Thanksgiving Printables for the Table

If you’ve got a bunch of kids (or even just a couple of kids) coming over for Thanksgiving, you might need some things to entertain them while they wait for the food to be ready. These Thanksgiving printables are great to use at the table or whenever you need something to fill a little time, and honestly adults will like some of these, too.

Activity placemats are a classic for kids, and they’re great to have on hand for Thanksgiving if there’s a lull between courses or while kids wait for food to get passed to them.

Crafting a Lovely Life has a few different options including a coloring sheet and one for writing what you’re thankful for, but my favorite includes a space to draw your dinner, a word search, word scramble and game grids for tic-tac-toe.

Artsy Fartsy Mom has one with a turkey to color, a word search, a place to write what you are thankful for and some tic-tac-toe spaces as well.

And Skip to My Lou has a few different printable Thanksgiving placemat activity sheets. The one that caught my eye includes an I-spy, a color by number and other things to color, words to unscramble and more that’s sure to keep kiddos occupied.

If you like word games, try the Thanksgiving Mad Libs from Jac of All Things, or this Finish the Phrase game from The Crafting Chicks (one person decides what the answers are and everyone else tries to guess what they picked). Both kids and adults can challenge themselves to come up with something they are thankful for from A to Z with this printable from PJs and Paint.

Don’t miss the printable Thanksgiving jokes from Kristin Duke Photography. A sample: Why did they let the turkey join the band? Because he had the drumsticks!

Play Thanksgiving Bingo with the printable cards from One Creative Mommy, or try a Thanksgiving I Spy from The Best Ideas for Kids.

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The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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