25 Thanksgiving Classroom Party Ideas & Class Feast Ideas
Do you want some Thanksgiving classroom party ideas? If so, this post is for you. Let’s check out the best ideas to celebrate with your students during the holiday season including ideas for a Thanksgiving feast, games, treats, decorations, activities and more!
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Classroom Thanksgiving Feast
Thanksgiving class parties are a great time to enjoy spending time as a class while sharing delicious food. One way to do this is to prepare a big meal as a class with some of the traditional dishes right before your Thanksgiving break.
1 | Gathering Food for Your Feast
You could ask for parent volunteers to bring in their favorite Thanksgiving dishes or you can send students home with shopping lists of some traditional Thanksgiving foods they can bring to contribute.
Here are some easy dishes and snacks to include on your Thanksgiving menu:
- Rolls
- Chicken
- Sweet Potatoes
- Cranberry Sauce
- Corn on the Cob
- Cornbread
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Mini Turkey Sandwiches
- Popcorn or Carmel Corn
- Vegetable trays or fruit cups
- Mashed Potatoes
- A special Thanksgiving Treat
Thanksgiving Treats
One of the must haves for Thanksgiving parties for kids are the sweet treats. Check out some of the best ideas for easy Thanksgiving treats to serve during your classroom feast.
2 | Oreo Turkeys
Here’s a fun treat that students can make themselves during your party. Here’s what you need:
Student can use the icing to help stick the eyes and the nose on their turkeys. The candy corn can be gently pushed into the Oreo filling to make the turkey tail feathers!
3 | Easy No Bake Pumpkin Pie
Have students help make this easy recipe for no bake pumpkin pie!
Here is what you’ll need:
- Each student can first crumble 2 graham crackers in the bottom of their cup.
- Next they will spoon 3 Tablespoons of pumpkin mix in the cup
- Then they will top with whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon
4 | Turkey Cupcakes
Cupcakes have always been a party favorite. You can purchase or bake plain cupcakes and have students add a turkey on top. You will need chocolate frosting, Reese’s mini cups, candy eyes and pretzels for the tail feathers!
5 | Thanksgiving Snack Mix
Another easy thanksgiving treat is a Thanksgiving snack mix. Check out below some items you can add to your mix:
- Popcorn or Carmel corn
- Pretzels
- Candy corn or candy pumpkins
- Check mix
- Bugles
6 | Set the Thanksgiving Table
To set the stage for your classroom Friendsgiving you can arrange all the desks together to make one long table. Have students help make the table decorations including name cards for each student.
7 | Thanksgiving Centerpieces
You could find some fun Thanksgiving centerpieces to help set the mood for the festivities. These honeycomb centerpiece decorations include sunflowers, turkeys, scarecrows, fall leaves and more.
8 | Thanksgiving Table Setting Directions
A great way to teach your students life skills is to teach them how to set the table before the Thanksgiving Feast. Encourage them to help family members set the dinner table during their family Thanksgiving dinner.
Below check out some Thanksgiving themed party plates, napkins and silverware to get your class in the holiday mood.
9 | Thanksgiving Party Set
This party supply set includes everything you need for your party, paper plates, paper cups, napkins and plastic utensils.
Thanksgiving Classroom Games
What’s a party without some fun games? Check out below some games that your students would love to play at the party!
10 | Turkey Escape Room Game
This game would be fun for the whole class to work on in small groups. It‘s a printable Turkey escape room game. Students will work together to solve clues including math and riddles to help a turkey escape the farm before Thanksgiving dinner starts!
11 | Roll A Turkey Dice Game
Here’s a fun last minute Thanksgiving game idea. You can get these printable cards on Etsy here. Then you download and print one for each student.
Student will get into small groups with a bowl of M&Ms. Have students take turns rolling dice and fill their turkey based on the color code at the bottom. The first person to fill their turkey wins!
12 | Pin a Feather on the Turkey
Here’s the perfect activity for your Thanksgiving holiday party. It’s a fun twist to pin the tail on the donkey where blindfolded students will try to pin the tail feather on the turkey!
13 | Thanksgiving Printable Games
Here’s a great idea to add some printable games to your Thanksgiving party round up. This is a kit that you can get from Etsy and print off the ones you like. It includes 20 fun games including:
- Thanksgiving Trivia
- Thanksgiving Word Search
- A Thanksgiving Riddle Game
- Thanksgiving Mad Libs
- Thanksgiving I Spy
- Tic-Tac-Turkey & More!
14 | Easy Gratitude Game
This simple game will help students express what they are grateful for. Have students get into small groups with a die. Students will take turns rolling and answer the prompt based on their roll.
- Name a person you are thankful for
- Name a thing you are thankful for
- Name something in the classroom that you are thankful for
- Name a place that you are thankful for
- Name a food that you are thankful for
- Name an activity that makes you happy.
15 | Thanksgiving Bowling Game
Hit up the Dollar Tree for all the supplies you need for this fun game. Add turkey faces and feathers to cones to create your own bowling pins. Students roll the ball to knock down the turkey pins and score just like bowling.
16 | Thanksgiving Bingo and Tic Tac Toe
Play classroom bingo and Tic Tac Toe and use candy corn as the markers to add a fun fall twist to the classic game.
Fun Thanksgiving Activities for Your Classroom Party
Your Thanksgiving class party is the perfect time to do some fun Thanksgiving activities. Check out some of my favorite ideas below to create fun memories with your class this time of year!
17 | Thanksgiving School Parade
Kayla, a Kindergarten teacher has her class put on a Thanksgiving Parade. Her students have a lot of fun with this and yours probably would too! If you want to copy this idea in your classroom this is what she does:
- She teaches her children about the history of the Thanksgiving parade by reading them, Balloons over Broadway.
- Then her students design and engineer their own floats with balloons.
- Next students become balloon handlers down the hallway as they put on a Thanksgiving parade through the school!
18 | Thanksgiving Recipe Card
Here’s a fun way to combine a Thanksgiving writing activity and a craft activity in one. Have students create a Thanksgiving recipe card by writing the steps to preparing a turkey all the way from getting the turkey to serving it.
Then they can create a turkey with a paper plate, paint, googly eyes and construction paper.
19 | Thanksgiving Sensory Bins
A fun activity for your party would be a Thanksgiving sensory bin. All you need is a pack of colorful feathers, a colander and a turkey image. Students can stick the feathers into the holes in the colander to decorate the turkey.
20 | Disguise a Turkey
Here’s a classic Thanksgiving classroom activity that students love. Challenge students to disguise a turkey that doesn’t want to be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. This activity goes well with the book, Turkey Trouble.
Give students a blank paper turkey and then have them disguise it with various craft supplies like colored paper, buttons, pipe cleaners, or anything they can find! Have them write the turkey’s new backstory.
Thanksgiving Crafts
I have some more fun Thanksgiving party ideas that involve easy crafts, check them out below.
21 | Paper Bag Turkey Craft
Here’s an easy craft idea for your party that students can make with paper bags and colored construction paper. Students fold bags in half and to create little Turkey books. Have students write inside their books what they are thankful for.
22 | More Thanksgiving Craft Ideas
I have a ton more Thanksgiving craft ideas in this post…27 Thanksgiving Craft Ideas for the Classroom
23 | Thanksgiving Photo Booth
Set up fun photo props like glasses, pilgrim hats, turkey faces, and you can snap fun pictures of your students. Here is a fun set of 25 unique Thanksgiving selfie props from Amazon to compliment your fall party!
24 | Thanksgiving Books for Elementary School
If you want to read your classroom some books during your class party here are some holiday favorites:
-
“Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade” by Melissa Sweet
This picture book tells the fascinating true story of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s beautifully illustrated and gives students insight into the history and artistry behind the famous balloons.
- “Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving” by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is a fun, lively recount of how Sarah Hale campaigned to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. It’s an inspiring tale of persistence, perfect for younger students, with plenty of humor. - “Turkey Trouble” by Wendi Silvano
Here’s a funny story about a turkey trying to avoid being the main course for Thanksgiving by disguising himself as other animals. Kids will love the clever twists and colorful illustrations. - “The Very First Thanksgiving Day” by Rhonda Gowler Greene
This rhyming book takes children back in time to the first Thanksgiving, offering a simplified yet engaging way to introduce students to the Pilgrims and Native Americans and the history of Thanksgiving. - “Cranberry Thanksgiving” by Wende and Harry Devlin
A heartwarming classic from the Cranberryport series, this story involves a secret family recipe and themes of kindness, friendship, and sharing. After reading this book you could start a classroom discussion about the food and traditions associated with Thanksgiving.
25 | Thanksgiving Movie
During your classroom party you may want to play a short Thanksgiving movie or cartoon. Here are some favorites for an elementary school classroom:
- “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973)
This classic animated special is perfect for younger students and is only 25 minutes. It follows Charlie Brown and his friends as they try to put together a Thanksgiving meal, teaching lessons about friendship, community, and gratitude. - “Free Birds” (2013)
In this animated adventure, two turkeys go back in time to try and change the course of Thanksgiving history by taking turkey off the menu. It’s funny, engaging, and offers themes of teamwork and problem-solving. - “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” (2008)
Based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott, this heartwarming movie tells the story of a family coming together during tough times. While it has a longer runtime (90 minutes), it’s a nice, family-friendly film with historical elements that could pair well with lessons about the history of the holiday. - “Pocahontas” (1995)
Although not specifically about Thanksgiving, this Disney movie touches on early American history, Native American culture, and the settlers. It can start class discussions about the relationship between Native Americans and early settlers. But we sure to let kids know it is fiction. - “Dora’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (2013)
Perfect for younger elementary students, this episode of Dora the Explorer has Dora and her friends working together to save the Thanksgiving parade. It combines fun adventure and themes of teamwork and thankfulness.
I hope you found some new Thanksgiving classroom party ideas to try this year. Feel free to save your favorite ideas to your Pinterest boards. To do that just click on the picture and then the P and then choose your board.
Here are some more Thanksgiving ideas for your classroom to check out…
35 Fun Thanksgiving Ideas for the Classroom
The Best Thanksgiving Classroom Door Decorations
17 Cute Thanksgiving Classroom Treats Your Students Will Love