100 Happy Thanksgiving Vocabulary Words and Phrases

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Tatiana loves holidays and the traditions (and meals) associated with them.

Being thankful for what you have is an important step toward becoming the best human being you can be. Thanksgiving is a day when people really stop to appreciate all they have and to spend time with family and loved ones. Although we really should be thankful for what we have all year round, it’s great that there is an annual holiday to remind us.

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. when you think about Thanksgiving, you likely have your mind set on the meal that’s about to be had (which is often at the very top of the “I’m thankful for” list). Let’s not forget about Thanksgiving's roots, though—traditionally, Thanksgiving was a time of harvest that was celebrated by groups of early settlers from Europe known as pilgrims.

Thanksgiving Word Games

Thanksgiving is a great time to keep kids' minds active with fun crafts, projects, games, and activities. While making pilgrim hats is always a crowd-pleaser with the kids, thanksgiving is a fantastic time to broaden their vocabulary as well!

Thanksgiving Spelling Bee: Speaking of broadening children's vocabularies, why not hold a themed spelling bee using some of the words below? Start with some shorter words and work your way into some of the longer, more difficult words as the bee goes on.
Word Crafts: Write some of the words below on small slips of paper and mix them up in a hat. Have each child draw a Thanksgiving-themed word from the hat then either construct a craft or draw a picture that represents their word.
Thanksgiving Word Scramble: Word scrambles make great busy-work to keep the kids distracted while you hustle to get your dinner prepped or clean up the dining room before guests arrive. They're also quite easy to make! If you’re really strapped for time, you can always enter some of the words below into an online word-scramble generator.
Thanksgiving Word Search: What kid doesn’t love doing word searches for fun or as a school project? You can make your own or put some of the words below into an online word-search generator to save time.
Thanksgiving Crossword Puzzle: Whether you make it small or large, this is another good busy-work activity! These can be a bit more challenging than some other activities, so try to make the hints relatively simple and age-appropriate without being too obvious.
Thanksgiving BINGO: Who doesn’t have fun playing a few good rounds of BINGO? You can let the kids choose words from a word bank or make the game boards ahead of time.
Thanksgiving Charades: Charades is a great group activity, especially for groups that include children of differing ages. Acting is fun for everyone, and the game's interactive element encourages the kids to engage with one another. After you go over the rules of charades, players can choose words from a pilgrim hat then act them out as best they can.

Now that you have some game ideas, here are a few lists of Thanksgiving-themed words and phrases to draw from. Mix up which words you include in which games to keep players on their toes!

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Thanksgiving? Dinner, of course! If you're planning on making a food-themed Thanksgiving word scramble or word search, be sure to include your family's favorite dishes and ingredients from the list below.

Thanksgiving Food & Drink Vocabulary


Allspice	Green beans
Apple cider	Honey ham
Apple cobbler	Leftovers
Apple pie	Maple syrup
Apple sauce	Mashed potatoes
Biscuits	Nutmeg
Bread	Pecan pie
Bread pudding	Potluck
Brussels sprouts	Pumpkin
Buffet	Pumpkin pie
Candy corn	Pumpkin spice
Caramel apples	Rolls
Carrots	S'mores
Casserole	Spinach
Corn	Squash
Corn bread	Stuffing
Cranberries	Sweet potato pie
Creamed corn	Sweet potatoes
Croissants	Turkey
Deep fried turkey	Walnuts
Gravy	Wild rice

Things to Be Thankful For


Ancestors	Friends	Neighbors
Children	Good health	Nurses
Coffee	Good weather	Pets
Democracy	Grace	Police officers
Employment	Happiness	Prayer
Faith	Home	Retirement
Family	Imagination	Savings
Firefighters	Jesus Christ	Teachers
Food	Love	Vacation
Free time	Memories	Wealth
Freedom	Nature	Wisdom

Fall-and-Autumn-Themed Vocabulary Words


Acorns	Festivals	November
Apple cider	Foliage	Owl
Apple picking	Football	Pilgrim
Autumn	Harvest	Pinecone
Autumn breeze	Hayride	Plymouth Rock
Bobbing for apples	Haystack	Pumpkin patch
Bonfire	Hoodie	Rake
Carving pumpkins	Leaf pile	Scarecrow
Changing colors	Leaves	Squirrel
Corn maze	Maple syrup	Sunflower
Cornucopia	Maple leaves	Sweater weather
Fall	Mayflower	Umbrella

Now that you have a giant list of Thanksgiving words, it’s time to plan some activities! In addition to the word games mentioned above, you can also use these Thanksgiving terms to put together scavenger hunts, make a memory card game, or write short stories.

The most important part about the holiday is spending time with those you love and remembering to give thanks for all the little things we take for granted. Oh, and don't forget to say your grace and stuff your face!