Looking for scavenger hunt games to try with your kids during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year? Check out this free printable!
Our brains have been on fire this year with all kinds of fun new Thanksgiving activities! From turkey crafts to fine motor games to gratitude scavenger hunts and everything in between, we definitely have you covered when it comes to ideas for Thanksgiving this year!
For me, the crowning glory of the Thanksgiving season happens on Thanksgiving day. And it doesn’t involve turkey or mashed potatoes (although those are pretty great too). What I’m talking about is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!
Seriously, this is probably my very favorite holiday event of the entire year. There’s nothing better than snuggling up in your pajamas and watching the parade from start to finish with your kiddos!
A few years ago, I saw a few Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade bingo printables online. Basically, they were kind of like a scavenger hunt for kids to find certain things as they were watching the parade and mark them off on the bingo sheet. I was so excited to give them a try!
So I printed off three of them and set them down in front of my boys. WIthin seconds, I watched my oldest turn his bingo page into a paper airplane. My youngest child immediately crumpled it up into a ball and began tossing it like basketball into a laundry basket. And my middle child stabbed a pencil into the middle of his paper and started spinning it around like a pinwheel.
You get the picture. My hopes and dreams of a quiet, relaxing parade tradition were ruined. My boys are so active that sitting around playing bingo wasn’t going to cut it. These dudes needed to move.
So this year, I figured out a way for even the most active kiddos to enjoy the parade while their tired mama drinks a cup of coffee on the couch. This Thanksgiving Day Parade Movement Scavenger Hunt isn’t like the others. It will keep kids moving, marching, jumping, and more, using the different performances in the parade as prompts!
All you’ll need is your slippers, a comfy robe, and a cup of coffee – and a few simple supplies listed below. When you’re done with this scavenger hunt, it’s time to dive into the holidays! Try out this free printable Christmas lights scavenger hunt!
Scavenger Hunt Games: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
What you’ll need:
Free Scavenger Hunt Printable
Markers or crayons
Optional: Stickers or Dot Markers
What to do:
Print a copy of the scavenger hunt page for each child. Give them a crayon/marker, a sheet of stickers, or a dot marker. They’ll use these to mark off each of the movement challenges they complete during the parade.
The goal is to watch the parade closely to find each of the things on the list, complete the movement listed next to each one, and then mark off each prompt using your marker or stickers so you can tell which ones you’ve already done.
How to change it up:
-Give bonus points for completing an item more than once (e.g. if you see more than one person wearing a hat, you can complete the associated movement more than once.
