Thanksgiving Youth Group Activities

Turkey in the Straw

• Play this festive high-energy game by first gathering up a kiddie pool, enough hay to fill the pool and a plastic turkey. Place the pool in the middle of the meeting space and put the turkey in it. Add hay to the pool to hide the turkey. To start, line the players up some feet from the pool. When you say "Go," the first player races to the pool and searches for the turkey in the straw. All the while, keep track of the time. After he has searched for 10 seconds, he heads back to the line and the next player in line has a turn. The first person to find the turkey in the straw wins.

ABC Thanks

• See what your youth group is thankful for this year with this activity. Begin by assembling participants in a sitting circle. Hand a random person a bouncy ball. Tell her she has to come up with something she's thankful for that begins with the letter "A." As soon as she states something, she throws the ball to any other random player in the circle. That player must then state something she is thankful for beginning with the last letter of the word the previous player used. The game goes on with the ball exchanging hands until everyone has at least given one statement of thanks during the game.

The Voyage of the Mayflower

• Use a bit of American history to help represent the Thanksgiving holiday. Start by selecting one player to play the "Mayflower," the ship the pilgrims used to sail to the present-day United States. Select another person to play "Plymouth Rock," the location the pilgrims were reputed to have landed on. Position the two players on either end of the room. Blindfold the Mayflower and have Plymouth Rock stand on a chair. Assemble the rest of the participants around the room in between both players. When you say "Go," Plymouth Rock has to give directions to safely lead the Mayflower to its shores. If the Mayflower hits a rock, he has to start over. Once he successfully makes it to Plymouth Rock, he becomes the new Plymouth Rock and a new player becomes the Mayflower. After the activity, discuss the treacherous voyage of the Mayflower and how the pilgrims had a lot to be thankful for after their help from the native Americans.