Thanksgiving is a great time for families to get together and spend some time having fun. The best way to have fun together as a family is by playing Thanksgiving games together. Of course, these games are a great way in which to be entertained while waiting for the turkey to cook. These games come in handy for those who are not into watching football on Thanksgiving Day. If you want everyone to participate in Thanksgiving Day games, it may be best to plan the games around the football schedules.

Autumn Treasure Hunt is one of the fun games to play on Thanksgiving Day. Usually the weather is nice enough to still be able to spend some time outdoors while enjoying the beautiful colors of the leaves and the crisp fall air. A few days before Thanksgiving, simply take a look around outside and make a list of items that you think may be a bit challenging to find. You can add to the challenge by hiding some of your own items. There can be a hard to find “premium” item, like a gift card, included. Once you have made the list, make copies for everyone that will be at the party. Small children can be paired up with adults or older children. Groups or individuals can hunt for the items. Autumn Treasure Hunt can end after a specified amount of time and who ever has the most items will be the winner.

Giving Thanks Game is fun activity will help to remind your family what the point of Thanksgiving really is all about. For this game, everyone will need to sit in a circle. You start the game with a sentence that lists something really unusual that you are thankful for. The person to the right has to finish the sentence with the reason why they are thankful for that item. The game is finished once everyone has had a turn to be thankful for the same thing. This game will spark laughter and bring out creativity. Some unusual things to be thankful for:

• Socks
• Broccoli
• Dog hair on the floor
• Forks

For large groups, divide the group by age groups or have every 5th person come up with a new thing to be thankful for.

Pin the Snood on the Turkey is easy for everyone to play. Print out a picture of a turkey (just the face works best) or have someone draw a picture. Make copies of the snood and put double face tape on the back. Another version would be Pin the Turkey Body on the Feathers. Have a half circle of the feathers and have the face and body as one piece that gets put on the feathers. Make copies of the face and body and add double-faced tape. These games are played like Pin the Tail on The Donkey.

Many games can have a Thanksgiving twist. Be creative. Old time favorites like “Hot Potato” can be turned into “Hot Pumpkin” with a small pumpkin. Look around at games you have and use your imagination to come up with more ideas.

Thanksgiving activities are a good way to begin getting in the holiday mood. Many activities can begin with the change of the season in the fall. There are online activities, crafts, and activities based on tradition.

Searching the Internet will provide many free Thanksgiving and fall related activities. Here are some of the activities that can be found online and printed:

• Coloring pages
• Word find puzzles
• Thanksgiving trivia
• Mazes
• Crossword puzzles
• Recipes
• Worksheets
• Cards

Coloring pages can be used to decorate the house and given to relatives and friends to decorate their homes with. Other activities like trivia, word find, and puzzles can be used to keep people busy while waiting for the Turkey and stuffing to finish cooking. It will also keep the kids busy while adult are watching the game or preparing the meal.

There are many crafts related to fall and Thanksgiving that will be fun to start so they can be used for decoration during October and November. An easy craft is a leaf garland made from different leaf shapes cut out of different colored construction paper or cut out of poster board to be painted with a sponge using fall colors. Candleholders can be made out of jars and colored sand. The candle can go on top of the sand. A hand tracing can be turned into a turkey with a few crayons or glued on feathers.

Creating a booklet that has the description of the family traditions for Thanksgiving can be an activity that records traditions. Include photos and the history of traditions. Include any new traditions and their origin, recipes, and menus. A booklet can be created each year and given to Thanksgiving guests. Sending the booklet is a special way to include out of town family members or those who can’t attend due to work or other obligations.

The hardest part of Thanksgiving activities is choosing which ones to do.

Thanksgiving began in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a meal. It was the autumn harvest feast and it is generally accepted as the first Thanksgiving celebration. Just like in families, when a celebration or activity goes well, everyone wants to do it again and personal holiday traditions begin, the colonists and Native Americans enjoyed it so much that they repeated the celebration. Thanksgiving began!

It was common among Native American groups all over the Americas to organize harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America. The harvest meal between English colonists and Native Americans has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction. The roots of Thanksgiving are in a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops by Native Americans.

There is another recorded ceremony of thanks. Near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their successful arrival after a long trip across the Atlantic. This ceremony has been acknowledged by some historians and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record.

The first Thanksgiving feast is believed to have included the following:

• Seafood-Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster

• Wild Fowl-Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles

• Meat-Venison, Seal

• Grains-Wheat Flour, Indian Corn

• Vegetables-Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots

• Fruits-Plums, Grapes

• Nuts-Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns

• Herbs and Seasonings-Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips

The list is based on foods that were available to them at the time. All the food (including deserts) would be placed on the table at once. The best food was placed near the most important people. Most people just ate from the dishes close to them.

The tradition of giving thanks over a feast, has survived for centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

President Hamilton began the tradition of eating turkey at Thanksgiving and President Lincoln initiated the idea of it being a holiday. Turkey is a big part of the White House Thanksgiving traditions.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1920 and is watched by many families while beginning the dinner preparations.

The Thanksgiving holiday has gradually changed over the centuries. From the first meal that probably included seafood to traditional meals served in dinning rooms to deep fried turkeys served outside on picnic tables, families give thanks across the United States the last Thursday in November.