Updated from September 30, 2021
10 great Thanksgiving RV trip activities to keep your kids entertained—whether you’re on the road or mashing the potatoes.
YOUR BAGS ARE PACKED. The RV is prepped. You can almost smell the turkey. All good reasons to think you’re ready to hit the road for the holidays. But slow your Thanksgiving roll. Have you planned for the most unpredictable variable in your travel plans? You know: the kiddos. We recommend you double-check that packing list to make sure you can keep your tiny pilgrims occupied on the road and over the holiday.
Check out our cornucopia of ideas to keep the kids busy—and the adults sane. Trust us, it will be one more reason to be thankful this season.
Prep Some Printables
When the internet isn’t busy being the worst, it can actually be the best. Before you head out, visit a few sites like ArtsyFartsyMama.com and LivingWellMom.com, and print some puzzles, coloring pages, and other activities your kids or grandkids will love.
Remember Classic Road Games
The license plate game, I Spy, and travel bingo are all screen-free activities that need no supplies. If you’re driving, though, you may want to skip the play time to ensure you don’t miss the next exit while looking for unusual license plates on the cars ahead.
Transform a Pinecone
Is there anything more versatile on the forest floor than the trusty pinecone? Not if you’re trying to make turkey from scratch with a pinecone body, leaf feathers or hand-traced construction-paper cutouts, and googly eyes from the craft bin. Or perhaps dreaming up a creative Thanksgiving centerpiece. Encourage your kids to use their imagination with a combination of natural items that they find and supplies that made the trip with you.
Store Your Supplies
Keep all of those printables and supplies organized with some easy-to-open storage boxes from Amazon. Totally worth the money to avoid markers rolling under your feet from Texas to Michigan.
Decorate with Nature
Once you arrive at the campsite or grandma’s house (or your adult kid’s house), it’s time to give the kids a job—table decor! No need for a fancy centerpiece when you have everything you need right outside the RV. Just make sure they’re pulling from nature and not… you know… from a neighbor’s pride and joy garden.
And if the campground itself is hosting something festive, even better.
Stuff the Volume
If you’re a tablet or device family, invest in headphones for your backseat passengers. Even the most patient of RV parents (or grands) can only handle the sounds of Minecraft for so long. Turning the volume down from the outset will make a quieter—more sanity-filled—ride.
Download Before You Go
Campground Wi-Fi is notoriously weak—especially over busy holidays. So offline some kid-friendly movies, games, or audiobooks while you have good signal.
Leaf an Impression
Making leaf prints with (washable!) paint is a great way to get your kids outside and using their creative side. The prints can be used for name tags, cards, or just serve to kill some time. They can also be used to make a thankful jar or thankful tree to tie back to the true meaning of the holiday.
Start a Scavenger Hunt
Send your kids on a wild goose chase of your making. The beauty of this activity (and being an adult in general) is that you make the rules. The scavenger hunt can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Need time to brine the turkey? Looks like we suddenly have an urgent need for acorns, kids!
Get the Kids Involved in Cooking
After the crafting and centerpiece-making, don’t be afraid to get those kids in the kitchen. Research has shown that kids who help prepare a meal are more likely to try new foods they helped make. So, pull up a stool, hand them an apron, and don’t worry about the mess. The holidays are about family, after all!
This full plate of ideas should keep the little turkeys busy from the first mile marker to the last slice of pie. Will there still be a spilled juice box or two? Probably. Some stray markers rolling around under the dinette? Yep. Or a random pinecone in the storage bay? Very likely.
But more importantly, you’ll have made lasting memories. As one reader, Sam, recently shared: “Hearing my children, who now have children, talk about the places we took them and their desire to take their children to these places helps me to remember them myself. An amusement ride is the same in any park. But memories of a sunrise, sunset, mountain peaks, historical places, and even mishaps and misfortune last a lifetime.”
That’s the kind of stuff to really be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving!
