiving art! Follow Housing a Forest‘s tutorial, and make Candy Wrapper Turkeys!

This craft is easy, just cut and glue pieces of candy wrappers until the turkey is born!

8. Turkey Pudding Cups Craft

Turkey Pudding Cups make the “sweetest” place setting for the kiddie table! Flip over a butterscotch pudding cup, then attach foam paper hands to create wings. Googly eyes give this turkey its adorable face. This is perfect after a Thanksgiving meal.

If you write names on the foam paper, they make cute place setters!

9. Easy Handprint Turkey Craft

This Easy Handprint Turkey Craft is cute and simple! Take a paper plate, and make handprints out of construction paper. Turn the handprints into wings, then add eyes and a beak until it looks like a turkey!

This is another craft that kids of all ages will love. You can add pipe cleaners and glitter so the older kids will have more things to do while younger kids work on their turkey activity!

Thanksgiving Activities That Teach Kids Gratitude

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what Thanksgiving is all about. These art projects are easy to make and give you the opportunity to teach your kids how to express gratitude!

Plus, you end up with a beautiful piece of art to display on Thanksgiving Day.

10. Easy Toilet Paper Roll Turkey Craft

List the things that you are grateful for on this Easy Toilet Paper Roll Turkey. This craft combines two iconic Thanksgiving features: turkey and gratitude.

After creating a toilet paper roll turkey, kids write what they’re thankful for on pieces of construction paper wings!

11. Gratitude Tree Activity

Making a Gratitude Tree is a lovely way to remember how blessed we are. Take a vase, fill it with small rocks or beads, then place a couple twigs in there to create your tree. A Thankful tree is so great to teach a busy toddler or teenager the meaning of gratitude. Or even a frazzled old lady like me could always use a reminder. Really perfect for any kid ages.

Have kids write what they’re thankful for on strips of paper leaves, then attach it to your tree to create a beautiful display!

12. Thanksgiving Grace and Courtesy Lesson Activity

This is one of my Thanksgiving favorites. Living Montessori Now‘s Thanksgiving Grace and Courtesy Lesson is full of simple ways to teach kids important life skills. On Thanksgiving Day, kids are truly put to the test.

A feast is placed before them with napkins and silverware they don’t normally see. This is a Thanksgiving activity appropriate for 5 year olds that’ll help them impress grandma and grandpa with their manners on Turkey Day!

13. Gratitude Pumpkin Activity

This Gratitude Pumpkin from Coffee and Carpool is a cute and festive way to express your family’s thankfulness for this year! I love these Thanksgiving-themed activities that teach gratitude to 5 year olds.

Kids can write everything they’re grateful for on the pumpkin, then display it around the house!

14. Gratitude Jar Activity

My daughter and I have incorporated this Gratitude Jar into something we do every Thanksgiving! All you need is a jar, Mod Podge, and some fabric leaves.

Write down moments you’re grateful for every day in November, then read them all Thanksgiving Day. This is a great way to get your kids thinking about what gratitude is really about!

15. How To Be A Gracious Host Activity

Open the conversation with your children about How To Be A Gracious Host with these tips from Edventures for Kids! This is a great way to get kids involved with the Thanksgiving Day festivities and planning! This is great for young children and they can practice all Thanksgiving weekend while friends and family are in and out.

16. How Kids Can Help On Thanksgiving Day Activities

Edventures with Kids has put together an amazing list that shows How Kids Can Help on Thanksgiving Day. Hosting a big holiday is a family affair, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring!

Here are some fun, crafty aspects of hosting that kids will love getting involved with.

17. Thanksgiving Tree Activity

The OT Toolbox‘s Thanksgiving Tree is a lovely and colorful holiday centerpiece where your family can display what they’re grateful for!

Instead of strips of paper, this tree has the kids make colorful leaves out of construction paper!

Easy Thanksgiving Art Projects for 5 Year Olds

These are arts and crafts that 5 year olds would love doing. Most of these Thanksgiving kid crafts use supplies you already have and are easy enough for toddlers to do with just a bit of guidance.

They’re fall and Thanksgiving themed, which makes them perfect to do on Turkey Day. They’ll get the whole family in a festive mood!

18. Warhol-Inspired Leaf Art Craft

This Warhol-Inspired Leaf Art is something to make and then display, because they create gorgeous pops of color!

Kids will love the bright colors and different textures. To create this cool effect, you only need crayons and watercolors!

19. Candle Holder Craft

Make a Candle Holder with this beautiful project from Creative Connections for Kids. It ends up being a gift-quality craft!

With a jar, Mod Podge, and your pick of decorations such as leaves, tissue paper, and glitter, kids can make these gorgeous candle holders.

Add a candle or tea-light, and this simple craft will really come alive!

20. Twig Picture Frame Craft

This Twig Picture Frame makes a perfect gift. You can also use it as a dinner place card holder!

Kids will have a blast scavenging the yard for the twigs and pinecones needed to make this cute and rustic picture frame.

21. Beaded Napkin Rings Craft

Buggy and Buddy‘s Beaded Napkin Rings are a beautiful addition to Thanksgiving dinner. I might even use one as a bracelet!

With some thin wire and beads, kids can unleash their creativity while making colorful napkin rings. You can also use this as a chance to give them some table manners tips!

22. Paper Plate Cornucopia Activity

Count your blessings with this Paper Plate Cornucopia Thanksgiving craft from JDaniel4’s Mom.

This Thanksgiving art project is beautiful! Stack paper plates to create a cornucopia, then have kids make construction paper fruits and veggies to stick inside.

You can even have them write things they’re thankful for on the paper plate cornucopia!

23. Fun and Festive Fall Leaf Crafts

These 30 Fun and Festive Fall Leaf Crafts are full of great Thanksgiving activities for 5 year olds! From painting on leaves to making leaves out of yarn, this list has tons of fun and festive fall crafts that kids of all ages will love! This is a great idea for lesson ideas to explore different colors and fall colors.

Pick out a couple to do on Thanksgiving Day so kids can have age appropriate fun! Plus, you’ll have beautiful decorations to display.

Fun Games For Thanksgiving Day

Whether your family is competitive or not, games are fun! They make people think and work together, as well as be active.

Plus, they take lots of people to play. The more the merrier!

Memories are made when everyone is involved, so check out these Thanksgiving activity ideas that are sure to get the whole family up and moving!

24. Thanksgiving Games

These Thanksgiving Games get kids running around indoors! It also turns Gratitude Trees into a key game feature, not just a pretty decoration.

After you’ve placed different colored baskets across the room, have kids race to place the matching colored gratitude tree leaves into the correct basket!

You can tailor this game for older kids by adding words on the basket they need to match or having them need to read the leaves before they place them in the baskets.

25. Family Outings

Take advantage of holiday family time, and try some of these Family Outings!

Kids will love making their own scarecrows, jumping in leaf piles, and collecting leaves, acorns, and pinecones from outside.

Visiting the local pumpkin patch, apple orchard, or Thanksgiving Parade creates plenty of fun bonding time!

26. Have a Thanksgiving Family Scavenger Hunt

Check out our free printable fall nature scavenger hunt that works for kids of all ages because no reading is required! Work together to find all the nature items outside or compete to see who can find a certain number of scavenger hunt finds first.

Free Thanksgiving Printables

Not only is coloring a fun activity for 5 year olds, it helps them work on their motor skills, promote creativity, create color awareness, and improve hand-eye coordination!

27. Thanksgiving Coloring Pages Activity

These festive Thanksgiving Coloring Pages double as Thanksgiving dinner placemats, and are some of my favorite printables! Download all these printable pdf files to get your Thanksgiving coloring pages that you can print over and over again.

There’s a scrumptious turkey, cornucopia, and festive pumpkin to chose from. You could even give kids leaves and glue to really spruce these free printables up!

28. Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Activity

In case your holiday plans include a car trip, this Road Trip Scavenger Hunt is the perfect solution to automobile boredom. Perfect to keep young kids busy during Thanksgiving season traveling.

This free printable is a list of things your kids have to find during their car ride! To add to the fun, you can always have prizes for the winner!

29. Thanksgiving Word Search Activity

This Thanksgiving Word Search is a free printable that older kids will love. From the Mayflower and pilgrims to football and turkey, kids will search for words that are all about Thanksgiving. I like word searches a little better for 5 year olds, because it’s easier than a crossword puzzle.

30. Thanksgiving Printable Pack Activity

Gift of Curiosity‘s Thanksgiving Printable Pack is free to site subscribers. It comes with 70 Thanksgiving worksheets that cover a range of topics including: shapes, sizes, colors, patterns, mazes, counting, letter identification, and word searches. These are my favorite Thanksgiving activities that also give different ways to practice fine motor skills.

This pack is a great way to keep little hands and minds busy while you prepare for Thanksgiving festivities!

31. Turkey Coloring Page Activity

This turkey coloring page has a complicated zentangle pattern that kids 5 and up will have fun exploring how colors can combine to create Thanksgiving turkey art!

32. Thanksgiving Doodle Coloring Page Activity

This Thanksgiving themed Doodle Coloring page has all sorts of seasonal fun: acorns, fall leaves, pilgrim hats, turkey dinner, candles and so much more.

33. Learn How to Draw a Pumpkin Activity

Kids will love using this simple step by step guide to make their own easy pumpkin drawing. This easy drawing tutorial will have kids knowing the way to draw a pumpkin in minutes…oh, and it is free and printable!

34. Thankful Turkey Pencil Holder Activity

Use the free printable to transform a tin can into a Thankful Turkey Pencil Holder.

Color the printable feet, wings, and beak, glue them on, then paint the can to create an adorably festive pencil holder!

Thanksgiving Recipes 5 Year Olds Will Love To Help With!

One of my favorite things to do is cook with my kids. Not only does it teach them valuable skills they’ll need as an adult, it’s fun bonding time!

35. Turkey Cookie Pops Recipe

Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons‘ Turkey Cookie Pops are just as cute as they are yummy! Use vanilla wafers and marshmallows to make the turkey’s body, then add twizzler feathers!

Kids will love getting to use some of their favorite treats to make these adorable Thanksgiving desserts.

36. Turkey Pancakes Recipe

These Turkey Pancakes from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons are a great way to start off Thanksgiving Day right! They’re also easy to make!

Use sliced strawberries, clementines, and eggs to make the turkey’s wings, then use mini marshmallows and chocolate chips for eyes.

Kids 5 years and older will get a kick out of this adorable, and healthy, Thanksgiving breakfast!

37. Make Fresh Butter Recipe and Activity

Not only will making Fresh Butter work out the kids wiggles, you’ll have fresh butter to serve with your Thanksgiving dinner!

All you need is heavy cream, a jar, and some elbow grease to make your very own butter. Who knew?

Not only is this a great Thanksgiving activity for over-active 5 year olds, it’s the perfect time for a history lesson. The pilgrims made butter too!

Thanksgiving Songs

Everyone knows all the Christmas songs, so why shouldn’t we have some Thanksgiving songs too?

38. Thanksgiving Songs For Kids

Fantastic Fun & Learning‘s Thanksgiving Songs for Kids allows you to spend some time singing with your loved ones this holiday season.

There’s silly songs about turkeys and songs that teach kids the history of Thanksgiving!

Historical Thanksgiving Kid Crafts

These historical Thanksgiving activities are appropriate for 5 year olds, but still give you the opportunity to teach them about the first Thanksgiving! From the Mayflower and pilgrims to Native Americans and colonization, these activities teach kids important milestones of American history while still being fun!

39. Sail the Mayflower Game

Scholastic‘s Sail the Mayflower Game is a printable family game that teaches kids about the pilgrims’ voyage on the Mayflower. It comes with a gameboard and easy-to-make markers for players.

This game is a great way for the entire family to freshen up their history facts and have some group fun!

40. Mayflower Diagram and Craft

Learn about ships and how those on the Mayflower lived during the long journey with this Mayflower Diagram and Craft from School Time Snippets.

First, you draw the Mayflower on a piece of paper. Then, you trace it on another piece of paper and label all of the ship’s parts.

After you cut up the original piece of paper, you’ve created a puzzle that kids will have a blast putting back together!

41. Mayflower Model

Make your own Mayflower model by upcycling applesauce containers with this amazing Mayflower Craft and Science Activity from Fantastic Fun and Learning!

Let kids paint their empty applesauce containers, then cut out their sails from card stock. Attach the toy, then launch the ships in a bucket of water, a local pond, pool, even the tub!

Kids will love seeing their creations float, and you’ll have the perfect teaching opportunity while they’re creating their tiny sea vessels.

42. Mayflower Craft Ideas For Thanksgiving

This is a list Mayflower Craft Ideas for Kids that’s perfect for big families with kids of all ages.

Let older kids make their ships out of paper towels, straws, and paper while the younger kids work on their paper plate Mayflowers.

Or everyone can work together on a variety of different Mayflower themed crafts! During the holidays, what matters is that everyone is having fun together.

43. Paper Plate Tepee Activity

Combine Fantastic Fun & Learning‘s Paper Plate Tepee with a Mayflower craft, and kids can act out Thanksgiving day scenes while you teach them Native American history.

All you need is a paper plate, twigs, and glue to make these cute tepees. Kids will love coloring the outside!

44. Indian Corn Craft & The 5 Kernels of Corn Legend

This Indian Corn Craft & 5 Kernels of Corn Legend, from Fantastic Fun & Learning, combines two things 5 year olds love in a Thanksgiving activity: coloring and stories!

There’s a free printable to help teach the legend of the 5 Corn Kernels. After telling the story and having kids color the printable, you make your own Indian Corn!

Simply cut out a corn shape, then have kids paint different colored dots to represent the kernels. You can add ribbon or twine at the top to make them truly festive!

Thanksgiving Activities and Thanksgiving Crafts For Five Year Olds

From handprint turkeys and Mayflower history to homemade butter and turkey-day games that’ll get everybody moving, this list has the perfect activity for every family.

There are even some projects that will help teach the real meaning of the season: gratitude!

Even more THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES From Kids Activities Blog

We have great things to do to celebrate Thanksgiving with kids of all ages:

What is your family’s favorite Thanksgiving craft or activity? Comment below! Happy Thanksgiving!