This list of 19 awesome thankful Thanksgiving crafts and activities for kids is the perfect way to teach gratitude to your children this Thanksgiving or year-round.
Below is a list of thankful Thanksgiving-themed crafts or activities from all different areas of the internet for all different ages. Many of these crafts and activities are great for children as young as toddlers or preschoolers to help them learn basic gratitude. There are thankful turkey crafts, thankful autumn-themed crafts, crafts to share with families as keepsakes, and even coloring pages and activities.
For other fun Thanksgiving and fall-themed activities be sure to also check out this fun turkey puppet craft or Fall leaf crafts for kids.
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Thankful Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities Materials
For most of these Thanksgiving gratitude crafts, you will need simple materials that you can find around the house. You shouldn’t need to go out and get extra materials. Things like construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, coloring supplies, paint, and possibly a printer are needed.
Before creating some of these thankful crafts have a conversation with your child about what it means to be thankful. Read books on thankfulness and brainstorm things they are thankful for together. Below is one of our favorite Thanksgiving thankful books:
19 Thankful Thanksgiving crafts that help teach gratitude to children
1. Thanksgiving Placemat Craft
These Thanksgiving placemats are the perfect way to teach gratitude and decorate the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Each child makes a placemat with a photo of something they are thankful for in the middle. Head over for the directions and to learn where to find the template.
2. Thankful Turkey Craft With Free Printable
This super simple thankful turkey craft includes a free printable that you can print, color, fill out, and put together. Add things that you are thankful for on each feather and glue it all together once finished. Adorable and super simple.
3. Thankful Tree Craft
This fun Fall thankful tree craft uses a free printable found here and scissors and glue to make a fun craft with beautiful leaves. Write what you are thankful for on each leaf of the tree and glue them on to make this fun Fall thankful craft.
4. Thanksgiving Gratitude Painted Rocks
These painted gratitude rocks are a great craft to make and a great discussion piece to go with for days afterward. Make these rocks with your child, write or print the questions on them after decorating, and use them for the days leading up to Thanksgiving for a fun and thought-provoking thankfulness craft.
5. Thankful Photo Tree Craft for Families
This fun thankful tree is so adorable and makes the perfect Thanksgiving decoration. Using real sticks from outside, clothespins, and paper leaves, make a tree with your child and add on photos of all the people you are thankful for together. Such a fun craft to look at and learn about thankfulness.
6. Toilet Paper Turkey Thankful Craft
This toilet paper turkey Thankful craft from Mommysnippets uses an empty toilet paper roll, construction paper handprints, and popsicle sticks to make a fun holder for things we are thankful for. Create the craft together, then brainstorm and add people, places, and things, you are thankful for. Each night pick one out and pray for them (if religious), draw them a picture, or just say thanks for that person.
7. Thankful Thanksgiving Dice Game
This fun Thanksgiving dice roll thankful game uses a free printable dice to use as a talking point with children. Print out and put together the dice, roll it, and answer questions about things you are thankful for. Makes a great activity for a classroom or discussion starter, or for at home at the dinner table during the big feast.
8. Thankful Pumpkin Placemat Printables
This simple pumpkin sheet printout from twopinkpeonies makes the cutest thankful placemat for Thanksgiving. Just have your little ones color in the pumpkin, add something or someone they are thankful for, and laminate it to make the cutest and easiest plaemats for Thanksgiving dinner or to decorate a table for Fall.
9. Thanksgiving Gratitude Chain Craft
Inthebagkidscrafts shares this awesome Thanksgiving gratitude chain craft where you make a paper chain. Each family member shares something they are thankful for and it gets added to the Thanksgiving chain. It can be hung up and used as a Thanksgiving dinner decoration afterward. I love how each person plays a part and gets a turn with this one!
10. Thanksgiving Thankful Writing Prompt and Printables
This freebie includes a printable pack of ten free Thanksgiving printable pages that has a free Thankful for writing prompt. It has a large blank where children can draw a photo of something they are thankful for and writing lines below. This is a great writing craft or way to make a card for someone this Thanksgiving.
11. Gratitude Pumpkin Centerpiece
This fun Thanksgiving tradition from coffeeandcarpool starts at the beginning of November. Write down one thing your child is thankful for each day until the big feast. Then use this pumpkin to decorate your Thanksgiving table as a centerpiece. Such a fun and neat tradition to start!
12. 24 Days of Thanks Gratitude Activity
This free 24 days of thanks printable from surfandsunshine is the perfect Thanksgiving countdown activity. Print it off and complete one thankful activity or answer one question a day. There are some amazing, kind, and thought provoking activities and questions. Start it 24 days before Thanksgiving to use it as a free Thanksgiving countdown as well.
13. Thankful Turkey Printable
This turkey thankful printable is the perfect thankful activity for preschoolers and kindergartners. Print out the free printable and have little ones color it in. Then add things they are thankful for to each feather.
14. Paper Thankful Tree Decoration and Activity
Here is another fun version of a thankful tree except this awesome one uses all paper. Cut out a large tree trunk from brown paper or a brown paper food bag. Then use their free leaf printable to add on leaves throughout the month. Add one or a few each month with things that you are thankful for and at the end of the month you have a beautiful Fall thankful tree decoration.
15. Egg Carton Thankful Turkeys
These egg carton thankful turkeys from redtedart are so cute and fun to make. Make a turkey out of an egg carton, add feathers for things you are thankful for, and then you can add a little treat in the back. Put them on the table at Thanksgiving to store candy corn or harvest themed m&ms.
16. Thankfulness Cereal Box Turkey Craft
This fun thankful turkey cereal box craft from craftsbyamanda uses part of an old cereal box to create a very large and fun turkey craft. Add feathers with things you are thankful for to the back of the turkey cereal box. Then you are left with a large opening to fill with snacks, treats, leaves, a sensory filler (makes a fun turkey sensory bin) and more.
17. Free Thankful Tree Printable
Here is another thankful tree printable. This one from creativelybeth was so beautiful and hand drawn. Cut out the leaves using the free template, add items you are thankful for, and glue them down to the tree. Color them all in with colored pencils and you are left with a beautiful thankful tree decoration to hang on the fridge.
18. Grateful Coloring Page Free Printable
This simple but beautiful coloring page is the perfect quick activity to teach gratefulness. It has the word grateful on it and large leaves. Write things you are grateful for in each leaf and color it in. The perfect way to learn about the word grateful and its meaning.
19. Gratitude ABCs Printable and Game
This gratitude abcs printable is the perfect Thanksgiving thankful game for a classroom or at home. Make a fun list together or have teams race head to head to write down things they are thankful for that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Makes a fun game to pay with family on Thanksgiving day.
For most of these activities, you can use what you have at home. Some will involve time and work spent to prep and get ready. For no prep activities, you can also find some fun ideas to purchase to make together. Our favorites are shown above.
How Can I Teach my Children to be Thankful?
Being thankful is something that you can teach year round. One of the best ways children learn gratitude is by parent modeling.
Model saying thank you for things in your daily life. Thank someone for cooking dinner, opening doors, sharing toys, etc..Show children who you are thankful for by showing them how you care for others.
Complete random acts of kindness and help with things such as holiday toy drives, church rummage sales, and other things. There are a lot of things you can do to volunteer with your kids and organizations made just for this.
Make cards for people you love, make treats for others, help people rake their leaves and mow their lawn when they can’t. There are so many things you can do and so many ways to do these things with your chidlren.
Talk with them afterwards about being thankful for what we have as others may not have the same resources, family life, friends, etc…There are always teachable moments on a day to day basis!
For additional fun Thanksgiving activities be sure to check out this turkey paper bag puppet or this fun feed the turkey sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers
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