21 Fun And Original Ways To Keep Your Kids Busy On Thanksgiving
There's a lot more to do than just crafts.
1. Let your kids make homemade butter.
Kids often want to help prepare the Thanksgiving feast, but there isn't much they can safely do. They can, however, make — er, shake — homemade butter.
2. They can also make no-bake pumpkin pie.
Find the easy, kid-approved recipe here.
3. Tell your kids some Thanksgiving jokes.
Find this joke and 19 more here.
4. Download Thanksgiving props and have a fun photo shoot.
Your kids' relatives can play paparazzi with their smartphones. Download the free props here.
5. Play Thanksgiving bingo.
Download free printable Bingo cards here.
6. Have a turkey balloon rocket race.
Set up two of these side by side and see which wins when your kids let go of the balloons. Learn more here.
7. Let them color, Thanksgiving style.
Download Thanksgiving-themed coloring pages here.
8. Turn old (or new) socks into cute little turkeys.
Find the how-to for this super cute craft here.
9. Make pumpkin spice playdough to play with.
Learn how to make some here.
10. Print out this seasonally appropriate word search.
You can award the first slice of pumpkin pie to the kid who finds all the words first. Download it here.
11. Let your kids make a football turkey.
This craft is especially popular with kids when Thanksgiving football is on the TV. Find the how-to here.
12. Stream Free Birds on Netflix.
This family-friendly comedy, featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson, tells the story of a turkey named Reggie who goes back in time with plans to take turkey off the menu at the first Thanksgiving.
13. You can also stream Addams Family Values on Netflix.
This comedy (rated PG-13) features a scene where Wednesday participates in a Thanksgiving show as only she could.
14. Ask your kids to perform a Thanksgiving song.
View this video on YouTube
Ask your kids to perform after dinner and they'll spend the hours leading up to dinner practicing their song! "Ten Little Turkeys" is fun too.
15. Have a scavenger hunt.
Download the free printable and learn how to print it on a paper bag here.
16. Play Turkey Tag.
Your kids can also pass the time before playing by decorating the clothespin turkeys. Learn more here.
17. Kids love Minute To Win It games too.
Why parents also love them: They're easy to set up and won't take much of your time. Find some good ones here.
18. Get your kids giggling with these Thanksgiving-themed mad libs.
Download the incredibly _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ free printable here.
19. Give them restaurant-style activity place mats.
Download the free printable here.
20. Play a few games of Thanksgiving turkey bowling.
The pins can also be made with empty soda bottles. Find the tutorial here.
21. Read one of these Thanksgiving-themed books.
Find a complete list of these 100 mom-recommended Thanksgiving books here.