If you need some games to play, or jokes to tell on Thanksgiving day…if you are in need of something to point the conversation away from politics, we’ve got you covered.
On the first day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special. Not as successful as the Christmas and Halloween specials, this short movie will nonetheless fill your family with nostalgia. It’s a great way to distract the kids and grandparents while you make an emergency Starbucks run.
On the second day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Bon Appetit turkey videos. If you are in need of something for the kids to watch, to subtly get them prepared for eating side dishes they don’t like, these entertaining videos should help. They made even my pickiest eater reach for the cranberry sauce.
On the third day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Printable turkey day games. There are a whole host of printable games to entertain young and old. There is a dice based Turkey construction game, more traditional Thanksgiving Bingo, all manner of mazes and word jumbles. For more big group participation there’s even a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt, and Thanksgiving charades. And who can resist!
On the fourth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Thanksgiving snack foods. pull these out during your appetizer phase, and you will silence anyone daring to speak over the parade! Our favorites are the M&M horns of plenty made with Bugles, melted white chocolate and M&Ms. If you’re looking for something more savory, a meat and cheese turkey, or a big fat turkey cheese ball should stuff those gobblers!
On the fifth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Bountiful turkey projects. A quick whip round your craft supplies and you will be all set for some DIY Thanksgiving crafts. From constructing Lego Turkeys, to paint by number Turkeys, there are a wide variety of things to do. You can make last minute place mats, or make your own Turkey. And then there’s the classic hand print Turkey, though I’m not sure we want to get our fancy Thanksgiving clothes covered in paint.
On the sixth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me…Thanksgiving facts and math Fun! How much to serve for Thanksgiving? How much effort the day itself will require. What’s the world’s biggest pumpkin pie? How many Turkeys do American consume every November? With all these statistical tidbits, you’ll be too busy to count how many slices of pie you’ve had, ahem.
On the seventh day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Thanksgiving jokes. These do get old pretty quick, but for the under ten crowd they will easily provide an hour of entertainment as they roam the house telling jokes to various relatives.
On the eighth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… a selection of Thanksgiving books to read. Crack open a good book. If you haven’t got one of these, everyone has at least one Fall themed book on their shelves, even if it’s just reading the Pioneer Woman’s recipes. This is a nice way to snuggle up before that post-Turkey nap,
On the ninth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… A Steve Martin movie. While the kids are napping you can pull out that perennial classic, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Is it really a holiday movie without John Candy?
On the tenth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Friends Thanksgiving episodes. Thanks to streaming services, these are much easier to get to, than pulling out the second disc of (almost) every season. Friends may seem a little dated these days, but the Thanksgiving episodes are still just as entertaining.
On the eleventh day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While you are in the mood for the Thanksgiving episode of beloved shows, it’s worth pulling out “Pangs” Episode 8, of season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, the depiction of the native inhabitants of Sunnydale is as off key as most modern cultural representations of the “discovery” of America, but Spike comes back to Sunnydale, Angel comes back to Sunnydale, and herein lies the source of the fan favorite line from “Once More With Feeling”; concerning Xander, “His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe.”
On the twelfth day of Thanksgiving my true love gave to me… An awesome Thanksgiving day playlist. When in doubt, pull out this list of top Thanksgiving tunes, and in no time you’ll all be singing along, not clapping, with Adam Sandler.
Make sure the kiddies are nowhere near that Steve Martin movie.