How to keep kids busy on Thanksgiving Day
A start-to-finish plan to keep kids busy on Thanksgiving Day: the morning, the car ride, the cooking stretch, after dinner and wind-down. Free printable pages included.
By Sloane Glitchford, Founder. Updated Nov 10, 2026. Links on this page are plain links, not affiliate links.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. The meal is only one part of the day. This plan covers the rest: the morning, the drive, the long cooking stretch, the time after dinner and the wind-down before bed. Most of it needs only paper, crayons and things you already have. For the meal itself, see our Thanksgiving kids' table activities by age, which has a course-by-course plan.
The night before: pack one activity bag
- Print our free Thanksgiving coloring pages (a 4-page PDF), one set per child.
- Add crayons, a stack of blank paper, a pencil and a few index cards.
- Pack a small surprise or two, like a new pack of crayons, to bring out later in the day.
- Decide where the kids will play at the host's house, away from the kitchen.
Thanksgiving morning
- Watch the parade together. If your family watches a parade on TV, give kids a job: draw their favorite balloon or float, or count how many they see.
- A small kitchen job. Kids can wash vegetables, tear bread for stuffing or stir a cold bowl, with a grown-up nearby and nothing hot.
- Make place cards. Fold index cards in half, write each guest's name and decorate them. Younger kids can draw and a grown-up writes the names.
On the road
- Car games with no supplies. I-spy, the alphabet game with signs, or "I'm going to Thanksgiving and I'm bringing..." where each person adds an item.
- A clipboard or a hard book under the coloring pages makes drawing in the car easier.
- Save the surprise from the activity bag for the last part of a long drive.
While the food cooks
This is usually the longest wait of the day. Set a timer and swap between a quiet turn at a table (coloring pages, the "Help Turkey Get to the Pie!" maze from the free sample, drawing) and an active turn in another room or outside with a grown-up watching. Keep kids out of the kitchen and away from the stove and hot dishes. Our kids' table guide has more ideas for this stretch, split by age, including activities while waiting for dinner. For a longer sit-down stretch, Turkey's Silly Thanksgiving Feast is a screen-free gift for kids 4-8 (our own product).
After dinner
- A family walk. Getting outside for a short walk is a good way to let kids move after sitting at the table.
- Simple games. Charades with Thanksgiving words (turkey, pie, parade, football), Simon says, or a card game the whole family knows.
- A thankful jar or list. Everyone writes or draws one thing they're thankful for, and you read them out together.
- A helper job. Kids can carry unbreakable dishes, wipe the table or sort napkins.
Winding down
End the day with quiet things: finishing a coloring page, reading a book together, or telling the story of the day in order, from the morning to the pie. Quiet activities near the end make it easier to head home or get to bed.
Free sample pages and the full book (our own product)
All four of our holiday books: holiday coloring books for kids. For younger kids, see Thanksgiving activities for 4 year olds.
Links on this page are plain links, not affiliate links.
Sloane Glitchford, Founder
Quick answers
How do you keep kids busy on Thanksgiving?
Plan the whole day, not just the meal: pack an activity bag the night before, give kids small jobs in the morning, use car games on the drive, rotate quiet and active turns while the food cooks, and end with quiet activities.
What can kids do while the turkey cooks?
Set a timer and swap between a quiet turn at the table, like coloring pages or a maze, and an active turn in another room or outside, with a grown-up watching. Keep kids out of the kitchen and away from the stove.
Is there a free Thanksgiving printable for kids?
Yes. Our free Turkey sample is a 4-page PDF from our own book, Turkey's Silly Thanksgiving Feast: an intro page, 2 coloring pages and a maze. It is free for personal and classroom use.