20 Fun Things You Can Do with Family on Thanksgiving

Most people get excited for Thanksgiving. After all, it’s that one day that we can be with the entire family to celebrate and just have fun. And because it’s a special day, it’s only right that you make it as memorable and as enjoyable as possible.

If you still don’t have any plans yet, here are some really great and fun Thanksgiving activities for families you can try this year.

Take a Walk

Pick an enjoyable destination and have the entire family moving on such a special day. You could also join a Thanksgiving road race or road walk.

Play Touch Football

Just get outside with the gang and do something that involves running around and taking in some nice fresh air.

Boardgames

Get out those games you have in the closet since last Christmas and haven’t played yet. Scrabble, Life, Yahtzee, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, Trouble, Chutes & Ladders, whatever! Take them out and have the entire family having fun.

Play Charades

This doesn’t take much. Make your own rules as you go and just have fun!

Sing-a-Long

Get out the instruments or put on a holiday radio station. You can sing along or start a contest. You can really have fun with this.

Memory Sharing

Share stories. You can pick a theme such as:

• The greatest day of my life.
• The best thing that happened in my life this year
• My favorite memory from childhood
• The funniest thing that ever happened to me

Have someone scribe the stories or videotape the event.

Share Thanks

At dinner have everyone share what they are thankful for before eating dinner.

Silly Dance Contest

Be silly and dance away. Make up your own rules to make the event a lot more fun.

Kids’ Talent Show

There’s usually one grownup at family gatherings who likes to get the kids doing activities. If you’re that person, consider having the kids perform for the whole family after dinner. While everyone is watching football, you could throw it together. Of course, adults can join the show, too!

I Love My Family Because….

Gather round as a family and have each person share what they love about the family.

Share the Love

Have the family all in one room and have each person tell why he or she admires the next person. And then, that person will do the same thing and so on. You can use lines such as “I admire ___________ because…”

Treasure Hunt

Create a simple treasure map and prepare some prizes. There can be one prize or multiple prizes, like an egg-hunt. You can use chocolates, a packet of coins or a gift certificate wrapped up in a box.

Name That Tune

Play the humming game where each teams or individuals have to name the tune.

The Questions Game

Here is a link to a family game with very few rules. You get to make up the rules. The idea is to spark conversations, have fun, and get to know each other better.

The Craziest Thing

Everyone in the family can tell a crazy story and the rest has to guess if it is true or not. The story doesn’t have to be something that they actually experienced.

Our Family Tree

Have everyone imprint their hands on a big sheet of paper with their name underneath. You can have it framed or take a picture of it to share with everyone.

Start a Thanksgiving Day Banner

This year, create a banner that you can hang in your living room. Make sure that it has a picture of the whole family. Do the same thing next year and your banners can serve as an heirloom for future generations.

Three Legged Races

Games aren’t just for kids. So, link up both kids and grownups and start a three-legged race. You could also try a sack race or create an obstacle course race, too. Prepare some prizes to make the game a lot more fun and exciting.

Family Thanksgiving Journal

There are so many great things about keeping a journal and this Thanksgiving gives you more reason to try it out. So, grab a blank notebook and write down what everyone in the family is thankful for this year. Keep creating Thanksgiving journals which you can turn into treasured family books you can pass on to the next generation.

Make Me Laugh

Tell jokes. You can turn it into a game to see if you can get someone to laugh. You can do it by yourself or ask a friend to join you.

Happy Thanksgiving all! Enjoy!

Please share your favorite Thanksgiving traditions and family fun activities in the comments! We’d love to hear your ideas!

See Also: 10 Ways to Make Thanksgiving Super Fun

Originally written for Dumb Little Man by K. Stone. She is the author of Life Learning Today, a blog about daily life improvements. Photo by Cameron Nordholm