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Thanksgiving Bag

A general Thanksgiving-themed bag leaves lots of options for activities. It can be a fall season bag, or you can hone in on the holiday. I’ve created a bag with a mix of both!

1. The Thankful Book by Todd Parr is a great addition to the Thanksgiving activity bag. This book teaches young children to look for all of the little things in life they can be thankful for.
2. Here is a “give thanks” coloring page from Kids Activities for your child to do. Maybe you can talk about the things you each give thanks for while they color!
3. For a sensory activity, check out this fall slime recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands. It’s simple to make! Put the slime in a smaller baggie and toss in.
4. Toddler Approved has a great fall wreath craft for toddlers! You can simplify this by just adding a paper plate, glue, and some leaves to your Thanksgiving activity bag.
5. I love this color matching turkey found at I Heart Arts n Crafts. What a great way to practice pincher grip, identify patterns, and work on color recognition!

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Pilgrim Bag

1. Print and laminate this pilgrim playdough mat from the Activity Village. Your child can use playdough to create the pilgrim’s hat!
2. The book addition for the pilgrim bag that I’ve chosen is The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim by Jeffrey Burton. It’s a fun and playful Thanksgiving twist on The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
3. Here is a pilgrim coloring sheet to add!
4. For the craft element to this bag, your child can make a boy or girl pilgrim paper bag puppet.
5. Here’s another simple paper plate craft your toddler can put together. This time, of course, it’s a pilgrim plate!

Corn Bag

I’m not sure why I think of corn when I think of Thanksgiving, but I must not be alone because there are lots of corn activities for kids!

1. Here’s a corn coloring sheet to include in your corn-themed activity bag with a few crayons or colored pencils.
2. The corn pit was my kids’ favorite attraction at the pumpkin festival when they were toddlers. This Indian corn squish bag from Fantastic Fun and Learning is one of the less messy sensory activities I’ve seen, but if you don’t mind the mess, fill a smaller Ziploc bag with corn kernels and add a measuring cup and spoons.
3. The craft element in this activity bag is a textured corn craft by Toddler Approved. I love the fact that it includes different textures for your little one to explore. Plus, it’s really cute!
4. Finding a board book about corn wasn’t so easy, but this Bright Baby Happy Thanksgiving board book is a great addition to the corn-themed bag. It’s a sturdy little board book with photographs and Thanksgiving words your child can learn.
5. This probably isn’t an activity I’d leave my toddler unattended with, but I love this corncob painting activity found at Natural Beach Living. If you have a few minutes to sit down together for an activity, this would be lots of fun for little ones.

Rebecca Eanes is the bestselling author of multiple books including Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide, The Positive Parenting Workbook, and The Gift of a Happy Mother. She is the grateful mom of two boys.