Free Thanksgiving Party Games For the Holiday

Start off your thanksgiving holiday right with some fun and free thanksgiving games to keep the guests entertained. These are easy little activities that help remind everyone of the point of the thanksgiving holiday while keeping everyone involved.

Its autumn and outside there is a veritable wonderland of interesting stuff. Have the guests get all bundled up and head outside while waiting for the food to cook with this Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt. You'll need to make up a list of the following items that the guests can find by themselves or they can break up into groups to scavenge. They are:

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o a red leaf

o a brown leaf

o an orange leaf

o a yellow leaf

o a pine cone

o an acorn

o a walnut

o a dried weed or pod

o a seed

o a piece of bark

o a sweet gum ball

o dried berries

o feather

The first group to get all of the items or to get the most items wins. You can hand out special prizes for winning such as feather boas which are made from turkey feathers.

The Giving Thanks game is a fun activity that also helps to remind the family what the point of Thanksgiving really is all about. Have everyone sit in a circle and start off the game with a sentence that lists something really unusual that you are thankful for such as, 'I am thankful for Hotdogs because...' and then the person to your right has to finish the sentence with the reason why they are thankful. When they've completed the sentence they get to begin a new one with the wildest subject they can think of to be thankful for. This can be anything, aliens, feet, or even sneezes. Try and keep the circle going as long as you can.

Free Thanksgiving Party Games For the Holiday

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Thanksgiving Grace

One of the traditions of the Thanksgiving Holiday is the concept of offering grace or giving thanks for what you have. Some are simple and nondenominational:

For each new morning with its light,

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For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Others are much more complex and contain more emotion:

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,

All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong;

no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,

especially for Brother Sun,

who is the day through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,

of You Most High, he bears your likeness.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,

in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,

fair and stormy, all weather's moods,

by which You cherish all that You have made.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,

so useful, humble, precious and pure.

We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,

through whom You light the night.

He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,

who sustains us

with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.

We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,

for love of You bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace,

by You Most High, they will be crowned.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,

from whom no-one living can escape.

Woe to those who die in their sins!

Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm.

We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,

and serve You in all humility.

-St. Francis of Assisi

Ultimately, however, the basic concept of offering a Thanksgiving Grace remains the same regardless of religious and ethnic backgrounds in that the purpose is to acknowledge the blessings that you have received throughout your life (or the past year).

O God, when I have food,

help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,

help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,

help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,

help me to destroy my complacency;

bestir my compassion,

and be concerned enough to help;

By word and deed,

those who cry out for what we take for granted.

Amen.

- Samuel F. Pugh

Thanksgiving Grace

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Thanksgiving Favors

This Thanksgiving, why not send your guests home with a reminder of how wonderful the evening was? You can create your own personalized Thanksgiving favors or purchase them in a design that's uniquely yours.

For homemade favor ideas try the following:

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Caramel apples: You can easily find a recipe online and then wrap the apples in cellophane and seal them with gold ribbon. On the outside of the cellophane, include the date written in gold marker. Miniature pumpkins with guests' names painted in fall colors: These can be used as name cards for table seating, and then guests can bring them home with them. Votive candles in fall scents: Pumpkin pie, apple cider, and cinnamon sticks are just a few of the scents available. You can put the candles in tiny glass vases that you've decorated for each guest. They can then replace the candles each season with their favorite colors and smells.

A number of websites also have favors available for purchase:

Wine bottle stoppers are made in a number of designs for your adult guests. Whether you choose an autumn leaf, turkey, or pumpkin, your guests can use these at their next holiday celebration. Soap favors make a fabulous gift for guests of all ages. As with the candles, they come in a variety of fall scents and can also be ordered in fun shapes. Chocolate lollipops are particularly popular with young guests. You can order them shaped as turkeys, pilgrim hats, cornucopias, and leaves, among others. They're a delicious and fun way to celebrate the holiday even after the meal is finished.

Thanksgiving Favors

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