Thanksgiving Fun and Games

Is your family more of a eat turkey and watch football kind of family? Or more of a eat turkey and play football outside family? Or maybe a eat turkey and play games kind of family?

Our family is a little bit of everything. My Uncle would always turn on the game after we were done eating. The kids would play games inside or outside, depending on the weather, and in the afternoon or evening we would often enjoy a Christmas movie.. . .usually the Grinch before Christmas. Now when we are home my Mom will often have a craft ready for the grandkids to make, or nerf guns for a nerf war, or pictures to color.

Since living in Italy we have made a few of our traditions. If the weather is nice, we like to go for a walk, but mostly we just love to do activities and play games with our friends and family. Like Thanksgiving pictionary, or Thanksgiving minute to win it games.

We always start with activities during the meal that focus on sharing what we are Thankful for. I made a Thanksgiving tree centerpiece one year for everyone to hang their thankful leaves on. Another year I made placemats that everyone could fill out as they ate, with a place to write what they were thankful for and games for the kids.

Two years ago we made these Canvases. The theme that year was “Ten thousand reasons” from the Matt Redman song. The first canvas was just a place where everyone could write things that they were thankful for. The second was a Thankful tree that I drew. Each person places a fingerprint leaf on the tree and then when it dried wrote their name on the fingerprint. They have both become beautiful keepsakes that I bring out to hang at every Thanksgiving. I love reading all the reasons everyone was thankful, it reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for, and the tree is a sweet reminder of our loved ones and how thankful we are for each one of them. This keepsake is really easy to make and a special thing to put on display for many Thanksgivings to come.

We also love to play games! Like Thanksgiving Pictionary. Click to download your game sheet. Just cut out the squares and Add an A for All play in the corner of some of the vocabulary squares. You will need a timer, small dry erase boards, dry erase pens, eraser, the Pictionary words and a bowl to put them in. Divide your family or group up into teams. Keep track of who guesses more words within the time limit. If something is not guessed, then it can go back into the bowl. If a word has A for all play on it, then all the teams compete at once.