Thanksgiving Traditions for Families with Young Children

Are you looking for ways to make Thanksgiving special for your little ones? You've come to the right place! In this guide, we’ll share fun and easy traditions to start with your young children. Hopefully, these ideas will help create lasting memories and teach kids about gratitude, family bonds, and the importance of giving thanks.

Setting the Scene

Decorate Together

Get your kids excited about Thanksgiving by decorating your home together. Here are some simple ideas:

  • Make paper turkeys using your kids' handprints. Use different colored paper for the feathers, add googly eyes for extra fun, and display them on windows or the refrigerator
  • Create a thankful tree. Cut out leaf shapes from colored paper, then have family members write what they're thankful for on each leaf. Attach the leaves to a large paper or cardboard tree trunk and display it prominently in your living room or dining area
  • Let your children help set the table with festive placemats or centerpieces they've made. Create placemats by laminating fall-themed coloring pages. Make a centerpiece using a small pumpkin, leaves, and battery-operated tea lights

Plan a Kid-Friendly Menu

While adults might love complex flavors, kids often prefer simpler tastes. Try these ideas:

  • Make mini pumpkin pies in muffin tins. Let kids help mix the filling and decorate with whipped cream
  • Serve turkey-shaped sandwiches for lunch. Use cookie cutters to shape bread into turkey outlines then fill with kid-friendly ingredients like cheese and turkey slices
  • Create a “build your own” mashed potato bar with toppings like shredded cheese, bacon bits, chives, sour cream, and gravy
  • Offer a variety of finger foods for picky eaters, such as fruit and cheese kabobs, vegetable sticks with dip, or turkey roll-ups

Fun Activities

Thanksgiving Parade Viewing Party

Many families love watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Make it extra special by:

  • Having a pajama party in the living room. Encourage everyone to wear festive or turkey-themed pajamas
  • Serving special breakfast treats. Make pumpkin-shaped pancakes and serve hot chocolate with marshmallows
  • Playing parade bingo. Create bingo cards with things to spot like “marching band,” “giant balloon,” “celebrity appearance,” or “Santa Claus”. Offer small prizes for winners

Thankful Jar

Start a tradition of gratitude with a thankful jar:

  • Decorate a large jar together. Use paint, stickers, or glitter to make it festive. Write “Our Family's Gratitude” on the jar
  • Cut strips of colored paper. Assign different colors to each family member
  • Throughout November, have family members write things they're thankful for and add them to the jar. Encourage daily entries and help younger children by writing down their thoughts
  • Read them aloud on Thanksgiving Day. Take turns pulling out and reading the slips and discuss why these things are important

Turkey Trot

Get moving before the big meal with a family walk or “turkey trot”:

  • Take a walk around the neighborhood. Point out fall foliage and decorations
  • Visit a local park. Organize a mini scavenger hunt for natural items like acorns or colorful leaves
  • Have kids wear turkey headbands or feathers for extra fun. Make simple headbands using construction paper and feathers
  • Set a family step goal and track it with a smartphone or pedometer

Giving Back

Volunteer Together

Teaching kids about helping others is important. Try these age-appropriate ways to give back:

  • Collect canned goods for a local food bank. Set a family goal for the number of items to donate and let the kids decorate a collection box
  • Make cards for residents at a nursing home. Use art supplies to create cheerful Thanksgiving cards then deliver them in person if possible
  • Help an elderly neighbor with yard work. Rake leaves or clean up the garden and explain how this helps those who might find these tasks difficult

Make Care Packages

Create care packages for those in need:

  • Fill shoeboxes with small toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children in need. Partner with organizations like Operation Christmas Child. Let each child choose items to include
  • Put together blessing bags with snacks, socks, and toiletries for homeless shelters. Include a handwritten note of encouragement and deliver it as a family to a local shelter
  • Prepare and deliver a meal to a family in need or a local fire station. Let kids help with simple cooking tasks and decorate the packaging with Thanksgiving themes

Cooking Together

Kid-Friendly Kitchen Tasks

Let your children help with meal prep. Here are safe tasks for little helpers:

  • Washing vegetables. Make it fun by pretending the sink is a vegetable spa
  • Stirring cold ingredients. Let them mix salads or cold side dishes
  • Mashing potatoes (with supervision). Use a potato masher or a hand mixer for older kids
  • Arranging items on a veggie tray. Challenge them to make a turkey shape with the vegetables
  • Measuring dry ingredients. Practice counting and fractions

Make a Special Kids' Dish

Let your children feel proud by contributing their own dish to the meal:

  • No-bake pumpkin balls: Mix pumpkin puree, graham cracker crumbs, and spices then roll into balls and coat with cinnamon sugar
  • Turkey-shaped cheese and cracker platter: Arrange crackers in a fan shape for feathers and use cheese slices for the body and vegetables for details
  • Fruit kebabs: Thread various fruits onto skewers in rainbow order and use cookie cutters to shape melon into fun shapes
  • Cornucopia snack mix: Combine cereals, nuts, and dried fruits and serve in a cone-shaped bread roll

Crafts and Games

Thanksgiving Crafts

Keep little hands busy with these simple crafts:

  • Pinecone turkeys: Paint pinecones and add feathers, googly eyes, and a felt beak
  • Paper plate pilgrim hats: Cut and paint paper plates to create wearable hats
  • Leaf rubbings with crayons: Collect leaves and create colorful rubbings on paper
  • Thankful hands turkey: Trace hands on colored paper, cut out, and write things to be thankful for on each “feather”

Family Games

Play these Thanksgiving-themed games:

  • Pin the feather on the turkey: Draw a large turkey and let blindfolded kids try to pin on the tail feather
  • Thanksgiving scavenger hunt: Hide Thanksgiving-related items around the house or yard
  • Pumpkin bowling (use a small pumpkin as the ball): Set up toilet paper rolls as pins
  • Thanksgiving charades: Act out Thanksgiving-related words or phrases
  • Turkey feather race: Use feathers or paper “feathers” for a relay race, balancing them on spoons

Creating Keepsakes

Annual Family Photo

Start a tradition of taking a family photo each Thanksgiving:

  • Use the same backdrop each year to see how your family grows. Set up a designated photo area with autumn decorations
  • Let kids hold signs with the year or what they're thankful for. Create reusable chalkboard signs for yearly updates
  • Make a photo album or scrapbook to look back on over the years. Add ticket stubs, recipes, or other memorabilia from each year
  • Consider dressing in coordinating colors or themes. Choose a different color scheme each year

Thanksgiving Journal

Keep a family Thanksgiving journal:

  • Write down memories from each year. Have each family member contribute a short entry
  • Include favorite recipes. Add notes about which dishes were hits or misses
  • Add photos or drawings. Encourage kids to illustrate their favorite moments
  • Record family milestones and changes. Note new additions to the family, moves, or other significant events

Additional Resources

For more ideas and tips on parenting and celebrating holidays with young children, check out these helpful articles from our website:

Final Thoughts

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to create lasting memories with your young children. By starting these traditions early, you're not just celebrating a holiday – you're teaching important lessons about family, gratitude, and giving. Remember, the most important thing is spending time together. Don't stress if everything isn't perfect. Your children will remember the love and laughter more than any fancy decorations or elaborate meals. Happy Thanksgiving!