20 Cheap Thanksgiving Activities That Won’t Gobble Up Your Budget
Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude and connection. But celebrating doesn’t have to cost a fortune. If you’re looking for meaningful ways to celebrate without breaking the bank, we’ve got you covered!
From creative crafts and games to acts of kindness and memory-making traditions, these 20 free and cheap Thanksgiving activities will keep your whole family entertained while making the day extra special.
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20 Fun and Affordable Thanksgiving Activities
1. Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
Go on a gratitude hunt for items around the house or outside that symbolize thankfulness.
2. Hilarious & Quick Thanksgiving Games
Set up fast-paced challenges that have to be completed in one minute to win!
Our favorite games:
- Yam Race
- Shake Your Tail Feathers
- Peck Away
3. Turkey Talk Conversation Jar
Write down or print fun or thoughtful conversation starters (“What’s the best smell on Thanksgiving?” or “Who would you invite to your dream Thanksgiving dinner?”) and pull them from a jar to discuss during the meal.
4. Nature Walk with a Twist
Take a fall walk and collect colorful leaves or pinecones. Use the items collected to decorate your table or create simple crafts.
Related: Big Ways To Save On Thanksgiving
5. Thanksgiving Charades
Get everyone moving and laughing with Thanksgiving charades.
- Write out Thanksgiving words and phrases on pieces of paper.
- Put the papers in a bowl.
- Divide into teams.
- The team to go first will pick a piece of paper from the bowl and act out the word until their team guesses it. If using a timer, keep going until the timer runs out!
- Keep playing until everyone has had a turn.
- The team with the most correct guesses, wins!
Thanksgiving charades words and phrases ideas: carving the turkey, pumpkin pie, grateful, parade, football, wishbone, gobble, friends, family, pilgrim, setting the table, eating too much, mashed potatoes, etc…
6. Get Silly With Thanksgiving Mad Libs
Use these free Thanksgiving mad libs printables to create fun stories about Thanksgiving.
Fill in the gaps on the pages OR work with another person to have them fill in each blank for you (without reading the story).
7. Bake Together
Choose a simple pumpkin bread or try these delicious cranberry brie bites to bake with your kids. It’s less about perfection and more about connection.
8. Watch a Thanksgiving Movie
Cue up a family favorite like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and snuggle in for cozy, low-cost fun.
If it’s a nice evening, play the movie outside. Light up the fire pit, borrow a projector, and put a sheet on your garage door.
9. Play A Thanksgiving-Themed Game
Try out a new Free Thanksgiving-themed game with family and friends this year!
This Thanksgiving-themed 5 Second Rule Game is a lively family game with quick thinking. Players must name three things in a category within 5 seconds.
10. Create Kindness Cards
Create simple cards or bookmarks with positive messages and deliver them to neighbors or nursing homes.
11. Thanksgiving Trivia Night
Split into teams and see who knows the most about turkey day.
12. What’s Your Turkey Name?
Break the ice with this lighthearted game and discover your unique and silly turkey name! Write it on a name tag and go by your new name all day long.
13. Pass The Puns, Please!
Share some laughs with funny Thanksgiving jokes. Because who doesn’t love a good turkey pun?
14. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Bingo
Don’t just watch the parade, make it an interactive event! Turn it into a bingo game with a different printable card for each player. Watch for Snoopy, sing along with Broadway numbers, and wave to Santa!
15. Design a Thankfulness Tablecloth
Cover your Thanksgiving table with butcher paper and invite guests to write down what they’re thankful for.
16. Host a Mini Pie or Dessert Taste Test
Who doesn’t love trying delicious Thanksgiving desserts?
Have guests bring their very best Thanksgiving dessert. Guests can taste-test all the participating desserts and vote on their favorite.
Pro Tip: Participants can also bring copies of their dessert recipes to share!
17. Gratitude Candy Game
Pass out a fun-size bag of Skittles to each guest. Each person picks out one or two skittles. Based on the color picked, they share the corresponding thing they are thankful for.
- Purple: A blessing you are thankful for
- Red: A person you are thankful for
- Orange: A place you are thankful for
- Yellow: A thing you are thankful for
- Green: An experience you are thankful for
18. Thanksgiving “Would You Rather?”
Play a round of silly themed questions like “Would you rather eat only pie for a week or dress like a turkey for a day?”
19. Assemble a Blessing Box
Collect non-perishable items as a family to donate to a local pantry. Even kids can help choose items.
20. Turkey Hunt Games (3 Ideas!)
- Turkey Hunt: Hide printable paper turkeys around the house. Give clues and offer a small prize for the finder.
- Thankful Hide & Seek: Write what you’re thankful for on slips of paper and hide them around the house. When kids find one, they read it out loud.
- Turkey Tag: Have kids make these simple clothespin turkeys, then attach them to their shirts. It beomes a game of tag to get the clothespins off!
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