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Christian Thanksgiving Ideas

Thanksgiving ideas for family & church

Teach children interactive Bible lessons with these Christian Thanksgiving ideas! The Thanksgiving season is the perfect opportunity to teach children of all ages (along with us adults) how it pleases and honors God when we have an attitude of gratitude.

Of course everyday is a day of thanksgiving; there are many Thanksgiving Bible verses that point us straight to that fact! Check out these 30 Thanksgiving verses (one for each day in November) with a free printable.  These are great to place in a bowl on your family table to create gratitude conversations or have read with your church group or Thanksgiving event.


Thanksgiving Bible Lessons for Children

This Quirky Turkey Treat comes with a lesson on the leper that gave thanks to Jesus. How many times do we neglect to go back and thank God for all He's done and His many blessings?

Or use this Bible game called "T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L". It has children think of words using the letters in the word thankful and then puts them into an action game race!

Try this really cute preschool Christian Thanksgiving Bible lesson from Hem-of-His-Garment Bible Study that is called "Is it all about the Turkey?"

Another simple Christian Thanksgiving object lesson from Children's Ministry Magazine uses candy corn to teach how the Pilgrim's began placing 5 kernels of corn on their plates each Thanksgiving to remind them of God's provision.

This free lesson from Church House Collection shares the story of the one man that came back to thank Jesus after healing him.  It also has fun free printables.



Thanksgiving Coloring Sheets:

Coloring sheets are always a great take home part of any lesson. This Thanksgiving basket from Sunday School Network leaves room for children to write down things for which they are thankful.

More Thanksgiving printable coloring sheets, crafts & games can be found HERE.


Christian Thanksgiving Crafts

hands & feet turkey craft

Creating things with your hands is not only fun, but it helps the meaning of the lesson "stick!" Fall is a wonderful time to make Thanksgiving objects that will remind us to be thankful when we see them. They can also become tools for your students to use to share Christ with their families, friends, and neighbors!

"What Christians want to Know" website, offers five Thanksgiving crafts for various ages of students from preschool through teens.

A wonderful keepsake craft that is super easy and takes very little preparation is the "Hands & Feet Turkey" pictured above! Little ones love to trace around their hands and feet, and of course parents and grandparents love having the sweet reminder of how small they were.

 I like letting the kids write things for which they are thankful on each finger (feather) or you can write it for them.

Over 30 Thanksgiving craft ideas are available from Danielle's Place and they are some of the cutest, and simplest, I've seen!


Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving game

Games bring people together in conversation and shared experience unlike many other activities.  We have 7 fun DIY Christian Thanksgiving games which take little or no preparation, but will add a bit of fun and laughter to your class lesson or family time!

  1. Thanksgiving Things
  2. Thanksgiving Name 5
  3. I Spy Thanksgiving
  4. Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
  5. Thanksgiving Memory Game
  6. Thanksgiving Scattergories
  7. The Gratitude Game


Christian Thanksgiving Youth Lessons & Ideas

Youth Bible Lessons & More:

For older students, Youth Ministry 360 offers a free several free youth Bible study lessons, games & ideas geared straight for teens!

The story of the ten lepers from Luke 17 is often used to teach Bible study lessons on being thankful. Ken Sapp from Creative Youth Ideas (one of my favorite places to find great youth ideas) offers a fun Thanksgiving Bible object lesson for teens that is an attention grabber experience to introduce the lesson!

It uses 10 small gifts (candy bar, etc.) placed in a wrapped gift box.  Then each student is given a slip of paper with specific instructions. One person is the grand prize winner, but is instructed he must share the gifts if anyone asks even if he is left with none.  Ten others are given slips telling them to ask the winner for a gift and not to say thank you or anything, while others are told to watch as something interesting happens.


Scripture Mystery Dinner

Mystery Dinner with menu

Have you ever gone to a Mystery Dinner? It's so much fun, and youth love it!  Here is a Scripture Mystery Dinner that would be great fun for Thanksgiving with full instructions including Scriptures for menu items available for download free! What fun!

Each guest gets a mystery dinner menu with only Scripture references and they order by scripture. Only the cooks and servers have the inside know! It can be done in courses or just as a single serving. Both ways make for an interesting meal!


A specific day of celebrating a Christian Thanksgiving with family, friends or church is great, but let's also remember that giving thanks should be a natural part of our everyday lives.  


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