Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt

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Originally published October 17, 2019 and updated October 2021.

This Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt is a great way to keep younger and older children happy and occupied at Thanksgiving gatherings. The scavenger hunt is a free printable with four different game boards. You can even print it out at the last minute and start playing as soon as the boards print out.

It can be difficult to keep children from getting bored and cranky at Thanksgiving gatherings, both before and after Thanksgiving dinner. You don’t have to just plop them in front of a screen when you plan a fun activity for before and after the Thanksgiving meal.

The reason for the Thanksgiving holiday is to practice gratitude and spend quality time building family traditions.

How about planning this fun Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt for kids to keep everyone happy and occupied?

It’s a fun idea for older kids, younger kids and the entire family. An-nnnd, it’s a fun Thanksgiving scavenger hunt for adults, too. This makes it a great activity for the entire family.

Additional fun Thanksgiving activities:

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt

Playing Thanksgiving family games like this Thanksgiving scavenger hunt is a great way to encourage children to interact, think, play and have fun. And a secondary goal is to keep children from getting bored, whiny and being disruptive.

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt Ideas

How to Print the Scavenger Hunt Game Boards

• To get the free printable Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt printable simply sign up for our free weekly newsletter. You’ll receive an email promptly that contains the scavenger hunt pdf.
• Print it on computer paper or card stock paper. I prefer to use card stock because it holds up to little hands and playing the game better than computer paper does.
• You may want to print several extra copies in case one is torn or damaged.

Expert Tips for Printables

How do I access the free Thanksgiving scavenger hunt?

Sign up for our free newsletter. When you submit the form, you will immediately be sent an email from Organized 31 with the pdf of the scavenger hunt. If you can’t find the welcome email after 3-4 minutes, check your spam folder. If you have any difficulty, you can email me and I’ll help you resolved any problems.

How do I print the pdf file?

The pdf usually opens right up via the link in the email. When that happens, simply right tap on the pdf and either print or save the document to your device.

How do you do a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt?

Print out the free 4-page Thanksgiving scavenger hunt pdf available above. Print enough copies for as many players as you expect. Hint – print extras, just in case.

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt Ideas

• Play the game to keep the kids busy while waiting for dinner.
• Play the game after dinner to get the whole family moving.
• Use the scavenger hunt as a way to break the ice and help kids to get comfortable with other guests they may not know.

Establish Rule for the Game

• Set the location for playing the game.
• Establish if the children are playing as individuals or as teams.
• If you have younger kids, consider pairing them with older children or an adult so that even young kids can play.
• Establish if the players are to find every item on their game board or if they are to find as many as they can in an allotted time. You don’t have to set a time limit for the game if you’d rather keep kids of all ages engaged longer.
• Look over the list of items on the scavenger hunt boards. If you will not have all of them at your gathering, then have the children play the Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt game like Bingo.
• You can also play the Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt like a Bingo game, with players finding items in a row or column.
• Kids love playing scavenger hunts, so you may want to also print out copies of the Fall Scavenger Hunt. Having two Thanksgiving activities for the children will help keep everyone happy.

What is a good prize for a scavenger hunt?

The 12 ideas below make great prizes because they focus on the fun of the game and the holiday. You want to be careful to keep the game and interaction with others the focus and not the prize. Make it about about the fun family activity not about an unnecessarily expensive prize.

Get your own copy of 58 pages of engaging Thanksgiving activities with the Thanksgiving Fun Printables Bundle for Thanksgiving fun now!

More Thanksgiving Printable Games

These are all free printables.

More Thanksgiving Activities

Find all our Thanksgiving activities and games in the table below. You can scroll through the tutorials, click on the ones that interest you and be taken to the tutorial or printable to find just what you need to create your wonderful Thanksgiving.