You’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, the family is coming over in 4 hours, and the kids are, you know, BORED! Of course they’ll be entertained when everyone else arrives, but what about in the meantime? If they’re not going to help you with cooking and preparations they need to move there little booties out of the kitchen 🙂

These activities can help keep the kids entertained after you eat too!

I was perusing Pinterest for some Thanksgiving Day activity ideas and I found a few that I thought I would share with you. Believe me, there are tons on Pinterest! I’ve found a few sites that may save you some searching time though!

“A to Z” I’m Thankful For List

Natural Beach Living has some great free printables to keep the kids entertained. I really like the A to Z I’m Thankful For list. It will be fun to see what the kids come up with for each letter of the alphabet! Visit their website and type in “thanksgiving” in the search tab to see all that they have.

Painting Pinecones

So, you’ll probably be decorating for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, right? Why don’t you send the kiddos out hunting for pinecones. Nice ones that you can use as decor in the house. Then set up an area outside that the kids (maybe with the help of an adult) can spray paint the pinecones or dip in paint to match your decor, whether it be gold, silver, white, etc… There are plenty of “how-to” tutorials on the web. I did run across someone recommending that you “bake” your pinecones when you bring them in to rid them of any insects they may be harboring. We’ve used pinecones from the yard in the past without any problems, but you never know! You might want to look into that and decide for yourself…

Thanksgiving Bingo

Edventures with kids has quite a few fun activities. How about Thanksgiving themed bingo or a word search puzzle, to name a few.

Thanksgiving Mad Libs 

Who doesn’t love a mad lib? So fun to hear how something reads when the blanks are filled in! Simply say the word below the blank line and have a friend give you their answer. They won’t know how the story goes until all blanks are filled in. Good for some laughs! I found this free printable at My Sister’s Suitcase.

A Thanksgiving Turkey Hunt

This one would be great for kids of all ages, even the adults! Get the kiddos out of the house and send them on a turkey hunt! A turkey hunt in your own backyard of course! This one takes a little more preparation as you will have to place things around the yard, but the kids will have so much fun! If you are really feeling industrious, you could coordinate with some of your neighbors with kids to increase the area for the scavenger hunt! To learn more about the hunt and to get free printables head on over to The Dating Divas site.

Probably the best activity you can do with the kids is giving back. Whether you go to a well organized event that feeds the less fortunate, invite a live-alone neighbor, or you simply take a meal to an elderly neighbor, the “giving” in Thanksgiving is a great way to teach your kids what the holiday is really about.

Also, we love to go around the table and everyone say what they are thankful for. The kids may say their iPad, but hey, it’s something 🙂

Bridgette and I wish you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

And, don’t feel bad if you gobble until you wobble 😉 You won’t be alone!!