ALT-1 Fun Thanksgiving Family Games
Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together and express thanks for all that they have. This sort of get together inevitably means that there will be lots of children in attendance, and keeping them amused and figuring out a way that adults and children can spend time together can be challenging. The problem can be alleviated by planning some games that both children and adults can participate in, bringing young and old together in a fun and Thanksgiving themed activity.Here are some ideas for games that are suitable for the entire family.*Hoop sticks -This is a traditional Native American game. You will need one 12 inch long dowel or long stick per player. You will also need one 18 inch long piece of yarn, twine or string per player.Tie the yarn to one end of the stick and with the other end, make a loop and tie that. The object of the game is to catch the hoop with the end of the stick, but you can only use one hand to catch it. Decorate the sticks with beads or any other type of Native American symbols. For young children, wrap the hoop with masking tape. That will stiffen the hoop and make it easier for them to catch it.Consider dividing the participants into two teams. Use a timer and see which team can catch the most hoops in the allotted time. The team with the most catches wins.*Pin the tail feathers on the turkey -This is simply new take on the popular "pin the tail on the donkey" game. You can either purchase a large turkey wall decoration or paint a turkey on a large colored piece of paper. If you paint the turkey on paper, omit the feathers. You will have to paint feathers separately so that the game participants can pin them on the turkey.If you buy a wall decoration, remove the tail feathers so that you can use them to pin on the turkey. The person who gets the tail feathers furthest from the target wins. Alternatively, the person who gets the feathers closest to the target wins.*Thanksgiving Hash -This is a word game in which you give each participant a list of jumbled words. All of the words should pertain to Thanksgiving. Examples might include YEKUTR - for turkey, MIRGPIL for pilgrim and TVESRAH for harvest. The first person to unjumble their letters wins.*Cranberry relay -Teams line up and the first person in the line fills their spoon with cranberries. Each player must carry a spoonful of cranberries from the front of the line to another point and then bring the spoon back. If the cranberries drop, the player must stop and pick them all up before continuing. The first team to get all of their players back and forth wins.*Popcorn relay -In this version of the game, you have a bowl that is filled with popcorn. At another point, you have a bowl that is empty. Each participant scoops up some popcorn with a measuring spoon and carries it to the empty waiting bowl without dropping any. The first team to get all of their popcorn to the empty bowl (and to get the most popcorn into the bowl) wins.*Turkey hunt -You can do this outside if the weather is nice enough. Give each participant a paper bag with their name on it. They will go hunting for the hidden turkeys. The hidden turkeys are turkey shaped cookies that are wrapped in clear cellophane. The person who finds the most cookies wins, and of course, the prize is the cookies. As an alternative to cookies, hide chocolate turkeys.
- Charades -
Put a Thanksgiving spin on Charades and have all of the players come up with Thanksgiving themed ideas for their turn. You can do it just for the fun of it, or you can do it to see who is most successful at interpreting the things that people act out.
- Football -
Who needs to bother with watching the games on the television if you can gather everyone together to play some football outside. The weather will have to be nice enough for this to be possible, but it's a great way to get everyone to burn off some of those excess calories that they consumed.There are many other possible games that one can play. It is also possible to take any popular game and change it enough to suit the Thanksgiving holiday. These are games that everyone can participate in, it's a great way to bring everyone together. Kids will delight in these games, and the grown ups may even discover that they are also enjoying them.
SOURCE:
Thanksgiving games
Annie's Thanksgiving games
