Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. This Thankful ABC Printable is the perfect activity for you kids to work on on Thanksgiving day. It is a great way to keep everyone entertained and give you some time to prep the big dinner. Most importantly, it will encourage kids and adults alike to think about all the things that they are grateful for this year.
When you think of Thanksgiving, you probably think turkeys, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. What if I told you my family serves none of that, and hasn’t for years!
I’m not sure when it first started but my family hasn’t had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner since I can remember. We have a very small family and our Thanksgiving’s typically consist of our immediate family and an occasional guest or two.
No one in my family is a huge fan of turkey and so one year, my dad had brought up the question, “So why do we keep making turkey if no one even likes it?”
It was a great point. There’s no point in eating something we don’t enjoy just because of tradition. And so that year, we all agreed that from that year on, we would have an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner.
While we still cook tons of side dishes, desserts, and make a whole event out of it, we started to cook what we all enjoyed most. And somehow we settled on prime rib as being the main dish.
When someone we don’t know asks what are plans are for Thanksgiving dinner, we tell them, prime rib! And more often than not, they are not only shocked, but usually a bit jealous too! If you ask around, you’d be surprised at how many people keep making and eating things they don’t really like, just because of tradition.
So even though we may not have the most traditional Thanksgiving dinner, talking about what we are thankful for is something that we always make sure to do year after year.
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How do you play the game?
Have each of the kids (and grownups too!) sit down and take some time to think about what they are thankful for this year. The challenge is to come up with one thing or person that they are grateful for, that begins with each letter of the alphabet.
Create a keepsake out of the Thankful ABC Games:
Here’s a fun idea to turn the game into a memorable holiday tradition. Have everyone write their names and the date at the top of their activity page. Once they have filled out everything that they are grateful for this year, you can place the pages into a binder or photo album.
How much fun would it be to look back at the ABC game over time and see how what you were thankful for has changed or stayed the same throughout the years.
How to make incorporate the Thankful ABC Game into your Holiday traditions year after year:
If you’d like to reuse this game every Thanksgiving, while also saving a few trees, one great idea would to be to laminate the games. I would recommend printing on white cardstock so that they will hold up even better over the years.
If you have a home laminating machine you can definitely use that, or these awesome dry erase pockets would be a great alternative. Simply place the printed game into a pocket and use dry erase markers to write what you are Thankful for. After thanksgiving is over, simply wipe away with a cloth and you are ready to go to reuse next year.
Free Printable Thankful ABC Game:
Afterwards, you can go around the dinner table and everyone can read out the 26 things that they are thankful for this year. This can definitely be a great conversation starter as well.
This Thankful ABC activity is designed to fit on an 8.5×11 inch piece of paper or cardstock. 2 games will print per page. Once printed, you can use scissors or a paper cutter to trim the games. This is the paper cutter that I’m currently using for all of my projects and I can definitely recommend it.
Feel free to print as many copies as you would like. However, please do not edit or redistribute the game in any way.
Favorite Printable Supplies:
These are a few of my favorite supplies that I use for printable games and activities:
- White Cardstock: For most projects, I recommend printing onto cardstock. It is much more durable than standard printer paper and often produces a higher quality print.
- Crayons: A staple in any crafting household. Crayola is always the top notch choice!
- Kid Friendly Safety Scissors: These are perfect for little kids learning how to use scissors. They cut paper but not fingers or hair!
- Glue Sticks: These disappearing purple glue sticks are by far my favorite! I love buying them in bulk since we use them so often!
- Lamination Machine: Laminating printables are a great way to make them last longer. If you are planning on laminating to make games reusable, be sure to get a bunch of dry erase markers as well.
- Dry Erase Pockets: Dry erase pockets are a great alternative to using a lamination machine when wanting to make printable games and activities reusable.
- Printer: A high quality printer is always recommended for the best results. If you are in need of a printer this Brother Wireless Printer is a great choice.
More Thanksgiving Freebies:
Thanksgiving Day will be here before you know it! Make sure you are prepared with these fun free printable activities to keep all the kids busy while waiting for dinner time!
- Thanksgiving Word Search – A classic word search game with Thanksgiving themed words. Featuring words such as gather, pilgrims, feast and thankful, everyone will surely be in the Thanksgiving holiday spirit after working on this fun puzzle.
- Thanksgiving Word Scramble – This free printable word search game features 15 Thanksgiving themed words and the classic and fall colors. With falling leaves and a fun hat wearing turkey, this game will not only be a blast to play, but will also fit perfectly into just about any holiday party decor.
- Thanksgiving Placemats – A free printable activity placemat that will entertain the kids while keeping your table clean! Each placemat has a large coloring section, a word search, and a place to draw what they are thankful for this year.
- Thanksgiving I Spy Game – A fun activity to count how many of each item you can find in the picture above. Kids will have a ton of fun trying to find all of the Thanksgiving themed items. Turkeys, pumpkins, leaves, acorns and more!
- Roll a Turkey Game – For this printable game, give everyone a small bowl of M&Ms and dice. Roll one dice and use the key to fill in the turkey’s feathers. Once all of the feathers have been filled in, you are free to eat all of the M&Ms!
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Rebecca
Friday 6th of November 2020
This is exactly what everyone needs! Thank You
Deborah Kos
Tuesday 3rd of September 2019
I can't believe it is almost the end of the year again. I like your Thanksgiving I Am Thankful For printable. That is such a nice idea to put on a person's plate so that they can fill it out.
Kelly
Wednesday 4th of September 2019
I know, this year is going by so fast! And that's a great idea, to put a I am Thankful for printable on all the dinner plates. It's a nice way to make everyone stop and think about what they are grateful for this year.