6 Thanksgiving Activities for Kids to Cultivate Thankfulness

1. Bless an elderly person/people who cannot prepare a meal by bringing Thanksgiving to them.

Kids who have never done this kind of volunteering will need to understand why they are doing it. You can talk to them about how Jesus said that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, and how that can look at Thanksgiving. First, ask your kids if they know of anyone in the neighborhood or at church whom they think would be blessed by a Thanksgiving meal (they will have more “buy in” if they choose who they are going to serve). It could also be an elderly family member who is living in a retirement or assisted living facility. Call with your kids to confirm that this will work okay for the recipient (s).

Next, have your kids put together a list of dishes and a list of things that need to be purchased (this may require your help depending on the age of your child). Have the children go with you to the store to choose the items. While you are at the store, ask the children to remind you of why they are doing this. Talk about Jesus at the grocery store! Buy disposable storage and dishware to make things easier for the recipient. Have your kids help to cook all portions of the meal (it may be a good idea to make just a few items and add a couple of premade foods).

Then have the kids make a card that says “I’m thankful to God for you” and make sure they come with you to deliver it. When you are at their home, be sure to pray over them. Your kid(s) will not soon forget this project, and will likely ask to do it again once they see what a difference it makes.

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2. Create a thankfulness journal.

This project works well for kids of all ages. About 10 days before Thanksgiving, gather blank journals, or have kids make their own journals. Have the kids decorate their journals however they want.  Next, talk to your kids about what God says about being thankful in the Bible. What do we have to be thankful to God for? Pray with the kids and make a list that is as long as possible. Make sure that Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins is at the top of the list!

Then, starting with the week before Thanksgiving, have the kids write one or more things that they are thankful for. It can be an idea from the list you made together, or something they think of themselves. Tell them to write or draw as much as they possibly can about why that thing or person is a blessing from God. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, they should have a week’s worth of creativity.

On Thanksgiving, before the food is placed on the table, have the children share their journals with everyone. They can read their own, or they may swap with another child to share that child’s journal. Ask questions along the way about why they wrote or drew what they chose. End with a prayer that includes all of the things that the children were thankful for, and have the adults add their own thoughts. Be sure that Jesus is on the list (especially if you have non-believers at your table).

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3. Build a family thankfulness book.

This takes the idea of the Thankfulness Journal and builds it out so that the entire family gets to participate. At the beginning of November, meet with your family about the project and how you want to share it at the Thanksgiving table. Discuss verses in the Bible that talk about gratitude (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 5:18), and pull stories of various Biblical characters and what they had to be thankful for (make sure that you talk about Jesus and what we have to thank Him for).

Then buy a bound book with blank pages at a craft store, and decide how many pages each person gets to fill in. Have family members take turns working on their pages, making sure that they have the materials to write or decorate their pages. Perhaps one child would like to write out Bible verses, another may want to exclusively draw images of thankfulness. Images from magazines can be used to tell a gratitude story as well. Encourage each child to decorate their pages in their unique style and with materials that will lay relatively flat.

Rather than go through it before dinner, take it into a living or family room after the meal where everyone can sit comfortably. Then each person can take turns explaining their pages. Ask questions about why they are thankful to God for that person or thing. Ask each child shares, ask them how they will continue to be thankful throughout the year.

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4. Play random acts of kindness bingo.

This is a great way to get kids engaged in blessing other people by playing a game. First, create a bingo card on cardstock for each child. Determine 25 items that can be spaces on the cards; all will be acts of kindness that the child can do alone or with a parent. 

Work together to determine activities for each space on the card, and although using the same activities, mix them up so that each child’s card is not exactly the same as the others. Whenever they complete one, they get to cross it off the card (so it can still be read). Usually five spaces in a row complete a bingo, but you can change the rules to tell kids they need to make an “X” on the card (9 activities) or that they have to be first to fill the whole card.

For ideas of acts of kindness, you can pay for the next person’s meal at a fast-food restaurant, volunteer to clean up a park in your area, compliment a teacher at school, share a toy with someone in another class at school–the list is endless and will need to be specific to your area and capabilities. On Thanksgiving Day, have the kids show their cards to see how much they did in Jesus’ name and talk about how it felt to please God in this way.

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5. Decorate thankfulness stones.

You may have seen stones randomly distributed throughout your neighborhood with positive messages on them. Passersby are encouraged to take one that “speaks” to them. Your family can take this idea further by using these stones to share God’s love with others. All it takes is buying craft stones that are large enough to write messages such as “Jesus loves you,” dark background paint, and lighter message paint (glow in the dark would be great).

Talk to your kids that one way to show that we are thankful to God is to share His love with others. So work with your kids to make a list of symbols and messages that can be painted on these stones. For instance, “God loves you,” “Jesus loves you,” “God is with you,” “Don’t give up-God is with you,” etc. They can also decorate the stones with hearts and crosses and Bibles or other encouraging symbols.

Kids could even hand out these stones directly to strangers (e.g. restaurant workers, neighbors, teachers)  and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving (done in conjunction with a parent). A few can be left in an area that people frequent, like in a park or on a path. You can also place a number of them close to the sidewalk in your yard with a sign to take a stone for free. Have kids share stories at Thanksgiving Dinner of how this made them feel and what they think God thinks of this kind of activity.

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6. Create a thankfulness Thanksgiving table.

Tell the kids that they get to decorate the Thanksgiving table this year! They can customize the tablecloth, a pumpkin centerpiece and napkin rings with messages of gratitude to God and other images as they choose

First, find a vinyl Thanksgiving table covering. This will be the canvas for your kids to decorate. Have them take permanent markers and write all over the tablecloth things they are grateful to God for. Make sure they mix up colors and patterns and maybe create word art by making words into shapes. They can also draw things that they are thankful for to make it even more interesting. This can be kept and used year after year to remind your kids of what they were thankful for then, and prompt them to discuss what they want to thank God for now.

Then, purchase a glossy ceramic pumpkin or a real pumpkin that the kids can decorate similar to the tablecloth. This will be the centerpiece of the table, so if using a fresh pumpkin, have kids write their messages the day before Thanksgiving. Smaller children can simply write one word of something they are grateful to God for on strips of construction paper. These can then be used to surround silverware or a rolled napkin at each place setting. 

On Thanksgiving Day, they can read their messages to everyone in attendance, while mom and dad can ask questions for an opportunity to talk more about the Lord. 

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