November is here, which means Thanksgiving is coming up fast, and many children will have time off from school for a long holiday weekend. If you’re looking for ways to help your kids have fun and stay occupied during those days off, there are luckily plenty of Thanksgiving-themed crafts and games to keep them entertained.
Here are a few ideas for Thanksgiving activities for kids and families looking to get creative and celebrate the holiday, taken from our November newsletter and Parenting.com. Additionally, these projects also help kids sharpen their fine and gross motor skills.
1. Pumpkin Relay Race
Materials: For this one, you’ll need a bunch of small pumpkins and two brooms.
Instructions:
- Divide your group into two teams, with each one getting one broom and one pile of pumpkins.
- Set up a start and a finish line.
- Have the players take turns sweeping the pumpkins to the finish line and back. The first team to have all their players complete the race wins.
2. Turkey Stuffing
Materials: Gather a large brown paper bag, two small brown paper bags, scraps of paper, a stapler, glue and white tissue paper.
Instructions:
- First, fold down the top of the large bag. This is the body of the turkey.
- Next, to make the legs, fill the small bags with the scraps of paper and twist the tops closed.
- Staple pieces of white tissue paper to the closed tops of the small brown bags to complete the turkey leg look.
- Glue the legs to the sides of the big bag to complete the turkey.
- Once you’ve constructed the paper turkey, crumple up pieces of colorful paper to throw into it. Kids can mix things up by throwing underhand or from far away.
3. Turkey Tag
Materials: This game starts with gathering clothespins (three per participant), markers, small googly eyes, construction paper and glue.
Instructions:
- Use the markers to add color to each clothespin.
- Glue googly eyes onto the end/”mouth” of the pin, along with an orange triangle of construction paper and a red oval of paper to create the turkey pin’s beak and wattle.
- After each player has three finished pins, they should attach them to their shirt. The idea is to chase the other players and grab as many of their pins as possible while keeping your own pins. If you lose all your pins, you’re out.
4. Turkey Table Topper
Materials: To create this decoration for the Thanksgiving Day table, you’ll need a paper cup, brown paint, a large brown pompom, googly eyes, and construction paper, according to Parenting.com.
Instructions:
- First, paint the cup brown and let it dry.
- Turn the cup over and glue the pompom to the bottom of the cup. That’s the turkey’s head.
- Use the construction paper to cut out an orange triangle and a red heart shape for the turkey’s beak and wattle. Apply these to the head with glue, along with the googly eyes.
- Next, cut out nine four-inch leaf shaped pieces of construction paper in different colors for the turkey’s tail.
- Glue these “feathers” to the back of the cup, and you’ll have yourself a turkey.
These activities and crafts should hopefully provide entertainment as well as lively decorations for everyone to enjoy this Thanksgiving.
At Little Steps Pediatric Therapy, we deliver comprehensive, compassionate care to help improve the lives of children of all ages one step at a time. Our team of pediatric therapists provide high-quality physical, occupational, speech, and behavior therapy and behavior analysis. To learn more about our services, contact us today by calling 847-707-6744 or emailing info@littlestepspt.com.
