Thanksgiving Activities for Kids: 10 No-Screen Ideas for the Kids' Table

Game Night Paper Co. · 2026-10-19

Thanksgiving is a long day for small kids. They're up early for the parade and spend hours waiting while grown-ups cook. Then dinner takes forever. A stack of simple activities at the kids' table saves everyone's patience. These ten ideas work for kids from about 3 to 9, and most need only paper and crayons.

For little ones (no reading needed)

1. Picture scavenger hunt

Give each child a sheet with pictures of fall things: a pumpkin, an acorn, a pie, a leaf. They hunt around the house (or the yard) and color in a circle for each one they find.

2. Picture bingo

Bingo with pictures instead of words. An adult holds up a picture card and kids find the matching square. It works for preschoolers and for mixed-age tables.

3. Roll-a-Turkey

Roll a die and draw the turkey part that matches your number: 1 is the body, 2 is the head, 3 is the feathers, and so on. You need a body before anything else. The first finished turkey wins, and the drawings are always funny.

For early readers

4. Turkey mazes

An easy maze for little hands and a harder one for older kids. Set a timer if your crowd is competitive.

5. Easy word search

Ten big, simple words (PIE, CORN, LEAF, OWL) on a 10×10 grid. They're great for kids who are just learning to read.

6. Word scramble

Unscramble short Thanksgiving words. Pair older kids with younger ones.

7. Kids Would You Rather

"Would you rather be a turkey or a pumpkin?" Read cards aloud at the table and let everyone explain their answer.

8. Turkey vs. pumpkin tic-tac-toe

One player draws turkeys and the other draws pumpkins. Have a few boards ready for rematches.

Gratitude activities

9. Thankful leaves

Kids write or draw something they're thankful for on leaf-shaped cards. Tape the leaves to a jar, a window, or a paper tree in the middle of the table.

10. "I am thankful" sheet

A short fill-in sheet: my favorite Thanksgiving food is…, someone who is kind to me… Kids can read one answer aloud before dinner.

Print the whole kids' table pack

All ten activities are ready to print in our Thanksgiving Kids Activity Pack, including kids' table place cards.

Thanksgiving Kids Activity Pack

10 kids' table pages: mazes, a picture hunt, word search and Roll-a-Turkey. $4.99

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Thanksgiving Bingo

40 word bingo cards and 24 picture cards, with calling cards. $3.99

See it on Payhip