12 Thanksgiving Activities You Can Try Today

Looking for fun Thanksgiving activities to try today? Check out these 12 ideas, including a Turkey Trouble escape room, gratitude tree, and Thanksgiving bingo.

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and gratitude. If you’re looking for some fun activities to try this holiday season, we’ve got you covered. From virtual escape rooms to gratitude trees, there’s something for everyone on this list. So gather your loved ones and get ready to make some memories with these 12 Thanksgiving activities you can try today.

12 Thanksgiving Activities You Can Try Today

1. Break out of a Turkey Trouble escape room

Oh dear! It’s that time again when your turkey friends find themselves in a heap of trouble. They’ve done their best to conceal themselves, but now they desperately need your assistance. It’s up to you to uncover their hiding spots, solve intricate puzzles, and gather the hidden numbers scattered throughout the virtual escape room. These numbers hold the key to unlocking the secret code.

Can you rise to the challenge and fulfill your feathered friends’ plea for help? The destiny of the turkeys rests in your hands!

2. Create a gratitude tree

Create a gratitude tree by cutting out paper leaves and attaching them to a tree branch. Each person can write down something they’re thankful for and add it to the tree.

You can download and print these leaves to use to write down the things you are grateful for. This is a great activity for the classroom or home!

3. "Carve" a Thanksgiving Turkey

On his blog, LearningInHand Tony Vincent shares three Thanksgiving ideas, you can try in your class or at home.

My favorite? Carve a turkey out of a graham crackers using your teeth, like Tony Vincent’s students did. Afterwards take photos of your creations and add details by drawing them in.

4. Create a Thankfulness Infographic

Use a this printable infographic from Kids Discover with your kids as inspiration to create their own! They can create their infographic with paper and pencils or digitally!

Canva and Google Drawing are both great tools to use to create digital posters. Check out the links to tutorials and templates below.

5. Learn about Thanksgiving Traditions

Check out the article from National Geographic kids to learn more about those Thanksgiving traditions. Want to take it a step further? Make a copy of the resource below (created in seconds with the amazing AI tool Diffit) to get your students reading and responding to the text.

6. Hear Turkey Trouble Read Aloud

Watch the Storyline Online video of the book “Turkey Trouble” by Wendi Silvano. Follow along with the story of a turkey who tries to disguise himself as other animals to avoid being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.

This book is the perfect companion to our Turkey Trouble Virtual Escape Room.

Get the Activity Guide

7. Map the Thanksgiving Harvest

In this activity (shared by Jeff Glade on Twitter/X) you will use an interactive story map to learn about the crops grown we eat every year during our Thanksgiving feast.

8. Create Thanksgiving Crafts with Maker Mats

STEAM up your Fall with Thanksgiving Maker Mats created by Sarah Wood and shared on her blog. Each mat contains different Thanksgiving-themed crafts that can be created with various materials like Lego, cardboard, Play-Doh or anything you have laying around.

9. Disguise a Turkey on Google Slides

Use Google Slides to create a presentation where you disguise a turkey to avoid being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. Take it a step further and include a place to write a story about your turkey on paper or digitally. Activity created by Peggy Reimers, Author at TechNotes Blog. Get this activity plus 10 more in this post 11 Thanksgiving Activities for Joy and Learning from TCEA.

10. Create a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon

Design your own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon using materials like paper, markers, and string. Or, use Google Slides or Seesaw to create a virtual balloon. Check out these lessons shared by Deep Space Sparkle, Nadine Gilkison and Jennifer Camp.

11. Write a Gratitude Poem

Using this “Developing an Attitude of Gratitude” HyperDoc, created by Sarah Landis and Kelly Hilton, students will learn about gratitude through multiple texts. They will then create their own 6 word poem sharing what gratitude means to them.

12. Play Thanksgiving Bingo

Play Thanksgiving Bingo using printable or digital cards. Use Thanksgiving-themed words and images to make the game more festive.

Thanksgiving is a great time to engage in fun activities with your class at school or at home with your family. From crafts to games to educational activities, there’s something for everyone. Try one or more of these 12 Thanksgiving activities to make the holiday more festive and memorable.

There are FREE Ways to Turn Your Class into an Escape Room.