Fun Thanksgiving activities for kids?

Breaking the wishbone is such a simple Thanksgiving tradition, but I did it growing up and my kids like it too. Pop the wishbone in the still-warm oven, and it should be dried out enough for a good "snap" by the end of the meal.

A centerpiece, name card or placemat craft is a fun way to keep kids busy on Thanksgiving, and makes something useful for the dinner table. I've also seen coloring placemats that could come in handy during the dinner itself, for kids who get antsy during a long meal.

With a white tablecloth or runner on your table, have everyone present for the Thanksgiving dinner write something they are thankful for in Sharpie or fabric marker and sign their name. Carefully launder the tablecloth, and you can bring it out again each year to repeat as an annual Thanksgiving activity and enjoy looking back on past years!

For preschoolers and toddlers, have a mini pumpkin "egg" hunt! Buy a dozen of those adorable mini pumpkins and hide them throughout your home for a fun thing to do on Thanksgiving. Kids can also take turns hiding them for each other. Later, use the pumpkins as dinner table décor!

I like to get the kids involved in making dessert for Thanksgiving because it can usually be done ahead of time or earlier in the morning before there's too much going on in the kitchen.

Set out a big jigsaw puzzle, and people can work on it as they please throughout the day. I love low-key family Thanksgiving activities like this that encourage people to sit together and chat, and it works well for a wide range of ages. Puzzles with a harvest or holiday theme are a fun choice.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving we break out our poster paints and paint a big tree, minus the leaves, on big sheets of paper. We also cut out large leaves using colorful construction paper and put the tree up in a prominent area with a big pile of paper leaves nearby. Throughout Thanksgiving, we each write down things that we’re grateful for on a leaf to add to the tree (and invite any guests to do the same) - it’s such a fun and visual way to see and recall the many things we have to be thankful for!

I know a lot of families have a Thanksgiving tradition of playing Left Right Center as a big group.

Get supplies for all of the kids at Thanksgiving to make ornaments, and then have the relatives at the gathering take them home or save them to give as Christmas presents.

Trader Joe's has Thanksgiving cookie decorating kids that are a fun quiet activity for kids.

If your family always has the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on the TV, you can print out bingo cards or a scavenger hunt for the occasion and everyone watching can play along. You'll have to find things like "reindeer," "pom poms," and "someone taking a selfie."

We have had a lot of fun filling out Thanksgiving Mad Libs. The kids like taking charge of this activity and surveying the adults for funny words to fill in the blanks.