Turkey Day is almost here! Kick off the Thanksgiving holiday in a fun and exciting way for your kids. Why not send the kids on a turkey hunt? Let them find some lost turkeys in their house before it’s time to celebrate. Once the turkeys are all collected, the kids get a special surprise to allow for some more fun!
My kids absolutely love any kind of scavenger hunt. They run excitedly from place to place looking for the next clue. It is a great family activity that is exciting, inexpensive, and super thrilling for little ones. I planned a Turkey Hunt to kick off our Thanksgiving festivities in a super fun way for the kids. When my son got home from school for his Thanksgiving break I had this little turkey sitting out on the table.
The card read: Kyle and Olivia, would you believe that while you were out, my friends and I came in looking for some pumpkin pie? I have lost all 10 of my friends! Will you go on a turkey hunt and help me find them? They are hiding throughout your house! Find all 11 turkey’s so that we can all celebrate thanksgiving together with a fun surprise.
The hunt was on. Each card had an easy clue to direct the kids to the next turkey. When I do scavenger hunts I write out my list of hiding spots and then number my objects to hide with the coordinating clue and hiding spot. That way I can hide them quickly when the kiddos aren’t looking, and they are easy to find again if things get confused. My kids are only 2 and 4, so the clues are pretty simple. I also have to make sure the turkeys aren’t in plain view, otherwise the kids get distracted and stop looking for the clue that they are on. At their ages 10 clues is plenty. They are excited and have a blast, without getting bored of it.
I simply printed off some cute little turkeys onto card stock paper and wrote the clues on the back. I hid them all through out the house so the kids had to go from room to room looking for them.
I always add in things like – “could there be a turkey taking a bath?”, or “eating your snacks?” to make it extra fun for the kids. They seem to enjoy the silly stuff best. At the end of the hunt there was a little basket of goodies for the kids. Two inexpensive Nerf guns for the kids to “hunt” the turkeys with, a couple little frog toys and some Toll House Thanksgiving sugar cookies all ready to bake. The cookies made for a fun little holiday treat that we could all make together.
I then taped all the little turkeys that they collected to the windows and some mirrors in the house and the kids got busy with their Nerf guns “hunting turkeys”! Now, I am not usually a “toy gun person”, but I am from Wisconsin, and Turkey hunting is just a part of life where we come from! Having the turkeys hung around the house kept them from pointing the Nerf guns at each other. They really had a good time trying to hit the turkeys with the suction cup Nerf toys.
They got really excited about every part of this turkey hunt! I get great joy out of watching them run happily through the house, and I have to tell you that I think my hubby enjoyed it just as much as the kids. You certainly don’t have to spend a lot of money to put together a fun family activity. This would make such a fun activity for the kids and adults alike at your big family Thanksgiving celebration or make a new thanksgiving morning tradition for your family. What a great way to get the kids excited and burning off some of that Thanksgiving feast! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday full of fun, family, food, and cherished memories. Happy Turkey Day.
As always Kim…what a cool idea!