Looking for intentional Thanksgiving Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers? Celebrate and cultivate a heart of gratitude with the best Thanksgiving products, crafts, activities, and books that focus on what it means to be thankful.
I’m on a mission to create intentional space this November to count the good. Are you too? If you’re looking for all things Thanksgiving for younger kiddos you’re in the right spot! Today I’ve compiled my favorite Thanksgiving Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers (as well as products, crafts, and books too!) and I can’t wait to share them with you.
Let’s be honest, in our culture it’s becoming pretty easy to completely miss Thanksgiving. Walk into any craft store and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas but I also am longing to slow down a bit and savor the gift of the right now. This month. This season. While I believe that gratitude should echo in our hearts throughout the whole year, November is one of my favorite months because we get the opportunity to refocus our lens on the incredible blessings right before us and help our kids practice the art of thankfulness. There’s so much beauty around us, we just need to train our eyes to see it.
It probably goes without saying, but I’m going to say it because I’m preaching to myself here. Please don’t feel the need to do all of these activities. In fact, please don’t use all of these products, activities, and crafts. That will stress you and your family out. Pick a couple of tools that work well for the season that your family is in and the unique preferences of your kiddos. Please resist the temptation to do a million things just for the sake of doing them. Pick a couple of things and do them really well.
If you’re looking for Thanksgiving Activities for older kids be sure to check out this post.
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Thanksgiving Products
1. Give thanks and start a new family tradition with Turkey On the Table®. How cute is this little guy? This is such a fun tool to write down and display what you’re thankful for. Plus, for every turkey purchased, 10 meals will be provided to someone in need through a partnership with Feeding America®. We were generously sent a turkey to check out this year and are so excited to incorporate this fun new tradition.
2. Write down what you’re thankful for each year with these beautiful 30 Days of Giving Thanks Cards. Younger kids can draw pictures on the cards of what they are thankful for. Wouldn’t it be so neat to look back and be reminded of the little and big things you are thankful for year after year?
3. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! Be reminded to give thanks throughout the year with these fantastic Silicone Scripture Mats. They are dishwasher safe and perfect for meal time, craft time, or any time in between. Plus each placemat purchased provides 8 meals through a partnership with The Children’s Hunger Fund.
Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities
Visual reminders and hands on crafts are such an easy way to engage younger kids with what it means to be thankful and practice gratitude. Here’s a few simple crafts and activities to engage your toddlers and preschoolers and cultivate a heart of Thanksgiving.
1. Send a special surprise to someone you love and let them know that you’re thankful for them with this ‘Thankful for You’ Thanksgiving Turkey Craft.
2. Celebrate the season with simple ideas from the Let’s Celebrate Thanksgiving Family Activity Ideas List.
3. Engage your senses with this 5 Senses Gratitude Activity. This one is really simple and can be used throughout the year! Fill a jar with colorful popsicle sticks and print out the I am thankful for card. As the jar is passed around each family member picks a popsicle stick and then says what they are thankful for based on the color of popsicle stick that they pick. For example, pick a purple stick (something you can touch) and you might say you’re thankful for soft and cozy blankets. I love how this activity helps you think outside the box. Click HERE to download the free printables.
4. Watch your gratitude grow with a Thankfulness Gem Jar. Grab a jar and gems (rocks would work well too!). Over the course of a day, week, or month challenge your kids to overflow the jar with thankfulness. Each time someone in your family names something they are thankful for they can add a gem to the jar.
*If you choose to do this activity, be sure to watch younger kids with the gems as they are a choking hazard.
5. Create a Thankful Tree and add leaves throughout the month of November. (I also love this idea to create a thankful tree with construction paper).
6. Make a Thankful Turkey and add a feather to it each day!
7. Bring gratitude to life by making your very own Thankful Book that’s perfect for little hands!
8. Put together a Turkey Puppet and use it to say what you are thankful for.
Thanksgiving Books
Books are one of the easiest ways to engage with your kids each season because they require no prep work. Hallelujah! There are so many beautiful books out there that teach about Thankfulness and Thanksgiving. Here are some of our favorites:
Books About Thankfulness for Toddlers & Preschoolers:
The Blessings Jar: A Story About Being Thankful
The World Is Awake: A celebration of everyday blessings
The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings
Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks
Other Thanksgiving Favorites:
Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story
Books for Mamas:
Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
Whew! If you made it this far, you’re a champ. I hope you were able to find one or two things from this list that you’ll incorporate into your family rhythms this year. Also, in case you missed it at the beginning, if you’re looking for Thanksgiving ideas for older kids, be sure to check out these ideas.
November is such an exciting month that’s perfect to intentionally plant little seeds of thankfulness. Happy thankful month, friends!
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